Microsoft Fabric Consulting Services
Enterprise Fabric implementation, OneLake architecture, and managed analytics from a Microsoft Gold Partner with 29 years of data platform expertise.
Microsoft Fabric Consulting Services Enterprise 2026 — enterprise Microsoft consulting resource from EPC Group. We provide strategic guidance, implementation expertise, governance frameworks, and compliance-native delivery across the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Azure, AI Governance, Microsoft Copilot).
Key Facts
- 29 years of Microsoft enterprise consulting; 6,500+ SharePoint and 1,500+ Power BI deployments.
- Compliance-native delivery across HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, FINRA, CMMC, and GxP environments.
- Microsoft Solutions Partner with experience across core current designations.
- Senior architect named on every engagement Statement of Work.
- Engagement Operating Model: published seven-phase Microsoft project management methodology.
- Free initial consultation; fixed-fee scoped Statements of Work.
What Is Microsoft Fabric Consulting?
Featured Answer
What does a Microsoft Fabric consulting firm do? A Microsoft Fabric consulting firm helps businesses plan, implement, and optimize the Microsoft Fabric unified analytics platform. Their main services include:
- Planning and strategy development
- Implementation of the platform
- Optimization of analytics processes
- OneLake architecture design
- Data engineering pipeline development
- Data warehouse migration
- Real-time analytics configuration
- Power BI integration
- Microsoft Purview governance setup
- Copilot AI enablement
A qualified firm has extensive knowledge of the Microsoft ecosystem. They follow a proven process for enterprise migration and have expertise in compliance for regulated industries. This combination helps ensure that your Fabric deployment provides measurable business value on time and within budget.
Microsoft Fabric represents the most significant change in the Microsoft data platform since the launch of Azure Synapse Analytics. It combines several key components into one SaaS platform:
- Data engineering
- Data warehousing
- Real-time analytics
- Data science
- Power BI
- One storage layer (OneLake)
- One security model (Entra ID + Purview)
- One licensing model (capacity units)
Enterprises often use different analytics tools. These include Azure Data Lake storage, Synapse dedicated pools, standalone Spark clusters, and disconnected Power BI tenants. Fabric provides a unified, AI-powered analytics solution for these challenges.
The unified nature of Fabric makes expert consulting essential. A poorly designed Fabric deployment can lead to:
- Workspace sprawl
- Ungoverned data access
- Capacity bottlenecks
- Cost overruns
These issues can arise with any legacy platform. Organizations need Microsoft Fabric consulting services from experienced professionals. They require experts who understand the technology and the following:
- Enterprise governance
- Compliance
- Change management
These elements are essential for successful adoption.
EPC Group has provided Microsoft data platform consulting for over 29 years. We were a Microsoft Gold Partner from 2016 until the program ended. This made us the oldest partner in North America. Now, we are a Microsoft Solutions Partner.
As a bestselling Microsoft Press author and a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies, we have the expertise to:
- Architect Fabric deployments
- Implement solutions effectively
- Optimize deployments for scalability
Our approach is:
- Pragmatic
- Compliance-aware
- Relentlessly focused on business outcomes
25+
Years Microsoft Consulting
500+
Enterprise Data Migrations
Fortune 500
Client Portfolio
Why Enterprises Need Microsoft Fabric Consulting Expertise
Fabric is simple to activate. Microsoft lets you enable a trial capacity and start building lakehouses and warehouses in just minutes.
Despite this ease of use, there are challenges to implementing Fabric effectively at an enterprise scale. These include:
- Integration with existing systems
- Data governance and security
- Scalability and performance optimization
Organizations that rush into Fabric without expert guidance often face common issues found in self-service analytics platforms, including:
- Ungoverned data proliferation
- Inconsistent security policies
- Runaway capacity costs
- Poor user adoption
Governance from Day One
Without proper workspace architecture and Purview integration, Fabric can become another data swamp. Enterprise Fabric consulting ensures governance policies — workspace naming conventions, access controls, sensitivity labels, data lineage tracking — are established before the first dataset is created, not retrofitted after problems emerge.
