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Microsoft Viva Insights: Customizable Power BI Reports Arrive for Leadership and Analysts
Microsoft 365

Microsoft Viva Insights: Customizable Power BI Reports Arrive for Leadership and Analysts

Mo Wasay June 20, 2026 6 min read
Microsoft Viva Insights: Customizable Power BI Reports Arrive for Leadership and Analysts

REPORT — What’s New This Cycle

As of July CY2026, Microsoft is rolling out the Custom Power BI Reports for Viva Insights feature (Roadmap ID 566317, source). This General Availability (GA) release enables leadership and analysts to:

  • View embedded Power BI reports within Viva Insights
  • Edit time ranges, filters, and report attributes
  • Modify visuals to fit organizational needs
  • Save custom reports for later review or sharing

This feature is accessible via Microsoft 365 admin center under Viva Insights > Analytics > Reports. The new functionality is integrated with the Power BI service API, offering seamless transitions between Viva Insights data and Power BI dashboards. Admins should note that direct PowerShell management is not yet supported for this feature, but related permissions and report access can be audited using Microsoft Graph.

IMPACT — Who/What is Affected

The new capability will affect:

  • Viva Insights leaders, analysts, and report consumers: Those with assigned roles can now create and personalize reports, shifting from static dashboards to interactive analytics.
  • Data governance teams: Enhanced customization introduces new risk vectors (e.g., inadvertent sharing of sensitive data, inconsistent report definitions).
  • Admins managing report access and permissions: Must update monitoring to ensure only intended users have Power BI report privileges within Viva Insights.

Concrete risk: Without adequate auditing, custom reports could expose non-anonymized organizational data or support conflicting metrics across business units.

EDUCATE — Underlying Concepts Explained

Viva Insights leverages organizational data on collaboration, wellbeing, and productivity. Traditionally, Insights surfaced prebuilt Power BI dashboards, but lacked flexibility. With this upgrade, users can:

  • Apply custom filters (e.g., department, role, date range)
  • Choose and modify visuals — charts, tables, heatmaps
  • Add or remove report attributes
  • Save report configurations for iterative analysis

These enhancements rely on Power BI’s dataset abstraction and visualization tools, integrated into the Viva Insights workspace. Permissions align with Entra ID roles (formerly Azure AD), and report access is mapped to Viva Insights report viewers, editors, and admins.

DETECT — Auditing Custom Report Permissions with Microsoft Graph

Admins should regularly audit who has access to Viva Insights custom Power BI reports. Here’s a production-ready PowerShell snippet using the Microsoft.Graph module:

# Requires Microsoft.Graph PowerShell module (install with Install-Module Microsoft.Graph)
# Ensure you have Report.Read.All, Report.ReadWrite.All, and User.Read.All permissions
Import-Module Microsoft.Graph
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes 'Report.Read.All','User.Read.All'

# Get all Power BI reports in organization
try {
  $reports = Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method GET -Uri 'https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/reports/powerbi'
  # Pagination: Loop if @odata.nextLink exists
  $allReports = @()
  while ($reports) {
    $allReports += $reports.value
    if ($reports.'@odata.nextLink') {
      $reports = Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method GET -Uri $reports.'@odata.nextLink'
    } else {
      break
    }
  }
} catch {
  Write-Error "Failed to retrieve Power BI reports: $_"
  return
}

# Filter reports related to Viva Insights (based on naming or metadata)
$vivaReports = $allReports | Where-Object { $_.name -like '*Viva Insights*' }

# For each report, get permissions
foreach ($report in $vivaReports) {
  try {
    $permissions = Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method GET -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/reports/powerbi/$($report.id)/permissions"
    Write-Output "Report: $($report.name)"
    Write-Output $permissions.value
  } catch {
    Write-Warning "Failed to get permissions for report $($report.name): $_"
  }
}

Notes:

  • Power BI APIs in Microsoft Graph are evolving. Test API endpoints for organizational compatibility.
  • Paginate results as shown to ensure full coverage.
  • All remediation scripts should default to -WhatIf or dry-run mode and operate only on reviewed input.

REMEDIATE SAFELY — Grant/Remove Report Access (Dry Run Only)

To adjust permissions, always review report and user lists before applying changes. Example snippet (dry run):

# Dry run: Show users to be removed from a custom Viva Insights report
$targetReportId = ''
$usersToRemove = @('', '')
foreach ($user in $usersToRemove) {
  Write-Output "[Dry Run] Would remove $user from report $targetReportId"
  # Actual removal (disabled by default):
  # Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method DELETE -Uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/reports/powerbi/$targetReportId/permissions/$user"
}

Never bulk-modify or delete live permissions from a query. Always operate on reviewed input and provide a -WhatIf or dry-run path.

PORTAL EQUIVALENT — Where to Find/Manage Custom Reports

Admin Center Path:

  • Microsoft 365 admin center > Viva Insights > Analytics > Reports
  • Power BI Service > Workspace > Viva Insights Reports
  • Entra ID > Enterprise Applications > Viva Insights > Permissions

Admins can view and manage reports, adjust organizational permissions, and monitor sharing activity within these portals.

WHAT’S COMING IN THE NEXT 90 DAYS

  • Viva Insights Data Export Enhancements: Scheduled for preview in Q3 CY2026, allowing export of custom report data to CSV, Excel, and API endpoints.
  • Integration with Microsoft Purview: New DLP and sensitivity labeling for Power BI reports embedded in Viva Insights, giving admins greater control.
  • Teams Analytics Upgrades: Improved cross-platform reporting, with Teams usage and sentiment analytics available in Viva Insights custom reports.
  • Entra ID Role-Based Report Access: Role granularity improvements, enabling tighter control over who can view, edit, or share custom reports.

THE UPGRADE — What Admins Gain

Compared to static, prebuilt dashboards, the new customizable Power BI reports in Viva Insights deliver:

  • Productivity: Leaders and analysts can iterate on insights, tailor visuals, and drive more actionable decisions.
  • Security: Role-based access and Purview integration minimize inadvertent exposure of sensitive data.
  • Cost: Reduces need for external reporting tools and custom integrations.
  • Governance: Improved auditability and centralized report management.

Admins can now offer targeted analytics solutions, ensuring the right data flows to the right stakeholders, with compliance and policy controls baked in.

RELATED CHANGES — What Else Affects Your Workflow

  • Entra ID Conditional Access for Power BI: Conditional Access policies can now target Power BI embedded in Viva Insights, supporting geo-fencing and MFA for sensitive analytics.
  • Microsoft Purview Report Compliance: Purview’s sensitivity labeling and DLP now extend to custom Viva Insights reports.
  • Intune Report Distribution Policies: Intune can manage report sharing to mobile devices, reducing data leakage risks.

These integrations mean report access, sharing, and export must be monitored and governed across platforms.

RECOMMENDATION — Prioritized Takeaway

  • Immediate: Audit who has access to Viva Insights custom Power BI reports; review permissions and sharing activity.
  • Short-Term: Prepare for upcoming Purview and Teams analytics integrations; update governance policies.
  • Ongoing: Educate report creators on data privacy, organizational metrics consistency, and dry-run remediation procedures.

Custom Power BI reports in Viva Insights deliver flexible analytics, but require vigilant governance and permission management. Leverage modern Microsoft Graph APIs to monitor and remediate access, and plan for upcoming integrations to maximize organizational value.