What is a Unified Analytics Platform?
Unified Analytics Platform Sections
A unified analytics platform consolidates all your data workloads—engineering, warehousing, science, real-time analytics, and business intelligence—into a single, integrated environment. No more data silos, redundant copies, or fragmented governance.
Microsoft Fabric delivers this vision as a SaaS platform built on OneLake, a unified logical data lake trusted by over 230,000 organizations worldwide, including 95% of the Fortune 500.
Fabric Workloads on OneLake
Data Engineering
Build data pipelines with Spark notebooks and Data Factory
Data Warehousing
T-SQL analytics with serverless and provisioned compute
Data Science
ML experiments with MLflow integration and model management
Real-Time Analytics
Stream processing with KQL and event-driven insights
Business Intelligence
Power BI semantic models with DirectLake mode
Data Activator
Automated actions triggered by data conditions
2026 Platform Capabilities
Microsoft Fabric has evolved rapidly since launch. Here are the key capabilities we implement for enterprise unified analytics platforms.
OneLake Foundation
Single logical data lake built on Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. All Fabric workloads operate over OneLake with automatic Delta Parquet storage.
- Unified storage layer
- Delta Parquet format
- ADLS Gen2 foundation
- Automatic data organization
Lakehouse Architecture
Combine the best of data lakes and data warehouses. Build medallion or data mesh architectures with full SQL and Spark support.
- Bronze/Silver/Gold layers
- Data mesh support
- SQL + Spark access
- Schema enforcement
Zero-ETL Integration
Connect data sources without complex ETL pipelines. Mirroring for PostgreSQL, Cosmos DB, SQL Server 2016-2025 now generally available.
- Database mirroring
- Shortcut references
- No data duplication
- Real-time sync
Unified Security Model
OneLake security provides role-based access control with granular folder-level permissions across all Fabric compute engines.
- RBAC at folder level
- ReadWrite permissions
- Consistent across engines
- Audit trails
AI-Powered Transformations
Convert unstructured text into Delta tables using AI-powered summarization, sentiment analysis, and PII detection—no pipelines required.
- Text summarization
- Sentiment analysis
- PII detection
- Automatic structuring
Multi-Format Support
OneLake now supports automatic virtualization of Delta Lake tables as Iceberg format for cross-platform compatibility.
- Delta Lake native
- Iceberg virtualization
- Parquet optimization
- Cross-platform access
Migration & Modernization Paths
Microsoft has made it easier than ever to migrate to a unified analytics platform. We help you choose the right path for your existing investments.
Azure Synapse Dedicated SQL Pools
Migration Assistant for Fabric Data Warehouse now GA. Guided experience for modernizing analytical workloads.
On-Premises SQL Server
Mirroring support for SQL Server 2016-2022 and 2025 enables zero-ETL integration.
PostgreSQL Databases
Native mirroring brings PostgreSQL data into OneLake without ETL pipelines.
Cosmos DB
Real-time mirroring of Cosmos DB into unified analytics platform.
Legacy Data Warehouses
Schema and data migration with automated transformation mapping.
Why Choose EPC Group Over Large Consultancies?
While Accenture and Avanade have 4,000+ Fabric-certified professionals and massive training programs, EPC Group delivers practical, compliance-first implementations with senior architects.
Practical Implementation Focus
While large consultancies like Avanade have 10,000+ Fabric-trained employees, we focus on hands-on implementation with senior architects who have delivered 600+ enterprise projects.
Compliance-First Architecture
Every unified analytics platform we design incorporates HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2, or FedRAMP requirements from day one—not as an afterthought.
Power BI Integration Expertise
With 29 years of Microsoft BI experience, we optimize DirectLake mode, semantic models, and governance that large consultancies often overlook.
Right-Sized Engagement
Unlike Accenture's enterprise-only focus, we serve organizations of all sizes with fixed-price implementations and transparent timelines.
Industry-Specific Use Cases
Every unified analytics platform we design is tailored to your industry's compliance requirements and business needs.
HIPAA-Compliant Patient Analytics
Unify clinical, operational, and financial data with built-in PHI protection, consent management, and audit trails.
