Figuring Out Fabric: Learn Fabric in 30 minutes.
Each week I’ll be interviewing experts and users alike on their experience with Fabric, warts and all. I can guarantee that we’ll have voices you aren’t used to and perspectives you won’t expect. Each episode will be 30 minutes long with a single topic, so you can listen during your commute or while you exercise. Skip the topics you aren’t interested in. This will be a podcast that respects your time and your intelligence. No 2 hour BS sessions.
Episodes
Simon Sabin talks about how SQL Bits picks sessions when the data world keeps splintering into more tools. We talk about the tension between Fabric and the older stack people still use at work, and why session selection has to cover both. We also talk about why discernment is the skill you need with AI, since the model is an "automated idiot" and you have to catch when it's wrong. Power Query's declarative engin...
Sandeep Pawar talks about Python notebooks in Microsoft Fabric and why Power BI developers should learn them. We talk about semantic link as the entry point for Power BI developers into Python, and how notebooks open up solutions for orchestration, monitoring, and administration that are hard to do any other way. We also talk about PySpark, and why understanding Spark internals matters just as much as writing the code.
Links
In this episode, Shannon Lindsay from the Microsoft Community team joins me to talk about, well, community! We talk about her trajectory from non-profit space, to Power BI developer, to Microsoft employee. We go over how social media is fragmented and the joy of finding your friends.
In this episode, Shabnam Watson talks about dealing with Fabric overwhelm and how her bureaucratic experiences with Azure and Synapse motivated her to learn Fabric. She talks about how it's important to focus on finding a way that works with the tool instead of finding the "best" way. In general, the best lesson is to find ways to tie your new learning. We also touch on the DP-600/DP-700 certifications.
In this episode, Microsoft MVP Prathy K talks about her journey into Microsoft Fabric from her MSBI background. She explains how Fabric felt like "coming home" since she could map SSIS, SSRS, and SSAS concepts to new tools. We discuss how medallion architecture is really just rebranded data warehousing layers and why Fabric can feel overwhelming if you haven't kept up with the big data world.
In this episode, Microsoft MVP Angela Henry asks me questions about Microsoft Fabric. We compare the current Fabric development timeline to the old Power BI development timeline. I talk about when Fabric makes the most sense, in my personal opinion. It was a surprise this episode to hear about SSRS.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_crab
- SVG images in Power BI (2018)
- Fabric Roadmap
In this episode, Juliana Smith talks about accessibility in Power BI. She talks about starting out as a data scientist and moving to Power BI. We talk about how impairments can be temporary or varied and how accessibility helps everyone. We discuss simple, low-effort changes like font sizes, labels, and color contrast.
In this episode, Heidi Hastings joins to discuss the practical realities of adopting Microsoft Fabric. We cover her early exposure to Fabric through the MVP preview, the challenges of understanding and implementing it across real-world projects, and the often-overlooked learning curve for newcomers.
Heidi shares insights into common misconceptions driven by marketing materials, gaps in documentation, and the difficulty of navigatin...
In this episode, Sukhwant Kaur the PM for SQL DBs in Fabric, talks about the new feature. She talks about how management is much easier, which is great for experimentation. SQL DBs are very popular for metadata pipelines and similar. It’s exciting as a way to enable writeback and curated data storage for Power BI. We also talked about AI features and workload management.
Links
In this episode, we talk with Emilie Rønning about notebooks. We talk about how notebooks can be used for data engineering and when to get started with them. One of the nice things about notebooks is that you can easily debug individual steps instead of having to search a whole script for an error. We also discuss when to learn notebooks. Near the end we talk about how exporting notebooks risks exfiltrating data.
Links
In this episode, Elayne Jones talks about being an expert reference for the IT Center of Excellence and about administering Fabric. We talk about the types of things that can be administered and some of the challenges.
In this episode, Meagan Longoria talks about Databricks and helps us compare it to Fabric. The general conclusions is Databricks is still the mature tool, but Fabric is making improvements.
In reality, there is space for a hybrid approach and if you have to start somewhere with Fabric, it likely makes sense to start with Power BI and work your way back, where this value. We also talk about how the way Fabric is structured can somet...
In this episode, Ewa Hutmacher talks about driving change and changing cultures in a organization. I think it’s fair to say that adjusting to Fabric and centralizing your data is a big organizational change. It was new to me to hear there are ways to track and monitor organizational change.
In this episode, Evelyn talks about getting certified in the Tableau and Power BI. We talk a little a bit about how each is different. For her, BI was an ideal career because it was in the middle of her two passions: art and IT. We also discuss getting her first job and studying for the PL-300.
- Ggplot2
- Kind and Wicked learning environments (regarding delayed feedback)
- Column profiler
T. from Data Rocks talks about how data viz is a tiny subset of information design. The key is to focus less on just charts, but more about how the data is communicated and received. We talk about how what the user does with it separates a pile of charts from a successful design flow. I found this conversation helpful to understand it means to be good at data viz.
Links
In this episode, Steph Locke covers a wild career from data science consultant to startup owner to Microsoft manager. We talk about what’s required to work in data science. We also talk about the interaction of large language models and coding. Finally, we talk about adjusting to Power BI and Fabric.
Links
In this episode with Ellen Burns-Johnson, we talk about when we worked on a cloud game for Azure Synapse, ADF, Power BI. A big lesson learned from that is a big challenge today for Fabric is getting different teams and personas to communicate with each other; it's not just about the technology. Ellen's first impression is "it seems like Microsoft is trying to 'product away' the communication layer".
Li...
In this Episode Els Van Vessem talks about the challenges of implementing Fabric in the government. In it they talk about doing proof of concepts with Fabric and the limitations when your data is confidential, protected and on-premises. Data sovereignty often means sticking to a hybrid approach. We also discuss the challenges of similarly named products with slight differences.
Links
Apologies for the audio; I stupidly forgot to double check my mic this episode.
In this episode, Erin Dempster gives us an outside view of fabric focused on CI/CD. We talk about both deployment pipelines and devops pipelines and how she uses both tools in concert. This episode is interesting because it touches on the challenges of integrating a variety of data sources for an insurance company and using CI/Cd to keep everything in sy...
In this episode, Stephanie Bruno talks about semantic link and semantic link labs, which allow you to better manage your Power BI resources with Fabric notebooks. Semantic allows you to query and work directly with your semantic model. Semantic Link Labs allows you to automate running the best practices analyzer against your model. I've heard nothing but great things about it.
Links
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Emergency Intercom is a comedy podcast by Enya Umanzor and Drew Phillips. There is no emergency, but there is an intense need for attention, so maybe listen up… You don’t want to know what happens if you don’t. (we will be violent)
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.