Capacity Cost Optimization
Fabric capacity pricing is straightforward but costs can spiral quickly. An F64 capacity running 24/7 costs $49,000+ annually. Expert consultants configure capacity auto-scaling, workspace throttling policies, background vs interactive workload prioritization, and scheduled capacity pausing to reduce costs by 30-50% without impacting business users.
Migration Complexity Management
Migrating from Azure Synapse, on-premises SQL Server, Databricks, or other platforms to Fabric involves translating thousands of artifacts: SQL scripts, Spark notebooks, ETL pipelines, data models, security policies, and scheduled jobs. Each artifact requires compatibility analysis, translation, testing, and validation — a multi-month effort that demands experienced data platform architects.
Compliance Alignment
Regulated industries cannot simply turn on Fabric and hope for the best. HIPAA requires minimum necessary access controls and audit trails. SOC 2 demands documented data governance procedures. FedRAMP mandates continuous monitoring. Fabric consulting from firms like EPC Group configures these compliance controls as part of the initial deployment — not as an afterthought.
User Adoption & Change Management
The most technically perfect Fabric deployment fails if data engineers resist new notebooks, analysts struggle with semantic models, and executives do not see improved decision-making. Enterprise Fabric consulting includes structured change management: role-based training programs, self-service enablement paths, champion network development, and adoption metrics tracking.
Architecture That Scales
Production Fabric environments need proper workspace hierarchies, development-staging-production pipelines, CI/CD integration with Azure DevOps or GitHub, automated testing frameworks, and monitoring dashboards. Getting this right from the beginning avoids expensive rearchitecture projects 6-12 months after go-live.
EPC Group's Microsoft Fabric Implementation Methodology
We have enhanced our Fabric implementation methodology through numerous enterprise data platform deployments. Each phase includes:
- Clear deliverables
- Acceptance criteria
- Checkpoints
This structured approach ensures quality while maintaining speed.
We avoid a waterfall approach that slows down value delivery. Instead, each phase produces functional Fabric capabilities. Business users can validate these capabilities and give feedback.
Discovery & Assessment
- Current data platform inventory and dependency mapping
- Workload profiling: data volumes, query patterns, user counts
- Compliance requirements analysis (HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP)
- Fabric capacity sizing and licensing recommendation
- Migration risk assessment and rollback planning
- Executive roadmap with ROI projections
Architecture & Foundation
- OneLake workspace architecture and security configuration
- Entra ID integration, Conditional Access, and RBAC policies
- Microsoft Purview governance policies and sensitivity labels
- Data pipeline development (Data Factory + Spark notebooks)
- Fabric data warehouse schema design and initial load
- Development environment and CI/CD pipeline setup
Build & Integrate
- Power BI semantic models with DirectLake connectivity
- Real-time analytics configuration (Eventhouse + KQL)
- Data science workspace and ML model deployment
- Legacy system migration (Synapse, SSIS, Databricks artifacts)
- Cross-workspace data sharing and shortcut configuration
- Automated testing and data validation frameworks
Optimize & Operationalize
- Performance tuning and capacity optimization
- User training: data engineers, analysts, business users
- Copilot enablement and AI-powered analytics rollout
- Monitoring dashboards and alerting configuration
- Runbook documentation and operational handover
- Production cutover with parallel validation
Microsoft Fabric Components: What We Implement
Microsoft Fabric combines six key analytics workloads into a single platform. Each component has a distinct role in the enterprise data lifecycle. This process covers:
- Raw data ingestion
- Data processing
- Data storage
- Data integration
- Data analysis
- Visualizations for executives
EPC Group implements and optimizes all six components:
- Data ingestion
- Data preparation
- Data engineering
- Data warehousing
- Data science
- Data visualization
OneLake
The unified data lake for all Fabric workloads. OneLake provides a single copy of data in Delta/Parquet format with automatic Purview governance, shortcuts to external storage (ADLS, S3, GCS), and mirroring from operational databases. It eliminates data silos and duplicate storage that plague legacy architectures.
