title: Why do I need the on premises Data gateway?
body: <p>I'm really confused, and a bit lost here. </p>
  
  <p>I have uploaded a data model (Using Visual Studio SSDT) to my Azure Analysis Service.</p>
  
  <p>I have configured my on-prem data gateway - (from Azure &amp; on my laptop where my SQL Server is).</p>
  
  <p>Using power Bi desktop, I can connect to the data model I uploaded using Visual studio by simply providing the Azure Analysis Service server url. </p>
  
  <p>It works.</p>
  
  <p>Why on earth do I need the on-prem data gateway for?? </p>
  
  <p>What did I achieve? </p>
  
  <p>I had the impression it was meant to keep my SQL server db and my Azure analysis service model in-sync. But obviously, if I upload using the SSDT tool, I bypass the gateway. </p>