• Estera Kot

Building performance engineering culture: scaling optimization practices in Spark Data Engineering

Beyond basic configuration tuning lies systematic Spark performance engineering. This session reveals the diagnostic methods, profiling techniques, and optimization strategies that achieve measurable performance improvements in Microsoft Fabric's Spark runtime. You'll learn the specific technical methods we use to identify bottlenecks, re-architect data processing patterns, and implement performance monitoring that prevents regression across production Fabric workloads.

I will talk about performance diagnosis methods: Spark UI deep analysis: identifying shuffle spill, task skew, and executor inefficiencies; custom metrics implementation for Fabric Spark job profiling; memory pressure analysis using off-heap monitoring techniques

I will showcase optimization implementation transforming a poorly performing Fabric notebook with measurable results. You will learn about Native Execution Engine, Velox, Gluten, partitioning strategies for Fabric Delta Lake and 8 more specific methods to make the jobs running faster!

Target Audience
Data engineers, Spark developers, and platform engineers responsible for production Fabric workloads. Assumes intermediate Spark knowledge and focuses on systematic performance engineering methods beyond basic tuning.

• Hugo Kornelis

Performance and execution plan improvements in SQL Server 2025

SQL Server 2025 was announced in November 2024, went in public preview in May 2025, and will probably be released at the time of this conference. Join execution plan expert Hugo Kornelis as he takes an in-depth look at some of the new features that affect query performance and execution plans.

• Juliana Smith

Accidental Data Lies: How Poor Visual Choices Can Mislead

Welcome to the world of accidental data lies, where innocent-looking charts quietly twist the truth. And in today’s world, where ethical data visualisation is a hot (and important) topic, it's something we all need to watch out for.

We’ll uncover the most common (and sneaky!) ways charts mislead, from pie chart pandemonium to axis trickery, colour chaos, and the dreaded “average of averages.” Expect real-world examples of chart crimes, a few laughs at visual disasters, and sharper instincts for spotting deception.

But it’s not just about dodgy design, this session also dives into the ethics of visual storytelling. We’ll explore how the ‘framing effect’ and ‘sampling bias’ can quietly distort meaning, and how to design with integrity so visuals inform rather than mislead.

From spreadsheet wizards to Power BI spellcasters, this session will help you create visuals that don’t just dazzle, they tell the truth and earn trust.

• Reitse Eskens

Loadtesting Fabric II, the sequel

Have you tried to find the most effective way to ingest and process your data?
Were you just as confused as I was after reading all the marketing materials?
Would you like to gain more insight into maximising your capacity?

These are questions I've had. And ones I regularly try to help customers with.

In this session, I'll help you learn the differences between Lakehouse, SQLDB, and Warehouse performance, processing speed and cost. I'll also demonstrate how the Realtime stack can serve as a viable alternative for ingestion and processing flat files in terms of speed, scalability and ease of use.
After this session, you'll walk away with real-life insights from Fabric and knowledge of which buttons not to press.

If you've attended the previous instalment of this session, you'll know I won't do my testing with AdventureWorks. It will be a lot of (messy) data to give Fabric a run for its capacity units!

Slides

The sequel.pdf

• Olivier Van Steenlandt

Database Deployment Automation using Database Projects & Azure DevOps

You have implemented Database Projects and Azure DevOps for database development successfully in your organization and you want to make your life easier by automating your database deployments? If the answer is yes, this session is for you!

At the beginning of this session, we will do a quick recap of Database Projects and Azure DevOps. Just to make sure that we are all on the same page.

During the session, we will set up an example build and deploy pipeline. Since there are a couple of ways to deploy changes from Azure DevOps to your target database, We will discuss a couple of scenarios and I will show you which method I'm using.

- 1 Pipeline to rule them all
- multi-step deployment

During this session, we will also cover the deployment pipeline differences between SQL Server and AzureSQL.

At the end of this session, you should have all you need to start with database deployment automation.

Slides

Database Deployment Automation Using Database Projects and Azure DevOps.pdf

• Tomaž Kaštrun

Azure AI Foundry - your go-to AI tool

Azure AI Foundry brings  multiple services that enable developers to build amazing AI-powered solutions in a single unified experience for AI development on the Azure cloud platform.

For a single project you can now use Foundry for multiple tasks in the same environment and enables you better collaboration and faster development. These services are - just to name a few - deploying models from the catalog for real-time inference, deploying and testing generative AI models in Azure OpenAI service, using prompt flow to define workflows that integrate models, prompts, and custom processing, and many safety features, to fine-tuning and  several different SDK for language of your choice.