Data Engineering
Apache Spark-based notebooks and Data Factory pipelines for large-scale data transformation. Supports Python, Scala, SQL, and R. Dataflows Gen2 provides low-code ETL for citizen developers. Fabric manages all Spark infrastructure — no cluster provisioning, no node scaling, no Spark configuration tuning.
Data Warehouse
A fully managed, serverless SQL data warehouse with T-SQL compatibility. Supports cross-database queries, stored procedures, and standard SQL analytics tooling. DirectLake mode enables Power BI to query warehouse data at import-mode performance without data movement. Automatic table statistics and distribution optimization.
Data Science
Jupyter-compatible notebooks with MLflow experiment tracking, model registry, and automated ML. Train models on Fabric Spark compute with GPU support. Deploy models as Fabric endpoints for batch or real-time scoring. Native integration with Azure AI services for pre-built models and Copilot capabilities.
Real-Time Analytics
Eventhouse and KQL (Kusto Query Language) database for streaming data ingestion and analysis at massive scale. Ingest millions of events per second from IoT devices, application telemetry, and event hubs. Real-time dashboards in Power BI connected to Eventhouse deliver sub-second query performance on streaming data.
Power BI
Enterprise business intelligence natively integrated into Fabric. DirectLake mode queries OneLake data directly for best-of-both-worlds performance. Copilot generates DAX measures, suggests visualizations, and creates narrative summaries from natural language. Paginated reports, scorecards, and metrics layers for executive reporting.
The Fabric Advantage: Unified Architecture
The strength of Fabric lies in its seamless integration of components. Data created by a Spark notebook in Data Engineering is:
- Instantly available to the Data Warehouse via T-SQL.
- Queryable in Real-Time Analytics through KQL.
- Accessible for ML training in Data Science.
- Visualizable in Power BI through DirectLake.
This integration allows data to be used directly without copying, moving, or transforming it between systems. As a result, operational complexity decreases by 60-70% compared to using separate Azure services.
Migration from Legacy Data Platforms to Microsoft Fabric
Most enterprises are not starting from scratch. They are migrating existing analytics workloads to Fabric from older platforms. Each migration path presents unique challenges that need specialized expertise.
EPC Group has created proven migration playbooks for every major source platform. These playbooks have been refined through hundreds of enterprise engagements.
From Azure Synapse Analytics
The most common Fabric migration path. Dedicated SQL pools translate directly to Fabric Data Warehouse with T-SQL compatibility. Synapse Spark pools map to Fabric Data Engineering notebooks. Data Factory pipelines transfer with minimal modification. The primary challenge is rearchitecting storage from separate ADLS Gen2 accounts to OneLake workspaces and optimizing for DirectLake instead of Import or DirectQuery in Power BI.
From On-Premises SQL Server (SSIS/SSAS/SSRS)
Legacy SSIS packages are translated to Fabric Data Factory pipelines or Spark notebooks depending on complexity. SSAS tabular models become Fabric semantic models with Power BI. SSRS reports migrate to Power BI paginated reports. The biggest risk is SSIS packages with complex custom .NET components that require refactoring to Python/Spark equivalents.
From Databricks
Delta Lake tables in Databricks are compatible with Fabric OneLake (both use Delta/Parquet format). MLflow experiments and models can transfer to Fabric Data Science workspaces. The primary consideration is whether to fully migrate or run a hybrid architecture where Databricks handles advanced ML and Fabric handles BI and governance. See our detailed Fabric vs Databricks comparison for guidance.
From AWS Redshift / Google BigQuery / Snowflake
Cross-cloud migrations require schema translation (dialect differences), data transfer planning (network bandwidth and costs), and complete pipeline rebuilding. EPC Group uses automated schema comparison tools and parallel execution testing to ensure functional equivalence. OneLake shortcuts can maintain read access to cloud storage during transition periods.
