Last year (2023), Microsoft released a new data product called “Fabric” and if one read all the Power BI news out there on the social mediums, etc, it at first seemed like Fabric was replacing Power BI.

It did NOT replace it.

It doesn’t even do the same thing. It’s a completely different beast.

However, Microsoft is marketing the hell out of Fabric and often this marketing makes it seem like you need Fabric to use Power BI (you don’t) and that’s confusing to a lot of people (who have better things to do than stay up to date on every single detail of what Microsoft sells.)

So that’s why this post exists.

As with everything Microsoft, it takes a LOT of work to figure out stuff (both in their software applications and in their webpages about their software applications).

This is where I come in. I’ve done the searching and swearing for you, looking for the information to boil it down to a nice concise summary.

What is Microsoft Fabric?

At it’s core, Fabric is a collection of products. That’s it.

If you explore it a little further, Fabric is suite of data tools that work well together (because they are all made by Microsoft).

You know about Microsoft Office right? That suite of products that (currently) includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive (plus some others depending on your Office License).

That’s Microsoft’s Office Suite.

Fabric is Microsoft’s Data Suite. It’s one license that gets you all these products, rather than having to figure out the license of each individually.

Power BI is a product in the Fabric collection of products. Here’s a screenshot from a Microsoft page about Fabric:

Do you need to use / purchase Fabric to use Power BI?

Short answer: No

Long answer: No

More detailed answer: You don’t have to, but you may want to.

As with Microsoft’s Office Suite, all the products in Fabric work reasonably well together.

You know how you can make a chart in Excel and then embed it in Powerpoint (and then edit the data behind it *in* Powerpoint)? That’s because they are both Microsoft products.

I think “cross-product synergies” is the phrase the business bros call this type of thing.

So, IF you’re in a large organization who has already bet big on Microsoft products and you have them handling your data warehouse / data lake and various other things, then Fabric may be worth your while to get better “cross product synergies” happening.

Here’s how Microsoft describes Fabric:

Microsoft Fabric is an end-to-end analytics and data platform designed for enterprises that require a unified solution. It encompasses data movement, processing, ingestion, transformation, real-time event routing, and report building. It offers a comprehensive suite of services including Data Engineering, Data Factory, Data Science, Real-Time Analytics, Data Warehouse, and Databases.

With Fabric, you don’t need to assemble different services from multiple vendors. Instead, it offers a seamlessly integrated, user-friendly platform that simplifies your analytics requirements. Operating on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, Fabric brings simplicity and integration to your solutions.

Microsoft Fabric integrates separate components into a cohesive stack. Instead of relying on different databases or data warehouses, you can centralize data storage with OneLake. AI capabilities are seamlessly embedded within Fabric, eliminating the need for manual integration. With Fabric, you can easily transition your raw data into actionable insights for business users.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/get-started/microsoft-fabric-overview

What does that mean in regular normal human-speak?

It means:

“Use US, Microsoft, for everything for your data. Put your entire “data stack” (all the data products you use) with us. Give us all your data and all your money.

There’s also a HILARIOUS bit in there about it being a User-Friendly platform. I wonder if Microsoft’s copywriters were having a laugh, because come on.

Bottom Line this for me, Joe.

Microsoft Fabric is a collection of data products that work well together, and a Fabric license gets you all these products, making it easier to get them all.

Power BI is one of those data products.

However, you can use Power BI all by itself if you want to.

You may not have the budget for an all-encompassing Microsoft data system.

You may have lots of data in non-Microsoft systems, and it’s going to take a while (and a whole lot of money) to move that data into a Microsoft product.

Power BI can still connect to your non-Microsoft data. It’s still really good at that.

So, IF you’re a large organization who is already heavily invested in Microsoft data products like data warehouses and data lakes (or want to be), then Fabric will likely come in handy. If this sounds like you, you should talk to your IT director / admin people, because this type of data infrastructure is their wheelhouse.

If you don’t fall into the above category, you can keep on using Power BI exactly like you have been.

If you need help getting started, or expanding your skills…. contact me.

You can do it. I can help.