Overview
Microsoft Fabric is a unified SaaS platform combining data lake, warehouse, and analytics with managed lakehouse architecture and native AI integration.
Data Organization
- OneLake: Unified data lake with Delta Lake format
- Lakehouses: Managed Delta tables with SQL endpoints
- Warehouses: Traditional SQL DW experience
- Real-Time Intelligence: KQL databases for streaming
- Power BI Integration: Native semantic models
Key Components & Patterns
Components
- Data Factory: ETL/ELT pipelines
- Synapse Data Engineering: Spark notebooks
- Synapse Data Science: ML lifecycle
- Power BI: Native BI integration
- Real-Time Analytics: Event streams & KQL
Patterns
- Unified SaaS managed platform
- OneLake Storage single data lake
- Native Integration seamless workflows
- Auto-scaling serverless compute
- AI Copilot assisted development
Use Cases
- Unified Analytics: End-to-end data platform for enterprises
- Real-Time Dashboards: Streaming data to Power BI
- ML Operations: Integrated data science workflows
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✅ Fully managed SaaS platform
- ✅ Native Microsoft ecosystem integration
- ✅ AI Copilot assistance
Cons
- ⚠️ Microsoft ecosystem lock-in
- ⚠️ Limited customization vs open platforms
- ⚠️ Pricing complexity with multiple workloads
Day-to-Day Operations
- Workspace Management: Organize projects and teams
- Capacity Scaling: Auto-scale compute resources
- Data Lineage: Built-in impact analysis
- Security Center: Unified governance controls
- Monitoring Hub: Cross-workload observability