Answer: No
But, lets prepare for it in terms of the technical capabilities we line up in our existing data architecture.
The hype curve around Microsoft Fabric since its announcement earlier in the year has been huge. The problem is, we now face some difficult questions in terms of our technology estate. Especially if we have designs and a project already in flight using other Azure Resources.
Do we pause?
Do we re-design?
Do we rebuild?
Do we stop and start again?
Given my experience in this industry and the 2-year cycle of cloud technology, we can be pragmatic with our delivery. We can evolve our designs and take advantages of the latest innovations when it makes sense for us. We shouldn't start over, or we certainly shouldn't rush to embrace the new and shiny. Just because it is new and shiny.
Microsoft Fabric will have a very real positive impact on our business, as articulated in our Points of View content:
Why?
What we do know and can consider as part of our designs:
If our existing Data Lake is using the Delta Lake open-source standard (delta.io) to format our datasets, we will be in a strong position to mount/move to Microsoft Fabric when ready.
If we use another form of Spark compute, maybe in Databricks, maybe in Synapse. The Notebooks written in Python or Scala can be used in Microsoft Fabric, with a few utility tweaks.
If we currently model data using Serverless SQL Pools in Synapse Analytics, those table definitions could be used in a Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse.
If we use Data Factory pipelines to orchestration, those artifacts can very naturally be moved or mounted for use within Microsoft Fabric.
If we use Data Explorer and Kusto queries, those can be moved to the Microsoft Fabric Realtime Analytics experience.
These key points, along with others mean we don't need to wait. We can move forward with our current architecture and plan how we evolve our technical capabilities to Microsoft Fabric as part of that roadmap.
Reach out to us if you'd like any support with that technical planning or need an architecture review.
Many thanks for visiting our blog.
