On the Ground at FabCon 2026: Insights, Innovation, and What's Next

FabCon & SQLCon — The Microsoft Fabric & SQL Community Conferences — reinforced what we're already hearing from customers. The conversation is shifting quickly.

This is no longer just about modernizing data platforms. It's about building a unified foundation that makes AI real and usable at scale.

The Big Signal: Convergence

One of the biggest signals this year was convergence. Microsoft is bringing SQL, Fabric, and operational data closer together into a single platform. That shift matters. It reduces the gap between transactional systems and analytics and makes it easier to build AI directly on top of live business data.

Key Announcements

SQL and Fabric are coming together more tightly, moving us closer to a single data platform across operational and analytical workloads.

Real-time intelligence is becoming core, with streaming and event-driven analytics built into the architecture.

OneLake shortcuts continue to improve, making it easier to access operational data without complex pipelines.

Copilot is expanding across the stack, shaping how we build, analyze, and interact with data.

Governance and security are evolving alongside AI, with Purview playing a bigger role as organizations move from pilots to production.

The momentum is clear. Customers aren't asking what Fabric is anymore. They're asking how to use it to move faster and make better decisions.

Our Sessions

I had the opportunity to present two sessions at FabCon alongside Alex Rostan.

Building Next-Gen Apps with Power Platform and SQL Server 2025

This session focused on a simple idea: your apps, your data, and your AI shouldn't live in separate worlds. With SQL Server 2025 and Power Platform, you can build applications that are ready for AI from the start.

The discussion quickly turned to how to close the gap between transactional systems and analytics. The takeaway was clear — if you're building apps today, you need to think about data and AI from day one.

The Instant Insights Pipeline: OneLake Shortcuts + Dataverse + Power Apps

This session focused on speed. How do you move from a business action to an insight in seconds? Using OneLake shortcuts, Dataverse, and Power Apps, we showed how to remove traditional ETL delays.

The energy in the room reflected how important real-time use cases have become. The message was simple: every interaction can generate insight when the architecture is designed for it.

Why This Matters

We're moving from fragmented systems to connected platforms. From reports to decisions. From experimentation to real AI adoption.

The opportunity is clear for organizations that can bring their data, apps, and AI together into one motion.

My biggest takeaway: the organizations that win will be the ones that reduce the time from data to action.

And what comes next is even more exciting. Agents, Copilot, and real-time intelligence built on a unified data platform. That's where AI starts to create real, lasting impact.