Session will give you a walk-through of Azure Foundry with AI Services and dive into  AI scenarios that could be enhanced by using AI tools.

• Benni De Jagere

Fabric Capacities, beyond the obvious

You’re familiar with Fabric Capacities and how some of the core concepts like Bursting, Smoothing, and Throttling are different from what you’ve seen in other products and solutions? Great! Yet with the knowledge of these concepts, things sometimes still spiral out of control? Uh Oh ..

While the core concepts of Fabric Capacities bring a lot of benefits, they do pose some risks that need to be kept in check when figuring out the appropriate Capacity Planning and Management Strategy for your environment. During this session, we’ll walk through some of the key strategies that we’ve seen out there in the wild with some of the largest and complex customers using Power BI and Microsoft Fabric.

Making sure your plan is solid is an excellent first step, but after that execution is key. What are some of the best practices out there to stay on top of your capacity health and usage, and how do you respond when push comes to shove?

Pausing or scaling the capacities, or moving things around are great, but it requires a bit of thought to get it right. Or maybe it's even worth looking into options to offload the consumption of certain workload types elsewhere?

Walking out of this session you’ll have picked up a few new things on Capacity Management and Monitoring strategies, making you feel more confident to put it out to the masses in your organization. Go forth, and Fabricate!

NOTE: This session is intended as a deep-dive, and has an assumption that you understand the core concepts of bursting, smoothing, and throttling in Fabric Capacities.

Slides

Fabric Capacities - Beyond the obvious.pdf

• Erwin de Kreuk

From Manual to Automated: Master Metadata-Driven Design in Fabric

Efficient data management is essential for modern organizations, and automation is key to scalability. In this session, you'll learn how to build a robust metadata-driven framework using Microsoft Fabric SQL Database and Data Factory.

We’ll dive into the use of control tables, automation strategies, data integrity checks, and auditing mechanisms to streamline pipeline development and reduce repetitive tasks. Through a live demo, you'll gain hands-on experience configuring the Fabric Metadata-Driven Framework(FMD), along with best practices and performance optimization tips. Whether you're tired of rebuilding the same pipelines or looking to boost efficiency, this session will equip you with the tools and insights to transform your data engineering workflows.

Slides

From Manual to Automated Master Metadata_Driven Design in Fabric_ErwindeKreuk.pdf

• Daniel Patkos

Power BI Meets GitHub: Automating CI/CD Workflows and Collaboration

Ever struggled with version control in Power BI?
How do you test new features, track changes, or roll back updates while maintaining stability?

With Power BI Project files (PBIP), the TMDL format, and GitHub integration, developers now have access to structured version control, collaborative workflows, and CI/CD automation.

In this session, I’ll share real-world insights from a five-member BI team, covering the benefits, challenges, and limitations of this evolving workflow. We’ll explore how GitHub integration streamlines version control, testing, and deployment.

Beyond version control, I’ll also demonstrate how GitHub Actions can automate code reviews, enforce best practices using the Best Practice Analyzer, and auto-format code, ensuring consistency across projects.

To wrap up, I’ll showcase these solutions in action with a live demo.

Who should attend? Power BI developers, BI team leads, and data professionals at an intermediate to advanced level looking to optimize workflows and adopt best practices in collaborative development.

Slides

Power BI Meets GitHub - Daniel Patkos - Data Community Day Austria 2026.pdf

• Ben Weissman (he/him)

REST APIs, AI and Vectors in SQL Server 2025

Vector search is at the core of modern AI applications, powering recommendation engines, semantic search, and image recognition. Traditionally, implementing vector-based queries required adding a dedicated vector database, introducing complexity and additional infrastructure. But with SQL Server 2025, you can now store, query, and optimize vector embeddings natively - all within your existing environment, running entirely on-premises.

Why does this matter? For organizations needing full control over their data, SQL Server 2025 enables AI-powered search without relying on external cloud services or third-party databases.

In this demo-driven session, we'll start with how REST APIs are integrated into SQL Server 2025 as they are not only a cool feature on their own but also a prequisite to integrate AI into your workloads. We’ll keep going by looking at what vectors are, why they’re essential for AI applications, and how SQL Server 2025 simplifies vector search. You'll learn how to store and query vector embeddings efficiently, explore real-world scenarios like AI-powered recommendations and intelligent search, and discover best practices for indexing and optimizing performance. Of course, we’ll also take a look on what you’ll need to get going right away in your own environment!