Regardless of the source platform, every migration follows our proven methodology: automated artifact inventory, dependency mapping, compatibility analysis, parallel validation testing, phased cutover with rollback plans, and 90-day post-migration support. We guarantee zero data loss and maintain business continuity throughout the migration process. For organizations evaluating the Fabric vs Databricks decision, our detailed platform comparison provides an objective assessment across 14 enterprise categories.
Microsoft Fabric Pricing & Licensing Guide
Understanding Fabric licensing is essential for cost-effective deployment. Unlike the older Azure analytics services that had separate pricing, Fabric uses capacity-based pricing. This pricing includes:
- Charges for Synapse compute
- ADLS storage
- Power BI Premium
- Purview
This simplification offers a major benefit. However, it is important to size capacity correctly to prevent overspending or under-provisioning.
| Fabric SKU | Capacity Units | Reserved/Month | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| F2 | 2 CU | $262 | Development & testing |
| F4 | 4 CU | $525 | Small team pilots |
| F8 | 8 CU | $1,051 | Department-level analytics |
| F16 | 16 CU | $2,102 | Mid-size workloads |
| F32 | 32 CU | $4,204 | Multi-department analytics |
| F64 | 64 CU | $4,096 | Enterprise production (most common) |
| F128 | 128 CU | $8,192 | Large enterprise workloads |
| F256+ | 256+ CU | $16,384+ | Global enterprise / multi-region |
Cost Optimization Strategies
EPC Group helps enterprises reduce Fabric costs by 30-50% through proven optimization techniques:
- Capacity auto-pause during off-hours (save 40-60% on dev/test capacities)
- Workload separation: interactive queries on reserved capacity, batch jobs on PAYG burst capacity
- OneLake storage optimization: Delta table compaction, partition pruning, data lifecycle policies
- Semantic model optimization: DirectLake mode eliminates import refresh costs
- Multi-capacity architecture: production F64 + development F8 instead of single large capacity
Organizations with existing Power BI Premium capacities (P1 or higher) can enable Fabric on those capacities at no additional licensing cost — a significant advantage for the thousands of enterprises already running Power BI Premium. For a deeper understanding of how Fabric licensing integrates with broader Microsoft analytics investments, see our enterprise analytics solutions guide.
Microsoft Fabric Implementation Timeline
Every enterprise Fabric deployment is unique. However, the following timelines reflect our experience from hundreds of implementations. The main factors affecting these timelines include:
- Source platform complexity
- Data volume
- Compliance requirements
- Organizational readiness for change
Greenfield Fabric Deployment
New Fabric environment with no legacy migration. Includes OneLake architecture, initial data pipelines, warehouse, Power BI reports, and governance.
Power BI Premium to Fabric Upgrade
Enabling Fabric capabilities on existing Power BI Premium capacity. Minimal disruption — primarily workspace reorganization and DirectLake optimization.
Azure Synapse to Fabric Migration
Full migration of Synapse dedicated pools, Spark pools, and pipelines. Includes T-SQL compatibility testing, pipeline translation, and parallel validation.
Multi-Platform Consolidation
Consolidating multiple platforms (Synapse + SSIS + standalone Power BI + third-party ETL) into unified Fabric. Highest complexity, highest long-term ROI.
Cross-Cloud Migration (AWS/GCP to Fabric)
Migrating from Redshift, BigQuery, or Snowflake including schema translation, data transfer, and complete pipeline rebuilding for the Microsoft ecosystem.
EPC Group delivers Fabric implementations using an agile methodology with 2-week sprints, ensuring business stakeholders see working capabilities throughout the engagement — not just at the end. Our fixed-fee accelerator packages provide budget certainty for the most common Fabric deployment scenarios.
Microsoft Fabric Industry Use Cases
EPC Group specializes in deploying Microsoft Fabric for compliance-heavy industries where data governance, security, and audit trails are not optional — they are regulatory requirements.
