PowerBI.tips

Certified vs. Promoted Dataset?

February 10, 2022 By Seth Bauer
Certified vs. Promoted Dataset?

Power BI continues to grow and strengthen its position in the enterprise space. A feature that you may not be aware of, but can be extremely valuable, is the ability to certify datasets. This capability offers organizations a way to help end users identify that certain datasets are more concrete than others. In this episode we discuss different criteria by which we think a dataset should reach a promoted or certified level. Do you use this feature? Do you know the difference between a Certified vs. Promoted Dataset?

Sample of Promoted Dataset Setting

This endorsement doesn’t have any guard rails. Any user with edit permissions on a workspace can add a promoted dataset/report. Business users should have a clear idea of what a promoted dataset means. However, this certification setting does not have any gates for sign off from admins or user bodies. The end user should have confidence in the accuracy of data, but there is no direct governance that requires it.

Certified Datasets

Sample of Certified Dataset Setting

We spend a lot of time discussing and getting some great feedback in the live chat around this area. The Certified endorsement can be tightly controlled. It is a setting that is allowed for admins or a governing user to implement. This endorsement can carry a significant amount more weight. It should imply that there are a series of steps, processes, and reviews that ensure the data is as trusted as possible. Join us as we explore what should or shouldn’t be a requirement using these endorsements. The best ways to implement these features and the value they provide to your overall implementation.

Previous

Business Ops 3.0.2: Updated External Tools

More Posts

Mar 25, 2026

Git Best Practices Diff Noise & Naming - Ep. 513

Mike and Tommy break down the Git habits that make pull requests easier to review, cleaner to merge, and less painful to maintain over time. If your team fights diff noise, inconsistent naming, and mystery changes buried in commits, this episode gives you a practical framework for cleaning that up.

Mar 20, 2026

Publish to Web vs. Embedded - Ep. 512

Mike and Tommy break down the real difference between Publish to Web and Power BI Embedded, and why mixing them up creates security and governance headaches fast. If you need to share reports outside your organization, this episode gives you the practical framework for choosing the right option without accidentally turning convenience into a data leak.

Mar 18, 2026

Scaling a Power BI Side Hustle - Ep. 511

Mike and Tommy break down what it actually takes to grow a Power BI side hustle from occasional freelance work into a repeatable consulting engine. If you're balancing client delivery, productized offers, and the reality of limited time, this episode gives you a sharper playbook for scaling without creating chaos.