Microsoft expands Fabric and Azure Database capabilities for enterprise AI

At the FabCon and SQLCon Europe 2026 events in Barcelona, Microsoft unveiled strategic expansions for its data portfolio, positioning Microsoft Fabric as an integrated operational system for enterprise AI.

Key developments include the general availability of Fabric IQ within Microsoft 365 Copilot, which utilizes Power BI semantic models and ontologies to ground AI interactions without duplicating storage. Microsoft also introduced Project Osmos, an autonomous Spark Data Engineering Agent currently in preview, and launched Database Hub in public preview to provide a centralized management plane for SQL and NoSQL engines.

Technical guidance distinguishes between Azure Databases and Microsoft Fabric. Azure Databases are recommended for transactional, system-of-record workloads requiring independent scaling and mature operational features, such as Cosmos DB for low-latency, globally distributed applications. In contrast, Fabric is designed for scenarios where data must immediately integrate with analytics, AI, and Power BI through a unified platform like OneLake, reducing the need for complex ETL processes.