Microsoft Fabric is now live. With the launch of this latest data powerhouse tool many IT directors are asking themselves: does it make sense to stick with what we have, or to use Fabric instead?
If you’re pondering this question, this guide is for you. We’ll break down what’s included in Fabric, what functionality overlaps with existing tools, and questions to ask to determine if you should move forward with Fabric at this time.
Fabric is an all-in-one unified analytics platform that synthesizes tools from Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics and Power BI while also adding new tools previously unavailable. For organizations who already use a combination of Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse, and Power BI, Fabric can provide a more integrated option reducing both environment management and monthly subscription costs. It is more powerful than using Power BI alone - Fabric helps you manage bigger workloads with more tools and technologies.
The new pricing structure is similar to other Microsoft offerings such as Microsoft Office. Just as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel are rolled together under a Microsoft 365 subscription, features from Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse are rolled up into a single Fabric subscription. Additional Power BI licensing may still be required with Fabric depending on subscription level.
This chart shows you the experiences that are a part of Fabric, and which pre-existing tool Fabric draws features from to create that experience. Start here when auditing your existing tools. For example, if you currently use Azure Synapse, Spark and Power BI - you may be better served by moving to Fabric, which includes all of those tools.
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Experience |
Tools |
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Data Factory – Ingest data into your Fabric environment and transform it to the desired format for analytics. |
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Data Engineering – Cleanse and transform data for large-scale analytics and machine learning. |
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Data Science - Train, evaluate, and deploy machine learning algorithms to create predictive insights. |
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Data Warehouse – Combine data from across the enterprise and beyond to create a single source of truth. |
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Real-Time Analytics – Stream, store, and analyze large volumes of data in real-time. |
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Power BI – Explore, analyze and share data through data exploration, dashboards, and reports. |
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Data Activator – Trigger automatic actions based on thresholds set for key performance indicators. |
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Explore more direct comparisons with our two free guides:
Is Microsoft Fabric Replacing Power BI?
Will Microsoft Fabric Replace Synapse or Azure SQL?
If the answer to any of these questions is a yes, then seriously consider moving from your current systems to Fabric.
If you’re still not sure, watch our webinar created for IT directors and data managers to help understand if Fabric is the best option, or contact one of our experts for a free consultation.
Explore all the components available in the Microsoft Fabric suite and how they can benefit your organization. This cloud solution is priced to provide you with a low barrier of entry to the latest data analytics solutions. We will also go over the pricing model to enable you to determine the best option for your organization.
Get a walkthrough of features and benefits in our latest webinar, including:
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