If you're looking for a way to integrate AI-powered search within your on-premises SQL Server - without external infrastructure - this is a session you won’t want to miss!

Slides

REST_APIs_AI_and_Vectors.pdf

• Marc Lelijveld

Exploring Fabric Semantic Link for Power BI folks!

If you're coming from a Power BI world, the whole Fabric thing might scare you a bit. Then suddenly, there is something called Semantic Link, which allows connections from Fabric Notebooks to read both data and meta data from your Power BI Semantic Model (dataset).

You might wonder, what's all this? How does it work and how to take benefit from it? Especially when you're not familiar yet with notebooks at all.

In this session we will explore what Semantic Link is, how you as Power BI developer/engineer can make use of it and how it will strengthen your solutions in the end. Together, we will explore various aspects like:
- Warming up your data in direct lake datasets
- Querying Dynamic Management Views,
- Reading Semantic Model meta data to generate documentation
- Extend or even forecast your data using Semantic Link

By the end of this session, you will not only grasp the basics of Semantic Link but also gain practical insights into its application so you can bring it to practice directly!

Slides

20260123_Exploring Semantic Link for Power BI Folks - Marc Lelijveld.pdf

• Zita Pelok

Designing Reports People Actually Use: A Persona-Driven Approach in Power BI

Many dashboards look polished but fail to drive action because they aren’t built for the people making decisions.

This session explores how applying personas to Power BI development can transform adoption and trust. You’ll see how to create evidence-based persona cards, match Row-Level Security to audience expectations, and design visuals that meet each role where they are. Using a real HR reporting scenario, we’ll walk through mapping personas to metrics, permissions, and dashboards, showing how this reduces confusion while increasing impact.

By the end, you’ll leave with a ready-to-use framework for persona cards, a checklist to validate your designs, and practical steps to boost adoption in your next reporting project.

👉 Who is it for?
BI developers, and data visualization professionals who want to increase adoption of their Power BI reports by aligning design with real decision-making needs.

🚫 What we won’t cover:
This session is not a DAX masterclass or a technical security deep dive. Instead, it focuses on the design process of translateing user differences into practical report structures, visuals, and entitlements.

• Uwe Ricken

Partitioning in Microsoft SQL Server: A Beginner's Guide

Partitioning is a powerful feature in Microsoft SQL Server, designed to enhance manageability, and scalability of large datasets. This introductory session aims to demystify the concept of partitioning and provide beginners with a solid foundation to effectively leverage this feature in their database environments.

Participants will learn about the basic principles of partitioning and when to use each. The session will cover step-by-step instructions on how to create partitioned tables and indexes, along with practical tips for managing and maintaining partitions.

We'll also explore the performance benefits of partitioning, such as improved data loading, and efficient data archiving. Real-world examples and best practices will be shared to help attendees avoid common pitfalls and optimize their partitioning strategy.

Slides

SQL Server - Partioning - EN.pptx

• Christian Henrik Reich

Empowering Lakehouse Solutions with Apache Arrow and Python Notebooks in Microsoft Fabric

When Microsoft Fabric was released, it introduced Apache Spark as its default engine for general data processing. While Spark is powerful for big data scenarios, it’s not always the best solution for many small and medium-sized workloads, due to both costs and performance loss from administrative overhead.

Since then, Microsoft has introduced a non-Spark compute option: Python Notebooks. This makes it easier than ever to build solutions using Python alongside technologies like Apache Arrow, DuckDB, and Polars.

In this session, we’ll dive into how Python workloads leverage Apache Arrow under the hood in Microsoft Fabric to handle data transformations and analytics.

We’ll explore practical examples where Python with Apache Arrow outperforms Spark, and demonstrate how Apache Arrow bridges the gap between high speed and flexible development. Finally, we’ll examine how Apache Arrow fits into a metadata-driven Lakehouse architecture in Microsoft Fabric.

We will cover:

* The difference between Python Notebooks and a Single Node Spark.
* When to use Python Notebooks and when to use Spark Notebooks.
* Where to use Python Notebooks in a meta-driven Lakehouse
* A brief introduction to tooling and moving workload between Python Notebooks and Spark Notebooks.
* How to avoid overload the Lakehouse tech stack with python technologies, with an introduction to Apache Arrow
* Costs

After this session, attendees will have an understanding of how to apply Python Notebooks, as
well as Spark Notebooks, to get the most out of Fabric for data processing.

