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Number of reviews: 19
Customer Satisfaction
★★★★★★★★★★ 6.3/10
6.3
User Experience
★★★★★★★★★★ 6.0/10
6.0
Technical Foundation
★★★★★★★★★★ 6.6/10
6.6
Business Value
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.5/10
5.5

Microsoft Data Fabric

What is Microsoft Data Fabric?

A unified platform that enables data integration, analysis, and management for analytics in the Azure cloud by integrating various Azure data services such as Power BI, Synapse, Data Factory and Data Lake.

About Microsoft Data Fabric

Self-description of the vendor

No vendor self-description available
BARC Guide Microsoft Power BI & Fabric
The world's most comprehensive guide to the Microsoft Data & Analytics ecosystem.
References
No data available
Partners
No data available

Microsoft Data Fabric BARC Review & Rating

Provider and product description

Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is recognized as the world’s largest software company by market capitalization. Founded in 1975, it has expanded its presence globally with over 175 regional offices. Known for its Windows operating system and Office application suite, Microsoft has diversified its portfolio to include a broad range of enterprise software, cloud solutions, AI and machine learning technologies. Its strategic focus on cloud-based services, particularly Azure, is the basis for its position as a leading technology provider. Microsoft is making massive investments in generative AI, including large-scale model training and a strategic stake in OpenAI, to differentiate itself in a dynamic market.

Microsoft introduced its Microsoft Fabric offering in 2023 to help companies simplify how they manage, govern and analyze data in distributed environments. Fabric combines services such as Data Factory for preparation, Synapse for analytics, and Power BI for business intelligence. CEO Satya Nadella has referred to Fabric as the gorilla’s most critical new data-related offering since the launch of SQL Server in 1989. Microsoft’s GenAI-driven Copilot now supports Fabric products, Power BI in particular, helping increase data access for business managers and productivity for analysts.

Strengths and challenges of Microsoft Data Fabric

BARC’s viewpoint on the product’s strengths and challenges.

Strengths
  • Most Microsoft Fabric customers purchase the product because they like the fit with their existing and future landscape and connectivity to source/target systems—a clear reflection of Microsoft’s dominant installed base of small, mid-sized and large organizations.
  • Nearly half of customers, far more than competitors, chose Fabric due to their existing relationship with Microsoft. Those existing relationships also contribute to higher levels of user product knowledge and stronger consulting partnerships than other vendors.
  • Among cloud data platforms, Microsoft Fabric earns relatively high marks for Customer Satisfaction, Product Enhancements and Partner Ecosystem.
Challenges
  • In percentage terms, Microsoft wins fewer deals than competitors with its product functionality, performance or ease of use for business users.
  • Customers rank Microsoft Fabric relatively low for Business Benefits, which indicates the vendor has some work to do in delivering on the promise of unifying its many elements of data management and analytics.
  • Given the breadth of Microsoft’s product portfolio and financial resources, it is surprising to see that Microsoft fails to earn top ranks in any category but Connectivity and Considered for Purchase.
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Microsoft Data Fabric User Reviews & Experiences

The information contained in this section is based on user feedback and actual experience with Microsoft Data Fabric.

The information and figures are largely drawn from BARC’s The BI & Analytics Survey, The Planning Survey, The Financial Consolidation Survey and The Data Management Survey. You can find out more about these surveys by clicking on the relevant links.

Who uses Microsoft Data Fabric in a data management context and how

Why users buy Microsoft Data Fabric and what problems they have using it

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Full user reviews and KPI results for Microsoft Data Fabric

All key figures for Microsoft Data Fabric at a glance.

Premium content. Unlock with BARC+.
For just €79 per month (€948 per year) you can access all the paid content on www.barc.com.
Your benefits:
  • Get independent information on software solutions, market developments and trends in data, analytics, business intelligence, data science and corporate performance management.
  • Make data & analytics decisions based on numbers, data, facts and expert knowledge
  • Access to all premium articles and all our research, including all software comparison studies, scores and surveys.
  • Unlimited access to the BARC media library
  • Consume unlimited content anywhere
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Individual user reviews for Microsoft Data Fabric

Role
Head of D&A
Number of employees
More than 2.500
Industry
Process industry
Source
BARC Panel, The Data Management Survey 25, 02/2024
What do you like best?

Easy to understand and use.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Works well in an Microsoft Azure environment, the more non Microsoft comes in the harder it gets.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Start small, scale slowly.

How would you sum up your experience?

I would buy it again, does what is needds to do.

Role
CIO
Number of employees
More than 2.500
Industry
Retail
Source
BARC Panel, The Data Management Survey 25, 04/2024
What do you like best?

Ce que je préfère, c'est la facilité d'intégration avec d'autres outils existants dans l'écosystème de l'entreprise, le nombre d'intégrateurs compétents disponibles sur le marché, la facilité et la flexibilité de Microsoft.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Rien en particulier ne me frustre et est identifié comme un point d'amélioration.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Il faut savoir d'entourer du bon intégrateur pour challenger Microsoft.

How would you sum up your experience?

Excellente opinion.

Role
Head of business department
Number of employees
Less than 100
Industry
Manufacturing
Source
BARC Panel, The Data Management Survey 25, 03/2024
What do you like best?

Connectivity options and self-service capabilities for business users.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

There are so many features that it gets overwhelming, especially with the constant additions and rebranding of features.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Go ahead, but get help along the way.

How would you sum up your experience?

Easy integration with the tools and data sources typically found in small businesses for an excellent price.

Role
Consultant
Number of employees
100 - 2.500
Industry
Manufacturing
Source
BARC Panel, The Data Management Survey 25, 04/2024
What do you like best?

It is comprehensive and simple to understand Microsoft's vision. Fabric is the evolution of already very good components that work very well together in a modern and approachable portal/hub.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

It's new and improving quickly. Hard to keep up with what's done and what should be done soon.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Be ready for change and problems that are typical for a new product offering.

How would you sum up your experience?

Very exciting. It does what is promised, with a lot of potential.

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Survey Information
Number of reviews for Microsoft Data Fabric
19
Reviewed versions
100 percent latest cloud version
Peer groups in the survey
Cloud Data Platforms, Data Product Engineering, Data Product Engineering (Big Players), ETL Tools, Data Catalogs, Data Catalogs (Big Players), Data Intelligence Platforms & Marketplaces, Data Intelligence Platforms (Large Scenarios), Data Intelligence Platforms (Big Players)
Interactive comparison of data tools
Compare data tools and software with our interactive self-service tool, The Data Management Survey Analyzer.
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