Microsoft Fabric (Enterprise AI Data Fabric)

Microsoft Fabric is an all-in-one analytics solution for enterprises that covers everything from data movement to data science, Real-Time Analytics, and business intelligence. As of 2026, it serves as the foundational 'Enterprise Fabric AI' layer, integrating OneLake as a single source of truth for organizational data. Its technical architecture is built on an open, lake-centric foundation, utilizing Delta Lake and Parquet as native formats to eliminate data silos. The platform's AI core is powered by Copilot and the 'AI Skill' capability, which allows developers to create low-code, domain-specific GenAI applications that interact directly with enterprise data via natural language. Fabric bridges the gap between raw data engineering and consumer-facing AI agents by providing a unified environment where data governance, security (Purview), and compute capacity are managed under a single 'F-SKU' billing model. By 2026, Fabric has moved beyond simple ETL, becoming the primary orchestration engine for autonomous AI agents that require real-time access to massive, distributed datasets with zero-copy data sharing (Shortcuts).