Microsoft Fabric is the unified analytics platform that replaces the need for separate data lake, data warehouse, ETL tool, and BI infrastructure. OneLake provides a single storage layer (like OneDrive for data). Data Factory handles pipeline orchestration. Lakehouse combines data lake flexibility with warehouse structure using Delta tables. Warehouse provides familiar T-SQL for analysts. Notebooks enable PySpark and Python for data science. Power BI Direct Lake eliminates import refresh for real-time dashboards.
Enterprise Fabric requires: OneLake architecture (workspace design, shortcut strategy, lakehouse vs warehouse decisions), capacity planning (F64 vs F128 SKU selection, burst capacity management), governance (Purview integration, domains, endorsement, sensitivity labels), and migration strategy (Synapse, ADF, ADLS to Fabric with parallel run validation).