Microsoft Fabric, all you need to know

Session Information

Summary: Microsoft Fabric Webinar

Introduction

• Presenters:
  • Matt: Azure Partner Development Manager (PDM) at Ingram Micro, leading Microsoft Fabric initiatives.
  • Jay Akram: Azure Cloud Solution Architect at Ingram Micro, specializing in Microsoft Azure public cloud.
• Focus:
  • Introduction to Microsoft Fabric — an end-to-end data and analytics platform.
  • Explanation of key components, use cases, and benefits, including Copilot for Fabric.
  • Overview of real-world applications and licensing changes.

What is Microsoft Fabric?

• End-to-end analytics and data platform, combining seven specialized services:
  • Data Engineering
  • Data Factory
  • Data Science
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Data Warehousing
  • Databases
  • Power BI for Visualization
• Key Benefit: Unified platform — no need for multiple vendors.

Opportunity Areas for Microsoft Fabric

• Replacing Power BI Premium Capacity (P Skus):
  • P Skus are end of life; they can only be renewed if the renewal date was before December 31, 2024.
  • Fabric starts at $180/month (versus the old $4,000/year commitment for P1 Premium Capacity).
• Data Platform Migration:
  • Easy migration path for on-premise or multi-cloud data warehouses into Fabric.
• Enhanced Power BI:
  • Adds OneLake (centralized data store) and additional services to existing Power BI functionality.
• OneLake (Unified Storage Layer):
  • Similar to OneDrive but for data — a single logical data lake for the entire organization.
  • Automatically provisioned with every Fabric deployment.
  • Supports structured and unstructured data.
  • Built on Azure Data Lake Gen2, with Delta Lake format for compatibility.
• Advanced Analytics:
  • Provides advanced analytical and AI-driven capabilities using data within Fabric.

Key Services in Microsoft Fabric (presented by Jay Akram)

1. Power BI – Visualization & reporting.
2. Data Factory – Ingest, prepare, transform data from 200+ sources.
3. Data Activator – No-code tool to trigger actions based on data changes.
4. Industry Solutions – Pre-built templates for industry-specific needs.
5. Real-time Analytics – Event stream processing & real-time insights.
6. Synapse Data Engineering – Spark-based big data processing.
7. Synapse Data Warehouse – SQL data warehousing, scalable compute/storage separation.

Copilot for Microsoft Fabric

• Integrated AI Assistant to help users interact with data via natural language queries.
• Generates reports, transforms data, writes T-SQL queries, assists in debugging and more.
• Available only on F64+ Reserved Instance.

Pricing & Licensing Changes

• Transition from P1 Premium Capacity to new F-Series Fabric SKUs.
• Entry price reduced from ~$4,000/year to ~$180/month with no annual commitment.
• F64 (or higher) is equivalent to old P1 level, required for Copilot.
• Lower skus (F32, F16, F8, F4) make Fabric affordable for SMBs.

Real-world Example

• A customer with 500 Power BI Premium per user licenses switched to Fabric, saving significant costs.
• Fabric’s free user licensing (in F64+ Reserved Instance) allowed users to collaborate without per-user fees.
• Experience remained familiar for Power BI users, with added capabilities from the other Fabric services.

Why Microsoft Fabric?

• Platform consolidation: One platform instead of multiple tools/vendors.
• Cost reduction: Lower licensing & infrastructure costs.
• Simplicity: Managed SaaS service, easy to set up & operate.
• Unified data storage: OneLake eliminates duplication and siloed data.
• AI-powered: Copilot integration enhances productivity.
• Burstable capacity: Handles unexpected usage spikes.

Microsoft Purview (presented by Jay Akram)

• Data governance & compliance tool built into Fabric.
• Central hub for data cataloging, lineage, classification, protection, and auditing.
• Provides both admin-level insights (organization-wide) and user-level insights (personal content).
• Seamlessly integrates on-prem, cloud, and multi-cloud data into a single governance view.

What’s Next? Leveraging Ingram Micro & Microsoft Marketing Tools

Presented by: Matt & Jay Akram (Ingram Micro)

Ingram Micro: Azure Grab and Go Kits

• Available to all Ingram Micro partners.
• Fabric-Specific Kit now available, alongside 5-6 other kits (with more planned).
• Kits include:
  • Conversation starters for internal teams — ideal for sales teams to identify opportunities.
  • Ready-to-use marketing emails, infographics, and social media posts.
• Fully downloadable from Advantage
• Covers topics beyond Fabric, such as AI.

Microsoft Partner Marketing Centre

• Direct access to ready-made Fabric marketing content from Microsoft.
• Editable and customizable for your branding.
• Covers Azure and other Microsoft solutions.
• Great for partners needing ready-to-use campaigns.

DMC (Digital Marketing Content)

• Automated marketing tool from Microsoft.
• Choose a campaign, and automate emails & social posts.
• Ideal for partners without a dedicated marketing team.
• Pre-built Fabric campaigns are already available.

Partner Enablement & Sales Training

• Technical Enablement: Delivered by Jay Akram — helping partners build technical expertise on Fabric.
• Sales Training: Ingram Micro offers sales-focused sessions on positioning Fabric to customers.
• Contact your PDM or IS team to book.

Incentives for Partners

• Eligible customers can qualify for:
  • Proof of Concept (POC) – $1,200 credit (requires $12,000 estimated annual revenue).
  • A-CO (Accelerated Co-sell Offer) – 10% rebate based on estimated annual revenue (minimum $50,000).

Beyond Fabric — Extending to Azure Migration

• Fabric adoption can be a first step into Azure for many customers.
• Consider broader migration opportunities:
  • Microsoft Solution Assessments (for customers with 10+ servers — delivered by Microsoft directly).
  • Azure Migrate (self-service tool for customers with fewer than 10 servers).

End-to-End Fabric Tutorials

• Available for partners interested in learning Fabric deeply.
• Covers technical setup, use cases, and advanced functionality.

Recap – Why It Matters for Customers

• Power BI Premium (P Skus) replacement: Fabric is the new default.
• Unified analytics platform: One experience across multiple services.
• Enhanced value: Combining services like Data Factory, Data Science, Real-time Analytics, and more in one platform.
• Unique to Fabric: Microsoft designed exclusive Fabric features that cannot be replicated with standalone Azure services.

Easy Migration from On-Prem Data Warehouses

• Particularly relevant for customers running on-prem SQL Server.
• Migration to Fabric is simple and well-supported.

Questions & Answers Highlights

Is Purview deployed with Fabric?
Yes — Fabric includes a Purview Hub, providing integrated governance. Advanced Purview features can be added if needed.

Do customers still need Power BI Pro with F64 reservation?
Yes — Power BI Pro is still required for content creation and management, but viewers can access content without a license in F64+.

How do we justify the price jump from Power BI Premium to Fabric F64?
Key talking points:

• Fabric adds six additional services beyond Power BI.
• Fabric includes Power BI Report Server license, which would normally be a separate purchase.
• Fabric capacity can be paused when not in use, providing cost flexibility.

Key Takeaways

• Fabric replaces Power BI Premium Capacity — lower entry point, more services.
• OneLake ensures centralized data management.
• Copilot drives productivity across all Fabric services.
• Purview provides essential governance & compliance.
• Great fit for both enterprise and SMB customers.