Budapest BI & Analytics Forum

No desktop required - How far can you get developing Power BI entirely in the browser?

Power BI Desktop has been the center of gravity for over a decade, but the web experience is catching up fast: semantic model editing, measure authoring, report creation, TMDL view, and Git-backed workspaces all run in the browser. Microsoft's goal is parity between Desktop and the web.

I can't even imagine working without Power BI Desktop, because I'm so used to it — so I'll put myself to the test and see whether I can develop a full semantic model in the web, and only in the web. Let's find out if you can teach an old dog new tricks after a decade.

This session is an honest stress test: I'll attempt a complete development cycle without ever opening Desktop, document every wall we hit, and compare the web workflow against Desktop and code-first alternatives like agentic development. Mac users, thin-client developers, and anyone tired of 64-bit installers — this one's for you.

By the end, you'll know exactly where the browser is ready today, and where it still sends you back to Desktop.