Slides

Vienna.zip

• Tillmann Eitelberg
• Oliver Engels

From Broken Data to Trusted Data Products

Trusted data products don’t happen by accident. They require clear rules, visible quality signals, and consistency across systems and pipelines.
In this session, we show how organizations move from fragmented, hard-coded data checks to a structured and scalable data quality approach. Using HEDDA.IO, we demonstrate how data quality rules are defined once and reused across the entire data platform.

You’ll see how rulebooks help standardize data quality expectations, how validations can be executed automatically at different stages of the data lifecycle, and how results are exposed as transparent, measurable quality indicators instead of hidden logs or failed jobs. We also show how data quality integrates seamlessly into existing data platforms without slowing down delivery.

This session focuses on how data quality becomes an operational capability that increases trust, improves speed, and enables reliable data products at scale.

Slides

HEDDA.IO - From Broken Data to Trusted Data Products.pdf

• Filip Popović

From Fast to Blazing: Unlocking Peak Performance in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse

Let's explore the latest performance enhancements under the hood, giving you a sneak peek into the magic that makes it all run seamlessly.

We will also cover the most recent performance features at your disposal and walk through practical query optimization techniques, showing you how to: analyze query plans, leverage statistics effectively, and implement best practices in query coding.

Whether you're just getting started with performance tuning or you're a seasoned expert hunting for the next edge, this session will arm you with the insights, tools, and techniques to unlock the full potential of your Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse.

• Geir Alstad
• Vitalija Bartusevičiūtė

From Batch to Stream: Unlocking Databricks for All Your Analytics Needs

This session will demonstrate how to leverage Databricks capabilities— including Lakeflow Jobs, Lakeflow Declarative Pipelines, Dashboards, and Databricks SQL—to meet modern data platform requirements. We will cover governance of data engineering workflows through DataOps practices, such as CI/CD integration and data quality monitoring.

Participants will learn how batch and streaming workflows extend the medallion architecture, with practical examples highlighting trade-offs and real-world considerations. The session will showcase how Databricks serves as a unified platform for data and analytics, enabling organizations to address complex challenges with efficiency and scale.

Designed for data engineers, analysts, and decision-makers, this talk provides actionable insights and field-tested practices to help teams maximize Databricks’ capabilities and deliver measurable business value.

Slides

From Batch to Stream Analytics .pdf

• Ynte Jan Kuindersma

Supercharge Power BI with the Power BI REST API

Power BI is known for its intuitive drag-and-drop interface—but under the hood lies a powerful, often underutilized engine: the Power BI REST API. This session is for developers, analysts, and automation architects ready to go beyond the UI and unlock the full potential of Power BI through code and low-code automation.
We’ll explore how to use Python and Power Automate to interact directly with the REST API, enabling:
- Advanced automation of report and dataset management
- Real-time data updates to streaming dashboards
- Seamless integration with external systems and workflows

What You’ll Learn:

- How to use Python to clone reports, refresh datasets, and push data to streaming dashboards
- How to build Power Automate flows that start/stop capacities, trigger alerts, and interact with semantic models
- How to combine both tools for powerful hybrid solutions

Real-World Use Cases:
- Real-time monitoring: Python summarizes SQL Server data every minute and updates a streaming dataset
- Automated incident response: Power BI triggers a flow that alerts Teams, creates a Jira ticket, and logs to SharePoint
- Sales performance alerts: A drop in sales triggers CRM updates and manager notifications

Whether you're coding in Python or building flows in Power Automate, this session will show you how to elevate your Power BI solutions with automation.

Slides

Supercharge Power BI with the Power BI REST_Data_Community_2026_Austria.zip

• Theresa Hirz
• Cornelia Volaucnik

AI behind the Scenes: Use Cases from Idea to Implementation

We present practical AI use cases on Microsoft Azure, covering the journey from the initial idea through key challenges to architecture and technical implementation using Azure services.

• Damir Matešić

JSON in the world of MSSQL

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a language-independent, widely adopted, open standard format used for data exchange between applications and services. Microsoft SQL Server introduced JSON support in SQL Server 2016, with further enhancements added in SQL Server 2022. Now, with the release of SQL Server 2025, are we finally at the point where JSON receives the full support it deserves? SQL 2025 brings long-awaited features such as a native JSON data type, JSON indexing, and other critical improvements that fill the gaps and help complete the story. In this session, we'll explore the evolution and current state of JSON support in MS SQL Server—accompanied by numerous practical examples demonstrating its usage and capabilities.

