💎 PowerConnect Fundamentals

PowerConnect effortlessly integrates IBM Planning Analytics (TM1) with Microsoft Power BI. It gives users unprecedented connectivity to IBM Planning Analytics content directly inside Microsoft Power BI Desktop and the Microsoft Power BI Service — so the same trusted numbers that drive planning also drive the dashboards used across the business.

Three pillars of synchronisation

PowerConnect synchronises three things between TM1 and Power BI: data, metadata, and security. Each one removes a class of problem that finance and BI teams hit when they try to combine the two platforms manually.

Data synchronisation

PowerConnect gives you confident access to TM1 data — on-premises or in the cloud — directly in Microsoft Power BI reports. Both ad-hoc refreshes (kicked off in Power BI) and scheduled refreshes (run automatically) are supported, so reports always have the latest figures without anyone exporting CSVs or running manual processes.

For details, see 🔌 Loading Data and Metadata into Power BI.

Metadata synchronisation

PowerConnect integrates TM1 metadata — hierarchies, attributes, dimensional structures — directly into Power BI. When the TM1 model changes, your Power BI reports reflect those changes on the next refresh.

Why it matters: no more chasing renamed accounts or restructured cost centres across two systems. The model in Power BI stays in step with the source of truth.

Security synchronisation

PowerConnect uses your existing TM1 security model. The right people see the right data, on every refresh, without administrators having to maintain a parallel security layer in Power BI.

For details, see 🔒 Securing Your Power BI Reports.

Available on-premises, in the cloud, or hybrid

PowerConnect supports every IBM Planning Analytics deployment shape — on-premises, IBM Planning Analytics on Cloud, and hybrid configurations spanning both. Multi-instance setups are supported too.

On the Power BI side, PowerConnect works with Power BI Desktop, the Power BI Service, and the Power BI mobile app — so the same TM1 data is available wherever your users open Power BI. Publishing dashboards from Desktop to the cloud is covered in ☁️ Publishing Reports to the Power BI Service.

Works with small and large data sets

PowerConnect uses a Cubewise-developed REST-API-enabled Microsoft Power BI connector — the PowerConnect Custom Connector — backed by the PowerConnect Service. The architecture is designed for scale, so the same approach works for a small analytical team and for an organisation-wide rollout reaching hundreds of report consumers.

The only connector that lets you easily import TM1 data, TM1 metadata, and TM1 security into Microsoft Power BI.

https://cubewisecare.atlassian.net/wiki/x/AYDNPQ

Summary

PowerConnect is the bridge that lets a finance team's IBM Planning Analytics investment reach the wider organisation through Power BI. Data stays current, metadata stays accurate, and security stays consistent — without forcing report consumers to learn or operate the TM1 stack directly.

If you're new to the platform, the hands-on tour in 🎓 PowerConnect Training is the fastest way to see it in action.