dataMinds News Round up –
June 2024

Author: Jason Himmelstein

In this comprehensive update penned by Jason Himmelstein, dive into the latest innovations and enhancements within Microsoft Fabric for May 2024. Jason delves into the exciting array of updates, previews, and improvements, including the ability to ask Copilot questions about data in your model, the general availability of Model Explorer and authoring calculation groups in Power BI Desktop, and the complete end-to-end Real-Time Intelligence solution for ingesting, processing, analyzing, visualizing, monitoring, and acting on events.

From insights on the Microsoft Build 2024 announcements to the updated Fabric Roadmap, this article promises to keep you informed and inspired. Don’t miss out on the chance to explore the dynamic world of Microsoft Fabric and discover the tools and resources to propel your analytics journey forward.

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Author: Rahul Raina

Rahul Raina announces exciting new features for Azure AI Language at Microsoft Build 2024. Key updates include a unified experience in Azure AI Studio, improved integration with prompt flow, and enhancements in prebuilt and custom features. Azure AI Language now offers advanced capabilities like Conversational PII redaction, enhanced address recognition, and Recap summary for conversations. Custom features in Conversational Language Understanding (CLU) include automated training data augmentation, granular entity recognition, and improved training configurations. These updates aim to streamline workflows, enhance data privacy, and empower developers to build sophisticated natural language solutions.

Author: James Serra

James Serra reports on key announcements from Microsoft Build 2024, focusing on new features in Microsoft Fabric. The standout is Real-Time Intelligence, a preview SaaS solution enabling real-time data processing and proactive business decisions with low-code/no-code and code-rich interfaces. Additional updates include the Fabric Workload Development Kit for app development, the Fabric Data Sharing feature for real-time data access, and new AI capabilities. Integration with Snowflake Apache Iceberg and Azure Databricks Unity Catalog further enhances data management and accessibility within Fabric.

Author: Pete Daderko

In this special edition of “What’s New in Microsoft Teams”, Pete Daderko highlights exciting features and improvements that were recently announced at Microsoft Build 2024. Learn more about features that can help developers be more productive and collaborate in Teams, enhancements to Azure Communication Services for more powerful embeddable communication experiences, and improvements for meeting recaps.

Author: Sam Cogan

Sam Cogan provides an in-depth overview of the new Entra ID extension for Bicep, which bridges a significant gap in infrastructure as code by allowing the creation of Entra ID resources directly within Bicep scripts. Traditionally, these resources had to be created using separate deployment scripts or pipeline tasks due to their reliance on the Graph API. In his article, Sam outlines how to leverage the Azure Graph Extension for Bicep to create applications, groups, and service principals, despite some current limitations and preview status constraints. By following Sam’s detailed instructions, including necessary prerequisites and configuration steps, readers can start integrating Entra ID resources into their Bicep deployments, streamlining their Azure infrastructure management.

Author: Kevin Chant

Kevin Chant reports his initial tests on Git integration for Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouses. After discovering the feature post-Data Point Prague, he found the Git status changed from “Unsupported” to “Uncommitted.”

Kevin committed changes in a Git-integrated workspace, stressing the need for clear and frequent commit messages. He explored the Azure DevOps repository, noting familiar Database Project metadata.

Testing updates, he cloned the repository, confirmed its functionality in Azure Data Studio, created a new table, and synchronized changes with Azure DevOps. Despite some issues with multiple workspaces, he found a workaround by reconnecting them.

Author: Jose Alejandro Dobla Gonzalez

In this detailed guide, Jose Alejandro Dobla Gonzalez explores the intricacies of optimizing ETL workflows using Azure’s powerful suite of tools. This article delves into the integration and authentication processes for Azure Batch and Azure Storage, crucial for efficient data movement, transformation, and processing.

Jose explains how to authenticate Azure Batch with System Assigned Managed Identity (SAMI) and Azure Storage with User Assigned Managed Identity (UAMI) through Synapse, ensuring secure and streamlined connectivity. He highlights the role of Synapse Pipeline as the primary orchestrator, seamlessly integrating various Azure resources.

From creating UAMI credentials to configuring linked services for Storage and Batch, this guide walks you through every step necessary to set up and execute a robust ETL pipeline. Learn how to add role-based access control (RBAC) roles, debug processes, and analyze logs to optimize your data workflows effectively. Dive into the full procedure and empower your ETL processes with these essential Azure services.

Author: Erin Stellato

In this comprehensive update penned by Erin Stellato, dive into the latest innovations and enhancements within SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) as SSMS 20 reaches General Availability (GA). Erin delves into the exciting array of updates, previews, and improvements, including important security changes and a breaking connection change, encouraging thoughtful migration to this new version.

From insights on the SSMS roadmap influenced by SQL Server and Azure SQL capabilities to user feedback opportunities at https://aka.ms/sqlfeedback, this article promises to keep you informed and inspired. Don’t miss out on the chance to explore the dynamic world of SSMS and discover the tools and resources to propel your database management journey forward.