Slides

JSON in the world of MSSQL.pdf

• Vivek Trivedi

Govern or Be Governed: Making Power BI Reports Secure, Compliant, and Trusted

In today’s data-driven organizations, trust, compliance, and visibility are just as important as analytics. Without a strong governance framework, Power BI dashboards risk becoming siloed, untrusted, and non-compliant. This session explores how Microsoft’s Data Platform and Purview enable enterprises to establish end-to-end data governance—from raw data in Azure, through semantic models, to final reports in Power BI.

Attendees will learn how to:

1. Classify, catalog, and protect sensitive data with Microsoft Purview.

2. Apply data lineage and impact analysis to ensure transparency in BI reporting.

3. Enforce row-level and object-level security in Power BI.

4. Integrate compliance, auditing, and policy enforcement into the data lifecycle.

5. Balance self-service BI freedom with central governance controls.

We’ll also share real-world governance scenarios and a demo of Purview + Power BI integration, showing how organizations can achieve both agility and control in their analytics ecosystem.

Key Takeaways:

1. A practical blueprint for establishing governance in Microsoft’s Data Platform.

2. Hands-on techniques to make Power BI trusted, secure, and compliant.

3. How to empower business users with self-service analytics while keeping IT in control.

Slides

DataSaturdays-Vienna.pdf

• Gabi Münster

OneLake Security for the Power BI Developer

OneLake Security is the new centralized policy engine in Microsoft Fabric that promises creation and maintenance of Data Security policies in a single place while being respected by all workloads.
How does this look like from a Power BI Developer perspective? What do I need to change? Can all my previous scenarios still be implemented? How do I migrate from my previous Power BI specific roles to OneLake Security? How are challenges like combinations of Row and Object Level security solved? And how much will Security impact my performance?

Join us for a demo driven session that is meant to answer all those questions.

Slides

OneLake security for the Power BI Developer - Vienna.pdf

• Anastasia Salari

Power BI developer life, reimagined with Fabric

If you’re a Power BI developer, you’ve probably wondered: what does Fabric really mean for my work? Is it just another tool, or does it actually change how we build, collaborate, and deliver projects? You’re not alone! I had the same questions not so long ago.

In this session, we’ll explore what the “ report / BI developer life” looks like in a Fabric world: from practical improvements that make daily tasks easier to bigger shifts that redefine our role. I’ll share how OneLake, CI/CD, Data Activator, Notebooks, Data Agents, and Copilot became part of my workflow, and how they can help you create better solutions too.

You’ll leave with a clear view of how Fabric fits into Power BI development, what skills and mindsets are worth adopting, and how to get real value without losing sight of what makes Power BI powerful in the first place!

Slides

Anastasia SALARI_PBI Developer life_Fabric.pdf

• Florian Stein

Back to the Data: Microsoft Fabric’s Role in the Future of Manufacturing

This session dives into the transformative potential of Microsoft Fabric in manufacturing, exploring how it can drive efficiency, improve data visibility, and enhance real-time decision making. We'll cover the key benefits that Fabric brings to manufacturing, discuss its limitations, and highlight real-world examples from the manufacturing industry that demonstrate its impact. Attendees will gain a balanced view of what Microsoft Fabric can and can't do in a manufacturing context, and leave with practical insights to consider for their own operations.

Slides

202601_Back_to_the_Data.pdf

• Alexander Klein

Databricks Medaillon Architektur in 10 Minuten

Die Databricks Medaillon-Architektur ist ein skalierbares Rahmenwerk zur Organisation und Verarbeitung von Daten in einem modernen Data Lakehouse. Sie nutzt eine mehrschichtige Struktur mit drei Hauptebenen – Bronze, Silber und Gold – um Rohdaten systematisch in verwertbare Geschäftseinblicke zu transformieren.

Slides

Alexander Klein DE - Databricks Medaillen Architektur in 10 Minuten.pdf

• Estera Kot

Fabric Data Engineering on Steroids: AI-Powered Development with MCP + Claude

Transform your Microsoft Fabric data engineering workflow from manual coding to AI-assisted automation. This lightning session demonstrates a production-ready development environment that combines VS Code, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Claude AI, Git integration, and DevOps automation to accelerate Fabric pipeline development by 10x.
See a complete end-to-end demo: from natural language requirements to deployed Fabric pipelines, with AI generating optimized Spark code, managing Git workflows, and automating DevOps processes.

