Embracing the Future with Microsoft Fabric

For the past six years, Data Addiction has been a leader in modern data platforms in Azure. When Microsoft Fabric was unveiled last year, we eagerly embraced the opportunity to integrate its cutting-edge features into our offerings. As early adopters of Fabric, we are well-positioned to help our clients unlock value swiftly and effectively.

What is Microsoft Fabric and Why Should I Consider It?

Microsoft Fabric is an all-encompassing analytics platform designed to streamline data management. Integrated seamlessly within the Azure ecosystem, Fabric leverages Azure’s cloud infrastructure for scalable and reliable data operations. It eliminates the need for disparate components from various vendors by providing a unified environment to handle data ingestion, storage, transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and real-time analytics. By incorporating Azure services such as Azure Synapse Analytics and Azure AI, Fabric enhances its capabilities, offering advanced analytics and intelligent insights while ensuring cost efficiency and scalability.

Here’s why Microsoft Fabric is rapidly becoming the preferred choice for our clients:

Accelerated Time to Value: Our clients have successfully moved their projects from Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to full production within months. Fabric’s comprehensive suite of tools accelerates the journey from concept to deployment, enabling quicker realisation of value.

Seamless Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: Fabric integrates effortlessly with Microsoft products like Azure Synapse, Dynamics 365, and Co-Pilot. The direct link to Microsoft Dataverse is a game changer as it eliminates the need for data replication or Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes. This means all data in Dataverse is instantly accessible within Fabric, removing traditional data handling hassles and providing immediate access to crucial data.

Simplified Pricing Model: Fabric offers a single pricing structure for all services, removing the complexities of managing multiple billing models. This clarity helps you to plan and budget more effectively.

Enhanced Reporting with Co-Pilot for Power BI: Co-Pilot has enabled clients to generate and customise Power BI reports almost instantly. This reduces the need for dedicated analytics teams to build dashboards, streamlining the reporting process and making data insights more accessible.

Ongoing Investment and Innovation: Microsoft is committed to continuously enhancing Fabric’s features. This ongoing investment ensures that you benefit from the latest advancements in data management and analytics.

Generative AI Integration: Fabric’s Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities allow you to leverage AI for advanced data analysis and decision-making, enhancing overall business intelligence.

Near Real-Time Data Mirroring: Fabric’s ability to mirror databases ensures that your data remains up-to-date with minimal latency, which is crucial for organisations requiring real-time data access.

What’s New in Microsoft Fabric: Exciting New Capabilities

Microsoft Fabric is continually evolving, with new capabilities being introduced to enhance its utility. One of the latest updates we’re excited about is its new sustainability data solutions, which offer significant value for organisations focusing on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.

These resources include data stores in the form of data lakes, prebuilt notebooks, and dashboards designed to ingest, process, aggregate, and display data for various ESG scenarios. The Microsoft Fabric resources associated with each capability are deployed to a Fabric workspace in your tenant and can be easily configured to meet your sustainability needs. A preview of Fabric’s sustainability data solutions include:

ESG Metric Computation and Disclosure: Centralise and transform disparate data into standardised ESG data lakes for accurate computation and reporting.

Azure Emissions Data Reporting: Collect and process subscription and resource-level emissions data to analyse and report Azure’s environmental impact.

Custom Environmental Reports: Build tailored reports and analytics for carbon, water, and waste metrics by connecting to data in Microsoft Sustainability Manager.

Social and Governance Metrics: Combine and transform various social and governance data into a standardised data lake for comprehensive analysis.

How We Can Help You Leverage the Power of Fabric

Navigating the integration and optimisation of Microsoft Fabric can be complex, but we are here to streamline the process and maximise your benefits. Here are just some of the ways Data Addiction can support your Fabric journey:

Get Started with Fabric: Our six-week consulting engagement helps you implement Microsoft Fabric effectively. We support up to two data sources and use cases, conduct workshops to simplify Generative AI, and provide recommendations based on your business needs. Microsoft funding via the partner-led Azure Innovate program may be available (subject to approval). We also offer recommendations for next steps, including Subject Matter Experts (SME) and executive presentations.

Migrate Power BI Premium per Capacity: With Microsoft consolidating purchase options and phasing out the Power BI Premium per capacity SKU, we can assist with migrating to the new Microsoft Fabric SKUs. This transition ensures you continue to benefit from Power BI Premium capabilities while unlocking new advantages with Microsoft Fabric.

Export to Data Lake: The “Export to Data Lake” feature in Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations will be discontinued shortly. We can help you establish a modern, future-proof Fabric environment that integrates seamlessly with your Finance and Operations instance, ensuring uninterrupted data access and management.

AI Activate: At Data Addiction, we specialise in harnessing the power of OpenAI to create value. Our AI Activate solution uses first-party Azure components to offer ongoing support and development of AI solutions. Our retainer model allows for continuous refinement and extension of your solutions, ensuring you maximise the benefits of OpenAI technologies.

As advances are made in the data landscape, Microsoft Fabric offers a powerful, unified platform for managing and analysing your data. At Data Addiction, we are committed to helping you leverage Fabric’s full potential to drive your business forward.

Ready to transform your data management and analytics with Microsoft Fabric? Reach out to us today to get started and see how Fabric can elevate your data strategy. Contact us to schedule a consultation and explore how we can support your journey with Microsoft Fabric.