Real-Time Risk Analytics
Consolidate trading, risk, and compliance data with sub-second latency and SOC 2 certified security.
Shop Floor Intelligence
IoT sensor data, quality metrics, and supply chain analytics unified with AI-powered anomaly detection.
Customer 360 Platform
POS, e-commerce, loyalty, and inventory data unified for real-time personalization and demand forecasting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Microsoft Fabric and how does it differ from Azure Synapse?
Microsoft Fabric is a unified SaaS analytics platform that consolidates data engineering, warehousing, science, real-time analytics, and Power BI into one environment built on OneLake. Unlike Azure Synapse, which requires managing multiple separate services, Fabric provides a single, integrated experience with shared governance, security, and compute capacity.
What is OneLake and why is it important?
OneLake is the unified logical data lake that underpins Microsoft Fabric. It provides a single storage layer built on Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 where all Fabric workloads store data in Delta Parquet format. This eliminates data silos, reduces redundant copies, and ensures consistent governance across all analytics workloads.
What is the difference between DirectLake and DirectQuery in Fabric?
DirectLake reads data directly from Delta Parquet files in OneLake without importing it into Power BI, providing near-import performance with real-time data freshness. DirectQuery sends queries to the source at report time, which can be slower but always shows live data. DirectLake is the recommended mode for Fabric as it combines the best of both approaches.
How is Microsoft Fabric licensed and what does it cost?
Fabric uses capacity-based licensing measured in Capacity Units (CUs). Organizations purchase F-SKUs (F2, F4, F8, F16, F32, F64, etc.) with pricing starting around $260/month for F2. Power BI Pro or PPU licenses are still needed for content sharing. A free Fabric trial is available for evaluation.
Can we migrate our existing data warehouse to Microsoft Fabric?
Yes. Microsoft provides the Migration Assistant for Fabric Data Warehouse (now GA) for Azure Synapse dedicated SQL pools. For on-premises SQL Server (2016-2025), database mirroring enables zero-ETL integration. EPC Group has migrated 600+ enterprise analytics environments and can plan your migration path.
How does Fabric handle data security and compliance?
Fabric provides unified security through OneLake role-based access control with folder-level permissions, sensitivity labels via Microsoft Purview, and audit trails. It supports HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, and FedRAMP compliance requirements. Security policies apply consistently across all compute engines (T-SQL, Spark, Analysis Services).
Ready to Unify Your Analytics Platform?
Let's discuss how Microsoft Fabric and OneLake can consolidate your data workloads into a single, governed, AI-ready platform.
Unified Analytics Platform Consulting
A unified analytics platform consolidates data engineering, data warehousing, data science, and business intelligence into one integrated environment. Microsoft Fabric is the leading unified analytics platform in 2026, built on OneLake and trusted by 95% of the Fortune 500. EPC Group designs and deploys Microsoft Fabric platforms for enterprise organizations.
Key facts
- Microsoft Fabric is a unified SaaS analytics platform built on OneLake — a single logical data lake for the entire organization.
- Microsoft Fabric is used by over 230,000 organizations including 95% of the Fortune 500.
- EPC Group has completed 500+ Microsoft Fabric projects and 1,500+ Power BI deployments over 29 years.
- EPC Group holds core Microsoft Solutions Partner designations including Data & AI.
- Microsoft Fabric unified analytics platform: $75,000–$300,000 for full implementation.
- Direct Lake mode eliminates Power BI import refresh cycles — delivering near-Import-mode speed from OneLake Parquet files.
What Is a Unified Analytics Platform?
Traditional enterprise analytics runs on disconnected tools — separate data warehouses, BI platforms, data science notebooks, and ETL pipelines. This creates silos, data duplication, and inconsistent metrics.
A unified analytics platform replaces those silos with one integrated environment. Data moves once. Every team works from the same source of truth.
- Data engineering — Ingest, transform, and orchestrate data pipelines in one place.
- Data warehousing — Query structured business data at scale with SQL-compatible interfaces.
- Data science — Build, train, and deploy ML models on the same data used for BI.
