As a seasoned data aficionado and SQL expert with three decades of experience, I’ve navigated the Microsoft data product universe from SQL Server to Azure Synapse Analytics to Power BI—and all the data software and solutions in between. I’ve also witnessed the evolution of extract, transform, and load (ETL)/extract, load, and transform (ELT) operations, transforming raw data into actionable business gold to tackle industries’ most time-sensitive and intricate challenges.
Data was good—until it wasn’t. As data volumes exploded, it became very clear that efficient, real-time insights required data sharing and collaboration across organizations’ data silos and data roles (data engineers, scientists, and analysts). However, this proved to be easier said than done. Piecing together disparate services and storage systems is a complex, time-consuming task, further complicated by security and compliance concerns, so it’s a tall order, to say the least.
With the growing need for a centralized, unified, compliant solution for all data-related needs, Microsoft Fabric arrived on the scene, ready to store, secure, scale, collaborate, model, query, update, enrich, analyze, report, and create dashboards, to manage all of our multifaceted data challenges.
Fabric is a unified analytics solution that delivers an integrated and simplified experience for all analytics workloads and users on an enterprise-grade data foundation with pervasive data governance, greatly simplifying data management. As an integrated software as a service (SaaS) solution, it ingests, stores, processes, and analyzes data in a single environment without the complex and time-consuming need for provisioning. It supports some of the most familiar data languages, like T-SQL, PySpark, Scala, SparkR, and others, and it accommodates all data roles. From streaming data to collaboration, Fabric is your go-to, centralized, end-to-end, AI-powered analytics platform for handling any type of data and efficiently managing your data estate.
OneLake, considered to be the OneDrive for your data, is a single open-format repository in Fabric—a unified, logical data lake for your whole organization. It accepts any data at any speed, whether batch or streaming, and is accessible by all analytics engines on the platform, eliminating the need for data movement or duplication.
Figure 1. Diagram of different experiences all accessing the same OneLake data storage. (Source: What is Microsoft Fabric?)
Figure 2. Experiences available in Microsoft Fabric.
Imagine having the power to create your own data lakehouse or data warehouse in a matter of seconds. (Check out the Microsoft Fabric decision guide: Choose a data store.) That’s what Fabric, a SaaS platform, offers you. It allows you to centralize your data into OneLake by using common data methods, like Dataflow Gen2, data pipelines, Spark Notebooks, or T-SQL. (Explore the Microsoft Fabric decision guide: Copy activity, dataflow, or Spark.)
Data lakehouse
Figure 3. Diagram of a data lakehouse, displaying the folder structure of a data lake and the relational capabilities of a data warehouse. (Source: Explore the Microsoft Fabric lakehouse)
Whether you choose a data lakehouse or a data warehouse, you have easy access to robust querying and transaction capabilities. Fabric is the one-stop shop for all your data tasks across your data estate.
Figure 4. Steps in the Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate Certification journey. (Source: Microsoft Fabric Career Hub)
If you’re not quite ready to earn the Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate Certification, why not start with an Applied Skills credential? These are project-based credentials that focus on a specific skill rather than on a broad role. You can complete the online assessment in just two hours, whenever you’re ready.
Two Applied Skills scenarios that validate Microsoft Fabric skills are Implement a data warehouse in Microsoft Fabric and Implement a lakehouse in Microsoft Fabric. Both equip you with foundational Microsoft Fabric skills.
Figure 5. Applied Skills scenarios for Microsoft Fabric.
For more on Applied Skills credentials, read my blog post Real skills for real-time results with Microsoft Applied Skills credentials.
Barbara Andrews began her professional career as an accountant but soon discovered that she loves technology and has a passion for learning and teaching. She has worked with almost every on-premises Microsoft server technology (except Exchange Server) and has worked her way through many Azure services. As a Microsoft Technical Trainer, Barbara specializes in Azure infrastructure, data, and AI. She has a passion for helping working professionals and career changers build skills and pursue their dream careers, and she has upskilled more than 20,000 students, both online and in person.
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