Target Audience
Data engineers and platform developers who want to accelerate Fabric development cycles using AI automation. Basic familiarity with VS Code, Git, and Fabric assumed.

• Brian Bønk

Know the game you are in - and you will not win

Have you ever thought about what game you are in when doing business?

The business you are doing every single day - data, integration, performance or what ever your field of expertise and interest is.

In this session I’ll tell you a story of two different games and two different outcomes - games we all play every single day. And with the right mindset and approach to those games, you’ll learn that you don’t have to win. Either in your business, personally or any other way.

Wether you are a consultant, employed internally or the manager of a team - with the approach to your every day work, you’ll learn to tackle the different, and perhaps sometimes stressful, situations.

From this session you’ll:
- learn to spot the current game you are in
- get tools to play the game right
- return home with a new approach to your everyday life in data

Slides

Know the game you are in, and you will not win - Brian Bønk.pdf

• Karianne Kies

Metadata Scanner API: Unlock Metdadata possibilities

Discover how the scanning APIs can unlock hidden metadata and learn how to use it to uncover dependencies, strengthen governance and gain full visibility into your Power Bi landscape.

Slides

DC_Vienna_Metadata_scanning_eng.pptx

• Paula García Esteban

Design Systems for Power BI: Transforming Dashboard Development

In this session, we will explore how design principles can transform data products and maximize their impact. We will begin by reviewing the core principles of User Experience (UX) and how they can be applied to report design, with a focus on best practices in data visualization that make insights clearer, more actionable, and easier to consume.

We will then introduce the concept of a design system, explaining what it is and why it is a powerful asset for data product development. Beyond the theory, we will show a live demo and walk through practical steps on how to prepare and adopt a design system within an organization, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and scalability across analytics projects.

Finally, we will look at how to integrate the design process into the typical development cycle of analytics projects in Power BI. This will cover collaboration strategies between designers and developers, aligning workflows, and embedding design principles from the earliest stages of a project.

By the end of the session, participants will not only understand the importance of design in analytics but will also have concrete tools and strategies to start applying UX principles, adopt design systems, and build reports and dashboards that are intuitive, consistent, and impactful.

Slides

Transforming dashboard development - Paula García Esteban.pdf

• Erland Sommarskog

Deadlocks – Analysing, Preventing and Mitigating

Deadlocks happen in the best of families, and an occasional deadlock is nothing to be alarmed of. But too many deadlocks can hamper throughput or be irritating for the users who encounter them, and in this case you need to investigate the deadlocks to see how you can reduce the pain.

I start this session with discussing how you can get information about deadlocks. Next, I will go through the XML report for a deadlock and highlight things you should pay attention to. I the second half of the session, I will discuss various devices you can apply to prevent deadlocks. I will also discuss possible mitigations for deadlocks that are too difficult to prevent entirely.

The topic of deadlocks is a complex one, so don’t expect to learn everything, but the hope is that this session will open your eyes for things to look out for, next time you have to analyse a deadlock.

This is a level 300/400 session for developers and DBAs who need to perform troubleshooting in production systems.

Slides

Deadlocks (DataSat 78).zip

• Abhi Jayanty

Unlock the Power of Real-Time Intelligence in Fabric With KQL

Real-time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric empowers data professionals and business users to seamlessly process and analyze highly granular, event-driven data. At its core lies the Kusto engine and the Kusto Query Language (KQL), delivering powerful capabilities for real-time data analysis. This session explores how you can leverage KQL to build efficient, event-driven solutions in Fabric with real-world examples.

In this session, we will discuss:

- The role of Kusto in Real-Time Intelligence and Fabric, including its integration across the Real-Time Hub, Eventstream, Real-Time Dashboard, and Activator Fabric items.

- Key features of KQL that make it a game-changer for analysis of data in motion, including syntax, built-in functions, and operators, demonstrated through live queries on sample real-time data.

- How you can use Kusto and Real-Time Intelligence to monitor and govern your Fabric estate by cataloging workspace item, capacity utilization, and OneLake events in the Real-Time Hub.