- Business intelligence — Power BI reports and dashboards served directly from OneLake.
- Real-time analytics — Stream processing and event-driven analytics without moving data.
Microsoft Fabric — The Platform
Microsoft Fabric is the unified analytics platform for Microsoft-stack organizations. It replaces Azure Synapse, Power BI Premium, and Azure Data Factory with one integrated service.
- OneLake — Single logical data lake. All workloads read from and write to one location.
- Data Factory in Fabric — 150+ connectors for data ingestion and transformation pipelines.
- Synapse Data Engineering — Apache Spark for large-scale data transformation.
- Synapse Data Warehouse — SQL endpoint on OneLake. T-SQL compatible.
- Real-Time Intelligence — Azure Data Explorer-powered event streaming and time-series analytics.
- Data Science — MLflow-based model training and deployment on OneLake data.
- Power BI — Reporting and dashboards with Direct Lake mode on OneLake.
EPC Group Microsoft Fabric Implementation
EPC Group follows a five-phase Fabric implementation methodology. Each phase delivers working outputs — not just documentation.
- Assessment (2–4 weeks) — Inventory existing data sources, tools, and BI reports. Define migration priority.
- Architecture (2–4 weeks) — Design OneLake structure, medallion layers (Bronze/Silver/Gold), workspace governance.
- Pilot (4–6 weeks) — Migrate one data domain. Validate performance, security, and governance.
- Full migration (8–16 weeks) — Move remaining data sources, pipelines, and Power BI reports to Fabric.
- Govern and optimize (ongoing) — Capacity management, cost optimization, adoption tracking.
Medallion Architecture in Microsoft Fabric
The medallion architecture organizes OneLake storage into three quality layers. It is the standard data architecture pattern for Microsoft Fabric in 2026.
- Bronze layer — Raw data in native format. Preserved for auditability and reprocessing. No transformations.
- Silver layer — Cleaned, validated, and enriched data. Standardized schemas. Business logic applied.
- Gold layer — Business-ready aggregated data. Optimized for Power BI Direct Lake mode and self-service analytics.
Pricing
Microsoft Fabric pricing is capacity-based. EPC Group publishes implementation ranges.
- Microsoft Fabric F2 capacity: $263/month.
- Microsoft Fabric F64 capacity: $5,257/month (enterprise sweet spot).
- EPC Group Fabric assessment: $25,000–$50,000 (2–4 weeks).
- EPC Group Fabric implementation (mid-market): $75,000–$150,000.
- EPC Group Fabric implementation (enterprise): $150,000–$300,000.
- Managed Fabric services: $5,000–$15,000/month.
Frequently asked questions
What is a unified analytics platform?
A unified analytics platform consolidates data engineering, warehousing, data science, and business intelligence into one integrated environment. It eliminates data silos and ensures every team works from the same data source.
What is Microsoft Fabric?
Microsoft Fabric is a SaaS unified analytics platform built on OneLake. It combines Data Factory, Synapse, Power BI, and Real-Time Intelligence in one platform. Over 230,000 organizations use it, including 95% of the Fortune 500.
What is OneLake?
OneLake is Microsoft Fabric's unified logical data lake. It provides a single storage location for all Fabric workloads — no data movement required between engineering, science, warehousing, and BI layers.
How much does Microsoft Fabric cost?
Fabric capacity starts at $263/month (F2) for small workloads. Enterprise deployments use F64 at $5,257/month or higher. EPC Group implementation services range from $75,000 to $300,000 depending on data source complexity and migration scope.
Does EPC Group implement Microsoft Fabric?
Yes. EPC Group has completed 500+ Microsoft Fabric projects. We design OneLake architecture, implement medallion layers, migrate Power BI to Direct Lake mode, and configure Fabric governance for HIPAA, SOC 2, and FedRAMP environments.
Schedule a Fabric consultation
Talk to an EPC Group Microsoft Fabric architect about your unified analytics platform design, migration from Azure Synapse, or Power BI Direct Lake migration. Call (888) 381-9725 or request a 30-minute discovery call.