Microsoft Build in Seattle is starting and analysts are noting that Microsoft is pushing users to switch from its popular BI system to new solutions. The company introduced its Fabric analysis platform last year and added data doubling functions later on. In February, Microsoft provided clarity to users of its Power BI analytics tools regarding the future.
An announcement was made by Ancy Philip, a Power BI program manager, in a blog entry that the AutoML models for V1 dataflows would be retired by March. By April, it was confirmed that all AutoML models for Dataflows V1 were obsolete. Users were encouraged to migrate to the Synapse Data Science-based AutoML solution on Microsoft Fabric, which is now available in preview. Andrew Snodgrass, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, warned that this is just the beginning and more services could be phased out in the near future. Migrating to replacement services in Fabric was described as non-trivial.
Furthermore, Snodgrass had previously warned about Microsoft aligning Power BI licenses with Fabric. He believes more Power BI features could be at risk of retirement, especially if they can be replaced by Fabric features. Products like Power BI Datamarts, Streaming Data, Data Compliance, and Desktop Developer mode are among those at risk.
Microsoft Fabric aims to address all aspects of an organization’s analytics needs, offering a virtualized data lake called OneLake and various workloads including Data Factory, Synapse Data Engineering, Synapse Data Science, Synapse Data Warehousing, Synapse Real Time Analytics, Power BI, and Data Activator. Snodgrass mentioned that replacing Power BI with Fabric is a reasonable long-term goal, but customers should not delay migration.
In conclusion, Microsoft’s push towards Fabric and the retirement of Power BI features is a significant shift for users. Migrating to new solutions on Fabric is essential, and users should start planning for the transition sooner rather than later. Ultimately, having a Power BI-only environment may not be a viable option in the long run.
Overall, the move towards Fabric is part of Microsoft’s strategy to streamline and enhance its analytics offerings, but it also presents challenges for existing Power BI users. Customers are advised to stay informed about the changes and proactively prepare for the shift to the new platform.
Through these changes, Microsoft is aiming to provide a more comprehensive and integrated analytics solution for its users, leveraging the capabilities of Fabric to meet evolving data analysis needs in the digital age.
Article Source
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/21/microsoft_power_bi_users_warned/