HIPAA-Compliant Patient Analytics
Deploy Fabric with Purview sensitivity labels enforcing HIPAA minimum necessary controls. Real-time patient flow dashboards powered by Eventhouse ingesting HL7/FHIR data from EHR systems. Power BI row-level security ensuring clinicians see only their patient panels. De-identified research datasets in separate OneLake workspaces with automated PHI detection.
Learn moreReal-Time Risk & Regulatory Reporting
Fabric Eventhouse processing millions of market data events per second for real-time risk exposure calculations. Data warehouse storing historical trade data with T-SQL analytical queries for regulatory reporting (Basel III, Dodd-Frank). Purview audit trails satisfying SOC 2 data lineage requirements. Power BI executive dashboards with drill-through to individual position details.
Learn moreFedRAMP-Aligned Data Analytics
Fabric deployed on Azure Government cloud with FedRAMP High authorization. OneLake storing classified and controlled unclassified information (CUI) with Purview mandatory access controls. Data Factory pipelines integrating agency data sources with automated compliance validation. Power BI dashboards distributed to thousands of government analysts with Entra ID authentication.
Learn moreIoT & Supply Chain Analytics
Real-time analytics on millions of IoT sensor readings per minute through Fabric Eventhouse. Predictive maintenance models trained in Fabric Data Science workspaces and deployed as batch scoring pipelines. Supply chain optimization dashboards in Power BI with DirectLake connectivity to OneLake warehouse. Integration with Azure Digital Twins for factory floor visualization.
Learn moreMicrosoft Fabric Consulting FAQ
Answers to the most common questions enterprises ask when evaluating Microsoft Fabric consulting services.
What does a Microsoft Fabric consulting firm do?
A Microsoft Fabric consulting firm helps enterprises plan, implement, and optimize the Microsoft Fabric unified analytics platform. Services include OneLake architecture design, data engineering pipeline development, data warehouse migration, real-time analytics configuration, Power BI integration, Purview governance setup, and Copilot enablement. A qualified Fabric consulting firm like EPC Group brings deep Microsoft ecosystem expertise, enterprise migration experience, and industry-specific compliance knowledge (HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP) to ensure your Fabric deployment delivers measurable ROI within defined timelines.
How much does Microsoft Fabric consulting cost?
Microsoft Fabric consulting engagements typically range from $50,000 to $500,000+ depending on scope. A Fabric readiness assessment starts at $15,000-$25,000. Proof-of-concept implementations run $40,000-$75,000. Full enterprise Fabric deployments with data migration, governance setup, and training range from $150,000 to $500,000+. EPC Group offers fixed-fee accelerators for common Fabric workloads — including a 4-week Fabric Foundation engagement starting at $60,000 that covers OneLake architecture, initial data pipelines, warehouse configuration, and Power BI integration.
How long does a Microsoft Fabric implementation take?
A typical enterprise Microsoft Fabric implementation takes 8-16 weeks depending on complexity. Phase 1 (weeks 1-2) covers assessment and architecture design. Phase 2 (weeks 3-6) handles OneLake configuration, data pipeline development, and warehouse setup. Phase 3 (weeks 7-10) delivers Power BI reports, real-time analytics, and governance policies. Phase 4 (weeks 11-16) covers user training, migration from legacy platforms, and production hardening. Organizations migrating from complex legacy environments (multiple Synapse workspaces, on-premises SSIS packages, or Databricks workloads) should expect 16-24 weeks.
Should my organization migrate from Azure Synapse to Microsoft Fabric?
For most organizations, yes. Microsoft has explicitly positioned Fabric as the successor to Azure Synapse Analytics. Fabric offers a unified SaaS experience (no cluster management), OneLake storage (eliminating separate ADLS Gen2 configuration), native Power BI integration with DirectLake mode, and Copilot AI capabilities that Synapse will never receive. Microsoft continues to support Synapse but all new analytics innovation is happening in Fabric. EPC Group provides Synapse-to-Fabric migration assessments that map your existing Synapse artifacts (dedicated SQL pools, Spark pools, pipelines) to their Fabric equivalents with a detailed migration timeline and risk analysis.
What is OneLake and why does it matter for enterprise data?
