Microsoft Fabric is a comprehensive data and analytics platform introduced by Microsoft, aiming to cover the entire data lifecycle from collection to analytics. It integrates various existing services like Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Gen 2, Microsoft Purview, and Power BI. The platform emphasizes governance, openness, user empowerment, and AI integration. It is viewed as a step towards SaaS data platforms and encourages collaboration between data analysts and engineers. However, potential downsides include lock-in, the trade-off of low-code vs. customization, and the need for upskilling. Whether to migrate to Microsoft Fabric depends on the existing tools being used and requires thorough experimentation and consideration.
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An Overview of Microsoft Fabric Going Into 2024
Introduction
Microsoft Fabric is an all-encompassing platform for data analytics, data engineering, and AI. It offers features from existing services like Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Gen 2, Microsoft Purview, and Power BI.
What is Microsoft Fabric?
Microsoft Fabric is an all-encompassing data & analytics platform that handles data from the collection stage to the analytics stage. This includes data storage, data pipelines, data alerts, data linage, data governance, AI-features, Power BI integration, and more. The platform is built on previous Microsoft services and collects many existing features into a single package.
The Major Components of Microsoft Fabric
Microsoft Fabric is composed of OneLake, Data Factory, Synapse Data Engineering, Synapse Data Science, Synapse Data Warehousing, Synapse Real-Time Analytics, Power BI, and Data Activator.
3 Upsides to Using Microsoft Fabric
- SaaS and Learning Curve: Microsoft Fabric being a step in the direction towards a SaaS solution, the upskilling should be faster and available to a larger group of people than PaaS solutions.
- Closing the Gap Between Data Analysts and Data Engineers: Microsoft Fabric encourages data analysts and data engineers to work closely with each other, facilitating collaboration.
- A Platform Where AI is not an Afterthought: Microsoft Fabric places AI front and center for the platform, integrating AI features and tools seamlessly.
3 Downsides to Using Microsoft Fabric
- Uniformization vs Lock-in: Microsoft Fabric uniforms existing Azure solutions into a single package, making the data platform more locked into the Microsoft ecosystem.
- The Double-Edged Sword of Low-Code: The simplicity of low-code also typically means less possibilities for customization, which might be a downside for those with coding backgrounds.
- New Technology — Less Competence: There are few people comfortable with Microsoft Fabric, and internal upskilling is necessary for successful adoption.
Should you Change?
Changing your existing solution to Microsoft Fabric is a complicated decision. It’s important to experiment with Microsoft Fabric to grasp whether it fits your needs.
Wrapping Up
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