In many enterprises, Learning Management Systems (LMS) play a crucial role in tracking employee training and compliance. But what happens when there’s no direct access to the LMS database or API? Is it still possible to create insightful dashboards in Power BI?
Absolutely yes!
Let’s walk you through a brilliant solution where we turned a basic email attachment into a fully automated, scalable business intelligence pipeline — all without touching the LMS backend.
Business Need
If organization requires a daily compliance report for training completion status across all employees. However:
- The LMS does not offer direct API or DB access.
- It only provides a daily Excel report via email.
The challenge?
To turn this seemingly static data feed into a live Power BI dashboard — fully automated and easily accessible by stakeholders.
We proposed an elegant, no-code/low-code solution using Power Automate, SharePoint, and Power BI, ensuring the system is not only robust but also easy to maintain.
- Email with Excel Report
- A system (such as a Learning Management System, Training Tool, or HR Application) sends a daily email containing the Training Compliance Data as an Excel attachment.
- Power Automate Picks the Email
- A Power Automate flow monitors the inbox for this specific email based on the sender, subject line, and attachment details.
- When detected, it automatically extracts the Excel file and saves it to a designated SharePoint folder.
- SharePoint as Central Storage
- The Excel files are stored in a SharePoint folder named “Daily Reports.”
- This folder serves as a centralized, secure, and organized storage location for historical and daily reports.
- Power BI Reads and Displays the Data
- Power BI is configured to connect to the SharePoint folder.
- It loads the latest Excel file daily, processes the data, and updates the dashboard with the most recent Training Compliance insights.
- Users
- Access the report directly through the Power BI Service, or
- Subscribe to email delivery via Power BI email subscriptions, receiving the report snapshot in their inbox each day.
With just email, Power Automate, SharePoint, and Power BI — we turned a disconnected data flow into a seamless, automated reporting system. No coding, no manual work — just smart use of tools, delivering insights every single day