OneLake is the built-in data lake for Microsoft Fabric — a single, unified storage layer that all Fabric workloads automatically share. Think of it as the OneDrive for data. OneLake eliminates data silos by providing one copy of data that data engineers, data scientists, analysts, and business users all access through their preferred Fabric experience. It supports Delta/Parquet formats natively, integrates with Microsoft Purview for automatic governance (classification, sensitivity labels, lineage), and enables shortcuts to reference external data sources (Azure Data Lake, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage) without copying data. For enterprises, OneLake means no duplicate data, unified governance, and dramatically simplified architecture.
How does Microsoft Fabric integrate with Power BI?
Power BI is natively embedded within Microsoft Fabric — it is not a separate product but a core Fabric experience. The most transformative integration is DirectLake mode, which allows Power BI to query OneLake data directly without importing it or using DirectQuery. This delivers import-mode performance with real-time data freshness. Fabric capacity includes Power BI Premium capabilities, Copilot for natural language report generation, and automated dataset refresh orchestrated through Fabric pipelines. Organizations already running Power BI Premium can activate Fabric on their existing capacity with zero migration effort.
Is Microsoft Fabric suitable for regulated industries (healthcare, finance, government)?
Yes. Microsoft Fabric inherits the enterprise compliance certifications of the Microsoft cloud platform — including HIPAA BAA, SOC 1/2/3, FedRAMP High, HITRUST, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001. Fabric data governance through Microsoft Purview enables automatic sensitivity labeling, data classification, access policies, and audit trails required by regulators. Row-level security (RLS) in both the Fabric data warehouse and Power BI ensures users only see authorized data. EPC Group specializes in deploying Fabric for regulated industries, configuring Purview policies that satisfy HIPAA minimum necessary requirements, SOC 2 access control criteria, and FedRAMP continuous monitoring mandates.
What is the difference between Microsoft Fabric and Databricks?
Microsoft Fabric is a unified SaaS analytics platform that combines data engineering, warehousing, real-time analytics, data science, and Power BI under one OneLake storage layer — fully managed by Microsoft with no infrastructure to operate. Databricks is a PaaS lakehouse platform built on Apache Spark with advanced ML capabilities (MLflow, Feature Store, Mosaic AI) and multi-cloud support (Azure, AWS, GCP). Fabric wins for Microsoft-centric organizations needing integrated governance and BI. Databricks wins for multi-cloud deployments and advanced ML engineering. For a detailed comparison, see our Microsoft Fabric vs Databricks Enterprise Comparison.
Can EPC Group help migrate from legacy data platforms to Microsoft Fabric?
Yes. EPC Group has completed 500+ enterprise data platform migrations over 29 years. We migrate organizations from Azure Synapse Analytics, on-premises SQL Server (SSIS/SSAS/SSRS), Databricks, AWS Redshift, Google BigQuery, Snowflake, and legacy ETL tools (Informatica, Talend, DataStage) to Microsoft Fabric. Our migration methodology includes automated artifact inventory, dependency mapping, T-SQL compatibility analysis, data pipeline translation, parallel validation testing, and phased cutover with rollback plans. We guarantee zero data loss and provide 90-day post-migration support.
What Microsoft Fabric licensing do I need?
Microsoft Fabric uses capacity-based licensing measured in Capacity Units (CUs). The entry-level Fabric capacity is F2 (trial/dev), but enterprise workloads require F64 or higher. F64 costs approximately $4,096/month with a reserved instance or $8,192/month pay-as-you-go. Fabric capacity includes Power BI Premium equivalent features, OneLake storage (included with compute), and all Fabric workloads (Data Engineering, Data Warehouse, Real-Time Analytics, Data Science). Organizations with existing Power BI Premium P1+ capacities can enable Fabric on those capacities at no additional cost. EPC Group provides licensing optimization to right-size your Fabric capacity based on actual workload patterns.
Related Resources
Microsoft Fabric Enterprise Guide
Comprehensive guide to Microsoft Fabric architecture, capabilities, and enterprise deployment strategies.