Come along if you are a developer, data engineer, or analyst seeking practical examples and best practices for crafting KQL queries to drive real-time data analysis and actions. You will leave this session equipped with the skills to unlock the full potential of real-time data in Fabric.

• Pragati Jain

Who’s In, Who’s Out? Controlling Access in Microsoft Fabric

As organisations rely on Microsoft Fabric to unify their data, analytics, and business intelligence workflows; managing access effectively becomes more critical than ever.
This session explores the ins and outs of permissions in Microsoft Fabric, helping you understand how to protect sensitive information while enabling collaboration and productivity.
This session will break down the core concepts of Fabric’s permission model, including workspace roles, item-level security and data access governance.
Learn how to implement best practices for assigning roles, managing external access, and auditing user permissions across your Microsoft Fabric environment.

Whether you’re an administrator, data engineer, or business leader, you’ll walk away with practical knowledge to confidently answer: Who has access to what, and why?
Packed with live demos, this session will equip you to build a secure, scalable, and well-governed Microsoft Fabric environment from the ground up.

• Jasmin Simader

You Get What You Measure – Data Health Dashboard mit Power BI

Poor data is expensive. It leads to faulty forecasts, consumes resources, and undermines trust in BI systems. Yet data quality often remains invisible. In this session, I show how to build a Data Health Dashboard in Power BI that makes data quality measurable and manageable.

We start with the key dimensions of data quality: completeness, accuracy, consistency, timeliness, and uniqueness, and work through how to translate them into a data model. I then explain how DAX measures can be used to implement targeted checks for individual columns, how User Defined Functions (UDFs) can be applied, and how all results can be consolidated into a single overall table.

In addition, we look at best practices for visualizations that highlight critical issues at a glance, including drill-down capabilities to detailed levels.

By the end of the session, you will have a clear understanding of how to not only monitor data quality, but actively improve it. This is a crucial step toward effective data governance and AI readiness.

Target Audience
BI analysts, data engineers, Power BI developers, data governance teams

- Key Takeaways
- Which data quality dimensions are critical for BI
- How to use DAX measures and UDFs for data quality checks
- Visualization and modeling approaches for a holistic Data Health Dashboard

• Traci Sewell

When the firehose causes the Burnout

Burnout is complex, and as it is unique to every person, it can be difficult to define and identify. Let me help you with that.
Over the past few years burnout has become commonly mentioned in conversations about work life balance, about work from home, about hybrid working, about returning to the office.
As is often the case when a newer issue becomes a commonly used buzzword, it's true definition and potential causes have become watered down. Even the description of the recognized symptoms, prevention and treatments has become diluted. The realities of dealing with burnout, both in the workplace and in our personal lives, have been lost in the smoke.
In this session we will be reminded of what burnout actually looks like, how it is correctly defined, and how we can avoid some of the triggers.
I will share my professional experiences with a variety of different symptoms and issues and introduce you to some of the approaches that I encourage people to use.
You will leave this session having added tools to your toolbox that are relatively straightforward, hopefully memorable, and generic enough that they will apply to the majority of us.

• Marjolein Opsteegh

10 Pro Tips to Take Your Power BI Reports to the Next Level

Even experienced Power BI developers lose time redesigning reports, adjusting visuals, or trying to improve user experience, often without a structured approach.

In this fast-paced, demo-driven session, I’ll share 10 practical, time-saving techniques to take your Power BI dashboards to the next level. These tips are grouped into three key focus areas:

✔️ Designing intuitive layouts
✔️ Creating and applying consistent themes and templates
✔️ Using dynamic formatting with DAX to make your reports respond to context

You’ll see:

💡 How to reduce cognitive overload and guide users with smart layout decisions

💡 How to set up and validate JSON themes, and reuse Figma-based layout templates

💡 How to apply dynamic formatting with fx buttons and simple DAX to titles, colors, and visuals

💡 How to standardize your process and save time across projects

This session is based on lessons learned from real-world client work, end-user feedback, and dozens of dashboard design iterations. Everything is presented directly in Power BI, no slides, just live demos, practical examples, and a downloadable PDF with key takeaways.

Whether you build dashboards for internal teams or external clients, you’ll walk away with inspiration and actionable techniques to deliver better reports, faster.

Slides

10 Pro tips Vienna.pdf

• Katharina Covadonga Clören

Data Storytelling - a new hope for your data

In many organizations, data communication feels like the desert planet Tatooine from Star Wars: dry, confusing, and often deserted. Reports go unread, presentations fail to engage, and insights remain buried in endless lists of facts. Whether it’s in dashboards, slide decks, or client conversations – too often we inform, but we don’t connect. 
 
