Preparing for GDPR: How Power BI usage impacts Dynamics 365 / CRM compliance

On May 25, 2018, the European Union will put into place its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The sweeping new law imposes significant fines for failing to remove data from individuals or organizations invoking the "right to be forgotten." In preparation for the new law, Microsoft issued a whitepaper, "Supporting Your EU GDPR Journey," aimed at helping users of Power BI to navigate the complicated new regulation.

Microsoft has invested heavily in growing Power BI from a modest analytics toolset to one of the outright leaders in the BI and reporting space according to various analyst reports. And other teams at Microsoft have embraced the product, including the business solutions group which has added deeper ties to Power BI with pre-built charts, dashboards, integration schemes, and display capabilities for end users. For Dynamics ERP and CRM users, chances are growing that their solutions interact with Power BI in some way, meaning that if that data includes EU-based customers, vendors, or even employees, GDPR compliance becomes a concern.

"If you follow best practices with Power BI and Dynamics 365 you can remain in compliance with GDPR," says Ulrik Carlsson (a.k.a., CRM Chart Guy), senior solution architect and readiness expert at Elev8 Solutions.

Remaining in compliance

According to Carlsson, because of the connection between Dynamics 365 Customer Experience apps and Power BI, refreshing data on a ...