Read moreFabric vs Databricks Comparison
Head-to-head comparison across 14 enterprise categories: architecture, pricing, AI, governance, and more.
Read morePower BI Consulting Services
Enterprise Power BI dashboard development, governance frameworks, and managed analytics services.
Read moreEnterprise Analytics Solutions
Complete guide to building the enterprise analytics operating model on the Microsoft platform.
Read moreReady to Deploy Microsoft Fabric?
Schedule a free Fabric readiness assessment with EPC Group. We will assess your current data landscape and workload needs. Our evaluation will also cover compliance obligations and Microsoft licensing.
After our assessment, we will provide a customized Fabric implementation roadmap. This roadmap will include:
- Clear timelines
- Cost projections
Microsoft Fabric Consulting Services for Enterprise 2026
EPC Group offers specialized Microsoft Fabric consulting services. Our expertise includes:
- OneLake architecture
- Lakehouse design
- Synapse-to-Fabric migration
- Real-time analytics
- Power BI integration
- Purview governance
We have deployed Fabric for over 50 enterprise clients. This includes Fortune 500 companies in healthcare, financial services, and government.
As a former Microsoft Gold Partner (2016-2022) and current Solutions Partner, we offer expertise that generalist firms cannot match.
Key facts
- EPC Group: 50+ Microsoft Fabric enterprise deployments. 1,500+ Power BI deployments. 500+ Fabric projects since Fabric GA.
- Microsoft Solutions Partner with Data & AI designation — the credential that covers Microsoft Fabric.
- Former Microsoft Gold Partner (2016-2022), oldest in North America. Current: core Microsoft Solutions Partner designations.
- Enterprises on Microsoft 365 plus Power BI typically see 30–50% lower TCO consolidating onto Fabric vs. maintaining a separate analytics warehouse.
- Fabric F64 ($5,257/month) is the inflection point — unlocks Direct Lake mode and Power BI Premium capacity-equivalent features across the full Fabric workload set.
- Compliance-native delivery: HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, CMMC, ISO 42001 for AI governance.
What Microsoft Fabric consolidates
Fabric is the most significant data platform Microsoft has released in a decade. It replaces four separate Azure services with one unified platform.
- Before Fabric: Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 + Azure Synapse + standalone Spark clusters + disconnected Power BI tenants — four services, four billing relationships, four governance models.
- After Fabric: One platform, one storage layer (OneLake), one security model (Entra ID + Purview), one capacity license (F-SKUs).
The OneLake shortcut model is a key architectural innovation. Data written by a Spark notebook is instantly available to various services:
- Data Warehouse via T-SQL
- Real-Time Analytics via KQL
- Data Science for ML training
- Power BI through Direct Lake
This process occurs without the need to copy data between services.
Our Microsoft Fabric services
- Fabric Enablement Assessment — 2–4 week readiness assessment. Evaluates your current data estate. Produces a Fabric migration roadmap with quantified TCO comparison.
- OneLake Architecture Design — design your unified data lake: workspace layout, shortcut strategy, Delta Lake table design, and Purview governance model.
- Lakehouse and Warehouse Build — implement medallion architecture (Bronze/Silver/Gold), Delta Lake pipelines, and Fabric Warehouse T-SQL views for BI consumption.
- Synapse to Fabric Migration — migrate Azure Synapse dedicated pools, Spark workloads, and ADF pipelines to Fabric with minimal disruption.
- Power BI Premium to Fabric Migration — move Power BI Premium P-SKU capacity to Fabric F-SKUs for lower cost and access to all seven Fabric workloads.
- Real-Time Intelligence — implement KQL databases and Fabric event streams for real-time operational analytics (IoT, trading, telemetry, clickstream).
- AI-Ready Data Architecture — build the semantic layer, data quality controls, and governance model that grounds Copilot agents and Azure OpenAI models accurately.
- Capacity Optimization — right-size Fabric F-SKU allocation, implement workspace-level capacity assignment, and monitor utilization through the Fabric admin portal.
