Power BI Pre-Release Program Participant — Project Crescent Heritage (2026)
EPC Group Founder Errin O'Connor was a pre-release program participant for Power BI (codename Project Crescent) — 14 years continuous Power BI + SSAS Tabular delivery from foundational platform through Copilot for Fabric.
Last updated July 9, 2026 by Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
Project Crescent was Microsoft's internal codename for the ad hoc reporting + interactive visualization capability first previewed at SQL PASS Summit 2010, shipped as Power View in SQL Server 2012 + SharePoint 2010. Project Crescent + Power Pivot (Gemini) + SSAS Tabular (Denali Tabular) became foundational to today's Power BI. EPC Group Founder Errin O'Connor was a pre-release program participant during Project Crescent + Gemini + Denali Tabular beta cycles. 14-year heritage translates to better Fabric + Copilot for Fabric outcomes via semantic model design + DAX + hierarchies + RLS + aggregations + Q&A synonyms. 4,200+ Power BI + SSAS implementations delivered.
Key Facts
- Project Crescent = Microsoft codename for ad hoc reporting + interactive visualization, first previewed SQL PASS Summit 2010, shipped as Power View in SQL Server 2012
- Project Crescent + Gemini (Power Pivot) + Denali Tabular (SSAS Tabular) became foundational Power BI trio
- EPC Group Founder Errin O'Connor was pre-release program participant during Project Crescent + Gemini + Denali Tabular beta cycles
- 4,200+ Power BI + SSAS Tabular + Analysis Services implementations delivered by EPC Group
- Microsoft Solutions Partner in Data & AI + Microsoft Press bestselling Power BI author
- 6 patterns where heritage translates to better Copilot for Fabric: semantic model design + measure naming + hierarchies + RLS + aggregations + Q&A
Power BI Project Crescent Heritage FAQ
What was Project Crescent?
Project Crescent was Microsoft's internal codename for the ad hoc reporting + interactive visualization capability that Microsoft first previewed at SQL PASS Summit 2010 and shipped as Power View in SQL Server 2012 + SharePoint 2010 Enterprise. Project Crescent + Power Pivot for Excel (codename Gemini) + SSAS Tabular (codename Denali Tabular) formed the foundational trio that Microsoft evolved into today's Power BI. Project Crescent introduced core visualization concepts: interactive filtering, cross-highlighting across visuals, scatter plot animation over time (later Power BI's "Play Axis"), and the "power to end user" analytics philosophy that defines Power BI today. Microsoft rebranded + evolved the Project Crescent visualization engine into Power BI for Office 365 (announced 2013, GA 2014) and ultimately today's Power BI + Fabric platform. EPC Group Founder Errin O'Connor was a pre-release program participant during Project Crescent + Gemini + Denali Tabular beta cycles at Microsoft, providing foundational Power BI + SSAS Tabular experience that predates the public Power BI product by years.
Why does 14-year Power BI heritage matter in 2026?
Seven reasons deep Power BI heritage matters for today's Fabric + Copilot for Fabric engagements: (1) SSAS Tabular architecture depth — Power BI's Analysis Services engine is directly evolved from SSAS Tabular (codename Denali Tabular). Deep tabular modeling understanding + DAX depth + VertiPaq engine understanding all trace to foundational SSAS Tabular experience. (2) DAX fluency — DAX evolved from Excel Power Pivot (Gemini) → SSAS Tabular → Power BI Desktop. Heritage authors understand DAX at engine-level rather than surface pattern-matching. (3) Semantic model design — enterprise Power BI semantic model design draws directly on SSAS Tabular modeling principles established during Denali Tabular era. (4) Copilot for Fabric grounding — Copilot for Fabric queries Power BI semantic models via natural language; well-designed models with clear metadata + measure naming dramatically improve answer quality. Heritage informs that design. (5) Migration + upgrade patterns — enterprises still running SSAS Multidimensional + SSAS Tabular on-premises + Power BI Report Server face migration to Fabric F-SKU + Power BI Premium. Heritage informs migration patterns. (6) Governance + capacity — Premium capacity + Fabric F-SKU governance draws on 10+ years of SSAS + Power BI capacity operations experience. (7) Advanced patterns — aggregations tables + hybrid tables + calculation groups + composite models require depth that heritage informs.
What Power BI + BI deliveries has EPC Group completed?
EPC Group has delivered 4,200+ Power BI + SSAS Tabular + SSAS Multidimensional + Analysis Services 2005/2008/2012/2014/2016/2019/2022 implementations. Delivery scope: (1) SSAS Multidimensional cube design at Fortune 500 scale (financial + healthcare + manufacturing). (2) SSAS Tabular semantic model design + DAX from Denali Tabular through modern Fabric semantic models. (3) Power BI enterprise rollouts across every version — Power View → Power BI for Office 365 → Power BI Desktop → Power BI Premium → Fabric F-SKU. (4) Cross-vertical proof — healthcare payer + provider revenue cycle, financial services regulatory reporting, government federal analytics, manufacturing operations, retail merchandising. (5) DAX performance tuning practice — Server Timings-first methodology, VertiPaq Analyzer, Tabular Editor 3 Best Practice Analyzer. (6) Copilot for Fabric enablement — semantic model design optimization for natural language querying. (7) Fabric F-SKU + capacity management under fixed-fee retainer. Cross-cutting: Microsoft Solutions Partner in Data & AI designation, Errin O'Connor Microsoft Press bestselling Power BI author, cross-vertical proof.
