Microsoft Fabric Community Conference: announcements and experiences

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference (FabCon) in Vienna. Four days of learning, networking, meeting new people, speaking, announcements, Power Hour, volunteering and charity. I'll cover all these aspects in this post. The updates part won't cover all of them, as there are many. I'll pick my favourites … Continue reading Microsoft Fabric Community Conference: announcements and experiences

Mastering Real-Time Analytics with Microsoft Fabric

When Microsoft Fabric was introduced in May 2023, one of its major promoted components was the Real-time Analytics part. We (that is, my coworkers and I from Axians) focused mainly on the batch processing of data. With the introduction of the DP-700 exam, I started to focus more on the real-time part of Microsoft Fabric. … Continue reading Mastering Real-Time Analytics with Microsoft Fabric

DP-700 training: Workspace logging

Let's dig into something that's quite simple to implement: workspace monitoring. Whenever someone calls out that "something is simple to implement", your first response should be "Oh really?". Because simplicity is always in the eyes of the beholder. And sometimes the easiest solutions carry the most consequences. Or cost. Or both. Wording can be complicated, … Continue reading DP-700 training: Workspace logging

Setting Up Copilot in SSMS 21: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now that's a title! Especially for a very cool new feature: Copilot embedded in SSMS. I've blogged about Copilot for SQL before, but this really is the next step! I'm very excited about this new feature, and I tried to install it on my machine. Because Microsoft can share all the steps they think you … Continue reading Setting Up Copilot in SSMS 21: A Step-by-Step Guide

DP-700 training: create and manage shortcuts to data

Storage is cheap, so we don't have to worry about data storage costs. Though this might be true, at some point, a lot of data will start to cost a lot of money. And, like many of you, dear readers who are in business intelligence, we like to duplicate data. A lot. We ingest it, … Continue reading DP-700 training: create and manage shortcuts to data

Loadtesting SQL, the sequel

Some time ago, I wrote a number of blogposts comparing the different Azure SQL options to give you some idea about performance, differences between tiers and differences between the Stock Keeping Units (SKU's). This was done by creating data in the database itself and review the metrics. This works fine and gave a good overview … Continue reading Loadtesting SQL, the sequel

2024 in review, 2025 in preview

Hi! 2024 is (almost) over and we're heading into the preview of 2025. Let's see how we get through this trial period of the new year. Let's start with looking back on the year that's behind us all. What a year it’s been! 2024 had a lot going for it, also enough things to, as … Continue reading 2024 in review, 2025 in preview

Fixing Azure SQL Client Connection Timeouts

This blog won't be very long and will describe a connection issue I experienced with a customer including the solution and some context why this solution worked. I hope this saves you time when dealing with the same error. Issue The customer can connect to the Azure Sql database with Sql Server Management Studio (SSMS) … Continue reading Fixing Azure SQL Client Connection Timeouts

Creating Azure Synapse Link for Dynamics: Step-by-Step Guide

I had an interesting morning trying to connect Dynamics to a Data lake. As you might know, there was a feature where Dynamics would create a Data lake for you. This choice will cease to exist quite soon and to offer alternatives, you can create an Azure Synapse Link or Fabric Link. This blog will … Continue reading Creating Azure Synapse Link for Dynamics: Step-by-Step Guide

Microsoft DP-600 exam (beta) experiences

Today I took the Implementing Analytics Solutions Using Microsoft Fabric exam and in this blogpost I'll write about my experiences and feelings. There are other blogposts out there for you to read and compare experiences. Remember that all of these are personal views on the exams and opinions can differ. Preparation There's no way you'll … Continue reading Microsoft DP-600 exam (beta) experiences