This 60-minute session offers a new hope: the force of Data Storytelling. We’ll explore how to harness storytelling principles to make your data communication more impactful – not just in theory, but in practice. You’ll learn how to build compelling stories with data by focusing on stakeholder needs, designing clear report flows, and guiding attention with thoughtful structure. 
 
You don’t need to be a born storyteller – it’s a skill you can learn, practice, and sharpen. Whether you’re presenting to leadership, building reports for end users, or explaining KPIs to clients – storytelling helps you transform data into decisions. 
 
By the end of this session, you will: 
* Understand why storytelling improves comprehension, attention, and retention 
* Discover how to tailor stories for different stakeholder types and goals 
* Gain inspiration for embedding storytelling elements in Power BI reports 
* Know when storytelling is essential – and when a clean, focused report is enough 

This session gives you the tools to wield the storytelling lightsaber. May the data be with you! 

Slides

Data Community Day - Data Storytelling - Export.pdf

• Bas Land

Dashboard are Dead, Talk to your Data!

I have spent the better part of my career designing, refining, and maintaining dashboards in Power BI to help my clients answer business questions. Until now.

In this session, we will break free from predefined visuals and fixed dashboards. It is time to talk to your data!

Over the past years, everybody has been exposed to AI LLMs such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
What if I told you that you could chat with your data, just like you can chat with your AI?

With Fabric Data Agents, you can! You get a chat interface that understands the context of your data. You can ask questions in natural language (no need to learn SQL or DAX!) and get answers, fast.

In this session we will start by explaining some of the basics behind the Fabric Data Agents.
Then we'll jump into the prerequisites in order to start using the Data Agents.

After all the boring stuff is done I will take you into a live demo of setting up the Agent, tuning it to get accurate responses, and will show how we can chat with our own data to generate insights and drive decision making.

You'll walk away from this session understanding the following:
- Why this shift from dashboards to chatting matters for you and your organisation
- How Fabric Data Agents actually work "under the hood"
- How to build, configure, and use your first Fabric Data Agent

If you are involved in building modern data platforms, please consider Data Agents as an amazing tool to help users find insights faster!

Slides

Dashboards are Dead.pdf

• Grant Fritchey

Using Query Store to Understand and Control Query Performance

Understanding which queries are causing the most difficulty in your systems can be a challenge. Then, fixing those problematic queries is yet another challenge. The Query Store, running in SQL Server and Azure SQL Database, can help you identify problematic queries, and it can help you fix their performance. This session will show you the various data points that Query Store collects that will help you identify the queries that are behaving badly. In addition, this session will show you the different mechanisms within Query Store that can help you fix poorly performing queries. We'll cover Query Store functionality from SQL Server 2016 through to the new stuff in SQL Server 2022. Along the way we'll cover various settings that help you control how Query Store behaves. Query Store is something you can put to work immediately in your own environments that will help you improve performance right away.

Slides

QueryStore.pdf

• Ana Voicu

When Good Isn't Good Enough: How Statistics Reveal the Real Story in Data

Dashboards are great at showing what is happening, but they often hide the real story behind the numbers. A simple sales or inventory report may suggest an upward trend, only for reality to prove that the data was misleading. In this session, we’ll expose the traps of relying on averages, totals, and basic charts that can lead to poor business decisions.

Using Power BI (with a touch of R/Python where needed), we'll walk through a real example of how a standard report misleads, and then progressively apply statistical techniques like moving averages, seasonality analysis, anomaly detection, correlation, and change point detection to uncover insights that were invisible at first glance.

You’ll leave with practical methods you can apply immediately to make your dashboards smarter, your analysis deeper, and your decisions more reliable.

• Gianluca Sartori

Questioning My SQL Server Faith… So You Don’t Have To

SQL Server is facing fierce competition from open-source databases like PostgreSQL, and even long-time advocates, including former MVPs and SQL Server celebrities, are recommending alternatives. Even I, under this mounting pressure, find myself questioning my long-established SQL Server faith. So if you’re starting a new project, is SQL Server still the right choice?

In this session, we’ll explore the features that set SQL Server apart, from performance and scalability to its top-notch tooling. We’ll compare these strengths against what open-source platforms have to offer, so you’ll walk away with the insights you need to confidently choose SQL Server for your next application.