Unleashing the Power of AI with Microsoft Fabric

Author: Luis Martinez

You’ve probably heard the buzzwords flying around about AI, data lakes, and digital transformation. Maybe you’ve wondered, “How can this innovation benefit my business?”  

Today we’ll discuss how Microsoft Fabric can answer that question—without making you feel like you need a PhD in computer science.  

Let’s explore how this platform, with a particular focus on AI, can make your operations more efficient, insightful, and, dare we say, future-proof. Along the way we tap into RevGen’s extensive expertise by hearing directly from real-world practitioners on how they view the capabilities that Microsoft Fabric is bringing to this space.

Microsoft Fabric: The AI Powerhouse You Didn’t Know You Needed

Microsoft Fabric is a comprehensive platform that bundles data engineering, data science, real-time analytics, and AI into a cohesive experience. It’s designed to take the pain out of handling large data sets and make advanced AI capabilities more accessible, all in one unified solution. 

The days when only tech giants could afford to build and deploy AI models are rapidly fading, as AI becomes increasingly accessible to businesses of all sizes. Fabric democratizes AI by integrating it into your everyday processes, without the need to hire an army of data scientists or navigate through a web of complicated systems to make it work. 

As RevGen Principal Architect, Anne Lifton, puts it, “Fabric offers the ability to create AI models in the same fashion as data pipelines, event houses, data lakes, data activator pipelines, and event streams.

“These models can become assets that are easily linked to data processes allowing very native use of AI within larger business processes. The previous subnet and app registration requirements in Azure Synapse are significantly reduced to allow much faster integration of apps and services, including AI.” 

In simpler terms, this means that with Microsoft Fabric, AI doesn’t live in a separate silo. Instead, it integrates seamlessly with your business data, automating tasks, generating insights, and even anticipating future trends—all without the headache of complex setups. 

AI That Speaks Your Language (Literally)

Let’s talk about AI Skills—a feature that should excite anyone who’s tired of waiting days (or weeks) for reports and insights. AI Skills is designed to help business analysts work smarter, not harder. This is accomplished by using natural language queries, allowing users to interact with their data like they’re chatting with a colleague. 

RevGen Senior Architect, Andy Vold, explains, “Most organizations have analyst groups answering business questions using the SQL language.” He noted that while “AI Skills is currently in public preview, the feature is targeted at assisting these analysts to allow them faster turn times on requests and free up time for more sophisticated analysis.” 

Imagine asking your AI-powered system, “What was last month’s sales growth in the Midwest region?” and instantly getting an answer with all the data to back it up. No SQL required. The AI automatically converts your question into a SQL query, pulls the relevant data, and gives you a clear, concise answer. And, in the not-too-distant future, this feature will support even more advanced tasks, like handling unstructured data and machine learning models for forecasting. 

One of the most beneficial aspects is that AI Skills integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools. This means you can use it within Copilot, M365 Chat, or even through a simple URL endpoint, giving you access to these insights in the apps you’re already using.

Bringing AI to the Business Frontline

So, how can Microsoft Fabric help your specific business? Whether you’re in retail, healthcare, telecom, or manufacturing, there’s one thing that binds us all: data. And we’ve got a lot of it. The challenge is how to turn that mountain of data into actionable insights without draining your time, money, or patience. 

With Fabric, AI models can be built and deployed almost as naturally as running reports. You don’t need to be a coding genius to make it work. By integrating AI directly into your existing processes, your business can leverage real-time data to make better decisions faster.  

And, because Microsoft Fabric reduces the technical barriers to AI integration, you don’t have to worry about a steep learning curve or massive investment in new infrastructure. It’s a game-changer for businesses that want to innovate without getting bogged down by technical complexity. 

Senior Consultant, Derek Plemons, who is in the thick of a project using MS Fabric, shared his experience: “We are currently building a machine learning solution entirely within Microsoft Fabric. Initially, we were skeptical of using a relatively new service. Multiple features are still in [preview] and new features are actively being developed.

“However, after surveying the Fabric ecosystem we could see the value in implementing our solution entirely within Fabric. We can ingest data from multiple sources into Fabric lake houses to then utilize them in our machine learning pipelines easily.

“Most of my time as a data scientist is spent in data analysis and data engineering just to get the data to where I can make predictions with it and begin modelling. Fabric makes architecting, building, and implementing those end-to-end AI workflows straightforward so my time is spent more on building models. I particularly like Fabric’s ‘display’ feature within notebooks, which very quickly allows me to see the descriptive statistics of the entire dataset I am working with and saves me time spent on analysis.”

What’s Next for Microsoft Fabric and Your Business?

AI isn’t just a futuristic technology, it’s happening now, and it’s happening fast. Microsoft Fabric offers you a chance to harness its power without needing a dedicated IT department or a sky-high budget. The future versions of Fabric will expand even further, allowing businesses to work with unstructured data and build pre-made machine learning models for predictive analytics and beyond. 

In short, if you’re looking to streamline your operations, enhance your decision-making process, and stay ahead of the competition, RevGen’s experts agree: Microsoft Fabric is a tool you should be seriously considering. It’s a powerful, intuitive platform that makes AI accessible to businesses of all sizes.  

To speak to one of our Fabric experts, contact us today, or learn more about our technology services by visiting our site.

Luis Martinez is a Manager at RevGen Partners, specializing in identifying business improvement opportunities and their impacts on the Customer and Employee experience. He is passionate about empowering our clients to navigate challenges and enabling change.