To access Power BI content in a workspace, users must have a Power BI license (Pro or Premium Per User) unless the content is in a Power BI Premium capacity. Without a license, users are restricted from viewing reports. Regarding the second issue, if historical data is stored in on-premises data sources (like SQL Server), Power BI requires an on-premises data gateway to bridge the cloud service with the local data. This enables scheduled refreshes to pull historical records into the report. Azure Data Lake is a storage solution, not a connectivity bridge, and custom connectors are for unsupported APIs, not standard historical data access.

Microsoft Learn: Sign up or purchase the Power BI service as an individual. Section: "Power BI license types" (Standard documentation for Power BI service).

Microsoft Learn: What is an on-premises data gateway? (Official vendor documentation on hybrid data connectivity).

Microsoft Learn: Power BI service features by license type. Section: "Content sharing and collaboration" (Explains the requirement for Pro/PPU licenses for report viewing).

Microsoft Learn: Manage an on-premises data gateway. Section: "How the gateway works" (Explains the role of the gateway in accessing local data sources for report updates).