How does Project Crescent heritage translate to Copilot for Fabric?
Six patterns where heritage translates to better Copilot for Fabric outcomes: (1) Semantic model design for Copilot grounding — Copilot for Fabric queries Power BI semantic models via natural language; well-designed models with clear table + column + measure naming + meaningful descriptions + hierarchies dramatically improve Copilot answer quality. Heritage authors design for both human + AI consumption. (2) DAX + measure naming — Copilot for Fabric selects measures based on names + descriptions + synonyms; heritage authors name measures in ways that AI can select correctly. (3) Hierarchies + drill paths — Copilot for Fabric respects semantic model hierarchies for aggregation + drill-down; heritage authors design hierarchies that support natural language drill-through. (4) Row-level security preserved — Copilot for Fabric respects RLS + OLS; heritage authors design security models that work identically for humans + AI. (5) Aggregations tables — Copilot for Fabric benefits from user-defined aggregations for high-cardinality fact tables; heritage informs aggregation design. (6) Q&A + synonyms — heritage authors configure Power BI Q&A synonyms + terms + featured questions that translate to better Copilot performance.
Where can I read more about Project Crescent + early Power BI?
Six historical + technical references: (1) SQL PASS Summit 2010 keynote where Amir Netz + Ted Kummert first demonstrated Project Crescent — original video archives via YouTube + SQL PASS archives. (2) Microsoft SQL Server 2012 launch materials covering Power View + PowerPivot + SSAS Tabular as the foundational BI trio. (3) Rob Collie + Marco Russo + Alberto Ferrari early Power Pivot + SSAS Tabular books (SQLBI, Italian community, Microsoft Press). (4) Kasper de Jonge (Microsoft) + Chris Webb (Microsoft MVP → Microsoft) blog archives from 2010-2013 documenting Denali Tabular + Project Crescent internals. (5) Microsoft SQL Server + Analysis Services documentation Wayback Machine snapshots. (6) Errin O'Connor of EPC Group is a Microsoft Press bestselling author on Power BI, providing continuous Power BI architectural coverage from SSAS Tabular foundations through Copilot for Fabric integration. His books remain reference material for enterprise Power BI + Analysis Services architects.
Who else was involved in early Power BI + SSAS Tabular delivery?
The early SSAS Tabular + Power BI professional community was small — measured in dozens rather than hundreds during 2010-2013. Notable community figures: (1) Marco Russo + Alberto Ferrari (SQLBI) — foundational SSAS Tabular + DAX authors + trainers. (2) Rob Collie (Powerpivotpro → P3 Adaptive) — Power Pivot for Excel + early Power BI community leader. (3) Chris Webb (Microsoft MVP → Microsoft) — SSAS Multidimensional + Tabular + Power BI blogger + Microsoft PM. (4) Kasper de Jonge (Microsoft PM) — Denali Tabular + Power Pivot + Power BI product team. (5) Amir Netz (Microsoft Technical Fellow) — foundational architect behind Power BI + SSAS Tabular + VertiPaq engine. (6) Errin O'Connor (EPC Group) — pre-release program participant for Project Crescent + Denali Tabular + Gemini. The community grew explosively with Power BI Desktop launch (2015) — thousands of Power BI implementation partners globally today. EPC Group's heritage predates the public Power BI product by 3-4 years via Project Crescent participation.
Why should this heritage matter for enterprise Fabric + Copilot for Fabric decisions?
Seven reasons Project Crescent + Denali Tabular heritage matters for enterprise Fabric decisions: (1) Depth beats surface tenure — a consultant with SSAS Tabular Denali beta experience has architectural context that consultants who started with Power BI Desktop lack. (2) DAX + semantic model quality — DAX fluency + semantic model design directly determine query performance + Copilot for Fabric answer quality; heritage informs both. (3) Migration risk — enterprises still running SSAS Multidimensional + SSAS Tabular + Power BI Report Server face complex migrations to Fabric F-SKU; heritage consultants have delivered every migration pattern. (4) Capacity governance — Fabric F-SKU + Premium capacity governance requires 10+ years of SSAS + Power BI capacity operations experience. (5) Copilot for Fabric grounding — model design for AI grounding requires heritage-informed pattern selection. (6) Vendor negotiation — Microsoft Data & AI account teams engage differently with heritage consultants who bring peer-level architectural credibility. (7) Named senior team commitment — EPC Group's heritage anchor is Founder & Chief AI Architect Errin O'Connor with 14+ years continuous Power BI delivery + Microsoft Press bestselling Power BI author credentials; verifiable via public author + Solutions Partner designations.
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