Fabric F-SKU pricing reference
- F2 — $262/month. Development and test workloads only.
- F4 — $524/month. Small workloads, limited Direct Lake support.
- F8–F32 — $1,048–$4,196/month. Growing analytics teams.
- F64 — $5,257/month. Inflection point: full Direct Lake mode, Power BI Premium equivalent, all seven Fabric workloads at enterprise scale.
- F128–F2048 — $10,514–$168,218/month. Enterprise and global analytics platforms.
- Reserved capacity (F64+) saves approximately 40% vs. pay-as-you-go pricing.
Fabric for regulated industries
- Healthcare (HIPAA) — PHI sensitivity labels on Lakehouse tables, Purview audit logging, row-level security, column-level encryption for regulated data.
- Financial services (SOC 2 / FINRA) — SOC 2 audit trail in OneLake, FINRA-compliant retention in Delta Lake, Information Barriers on Fabric workspaces.
- Government (FedRAMP) — Fabric in Azure Government Cloud for FedRAMP Moderate. GCC High for IL4/IL5 workloads. NIST 800-53 control mapping for Fabric-specific risks.
- AI Governance (ISO 42001) — data lineage tracking, sensitivity labels on AI training datasets, Purview data catalog for AI model governance.
Frequently asked questions
What is Microsoft Fabric?
Microsoft Fabric is a unified SaaS analytics platform. It combines several key features into one solution:
- Data engineering
- Data warehousing
- Real-time analytics
- Data science
- Power BI
- Data Factory
Microsoft Fabric integrates several key components for improved efficiency:
- A single storage layer called OneLake.
- A unified security model that combines Entra ID and Purview.
- One capacity license known as F-SKUs.
This platform replaces Azure Synapse, Azure Data Lake Storage, and disconnected Power BI tenants.
What is OneLake and why does it matter?
OneLake is Fabric's integrated unified data lake. It uses a shortcut model that enables a single Parquet file to support multiple functions:
- Spark (Lakehouse)
- T-SQL (Warehouse)
- KQL (Real-Time Intelligence)
- Python (Data Science)
- Power BI (Direct Lake)
This is achieved without the need to copy data.
This eliminates the data duplication and consistency problems that fragmented analytics stacks create.
What is the right Fabric F-SKU for my organization?
F2–F32 is ideal for development, testing, and small analytics teams. The F64 plan, priced at $5,257 per month, represents the enterprise inflection point.
This plan offers:
- Direct Lake mode
- Features similar to Power BI Premium
- Support for all seven Fabric workloads at scale
F128 and above for large enterprises with thousands of concurrent users and petabyte-scale data. EPC Group runs F-SKU sizing as part of the Fabric Enablement Assessment.
How long does a Fabric migration from Azure Synapse take?
The Fabric Enablement Assessment lasts between 2 and 4 weeks. For a mid-size data estate, the Synapse-to-Fabric migration takes 8 to 16 weeks. This typically involves:
- Data size: 1–10 TB
- Number of Synapse pipelines: 5–10
A large enterprise migration involves over 50 TB of data and more than 50 pipelines. This process usually takes 4 to 6 months. EPC Group uses a phased migration approach. During this time, Fabric and Synapse run in parallel until validation is complete.
Does Microsoft Fabric replace Power BI?
No — Power BI is one of Fabric's seven workloads. Fabric extends what Power BI does by adding the upstream data engineering, warehousing, and real-time analytics layers.
Direct Lake mode is exclusive to Fabric. It greatly speeds up Power BI queries on large datasets. This mode reads directly from OneLake Parquet files, eliminating the need to import data.
Power BI Premium capacity users should consider migrating to Fabric F-SKUs. This migration provides access to all seven workloads at an equivalent or lower cost.
Start with a Fabric assessment
EPC Group offers a 2–4 week Fabric Enablement Assessment. This assessment creates a migration roadmap and a total cost of ownership (TCO) comparison for your data estate.
To learn more, call (888) 381-9725 or schedule a discovery call.