Accelerating knowledge and AI on Azure
This week hundreds of information professionals are gathering in Atlanta for Microsoft Material Group Convention (FabCon) 2026 — co-located with SQLCon for the primary time — bringing collectively the Microsoft knowledge and SQL communities to discover the way forward for analytics, BI and AI on Azure.
For Azure Databricks, FabCon highlights the continued momentum of our partnership with Microsoft and the way prospects are utilizing Azure Databricks to unify knowledge engineering, analytics, BI and AI.
Since 2017, Azure Databricks has been a first-party Azure service, deeply built-in with Microsoft providers together with Energy BI, Excel, Microsoft Groups, Information Manufacturing facility, Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Foundry, Copilot Studio, and Energy Platform.
Enterprises throughout industries depend on Azure Databricks to construct fashionable knowledge platforms on open lakehouse structure by combining the pliability of open knowledge with the efficiency and scale required for analytics and AI.
At FabCon this week, we’re introducing a number of new capabilities designed to make it even simpler to construct clever functions on Azure.
Lakeflow Join Free Tier
Dependable knowledge ingestion is foundational to fashionable analytics and AI.
In the present day, we’re excited to introduce the Lakeflow Join Free Tier so organizations can simply convey their enterprise knowledge into their lakehouse to construct analytics and AI functions.
Lakeflow Join helps you to mirror knowledge from enterprise SaaS functions and databases straight into the lakehouse. Every workspace consists of 100 free DBUs per day, permitting you to ingest roughly 100 million data per workspace, per day into the lakehouse at no cost earlier than customary Lakeflow Join pricing applies. This free tier consists of all the advantages of Lakeflow Join, together with a easy UI, environment friendly ingestion, and unified governance by Unity Catalog.
Key capabilities embody:
- Database mirroring for 9 of essentially the most used databases (SQL Server, Oracle, Teradata, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake, Redshift, Synapse, and BigQuery)
- Full help for most of the hottest SaaS functions (together with Dynamics 365, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, and Google Analytics)
Lakeflow Join writes on to open storage on Azure Information Lake Storage (ADLS), ruled by Unity Catalog. Your ingested knowledge is safe, discoverable and accessible from any engine the second it lands.
Mixed with Lakeflow’s orchestration and transformation capabilities, Azure Databricks offers an entire platform for constructing manufacturing knowledge pipelines — enabling groups to construct pipelines as much as 25x quicker whereas lowering ETL prices by as much as 83%.
Study extra about how Lakeflow on Azure Databricks unifies ingestion, transformation, and orchestration on a single ruled platform.
Azure Databricks Lakebase: the database for AI brokers, now typically out there
Fashionable functions more and more require operational databases that combine seamlessly with analytics and AI. Within the period of AI brokers, that is much more crucial: brokers want a transactional system of file to handle state, actions, and software workflows.
Azure Databricks Lakebase, now typically out there, is a managed, serverless Postgres service that brings production-grade operational capabilities on to your lakehouse basis on Azure. Lakebase is the operational database for the agentic period that permits AI brokers and functions to learn, write, and purpose over operational knowledge straight within the lakehouse.
Lakebase combines acquainted Postgres with the scalability and economics of open lakehouse storage. As organizations undertake agentic workflows powered by instruments like Genie and Agent Bricks, Lakebase offers the operational database layer brokers depend on to handle state and software workflows. This basis additionally allows a brand new wave of agentic knowledge engineering and agentic knowledge science with instruments like Genie Code.
Key capabilities embody:
- Open Postgres basis with neighborhood extension help similar to pgvector and PostGIS
- Separated compute and storage enabling excessive throughput and environment friendly scaling
- Sub-second startup with autoscaling and scale-to-zero pricing
- Branching and instantaneous restore for growth workflows
- Excessive availability with automated failover throughout availability zones
With this launch, Lakebase is now out there in 14 Azure areas worldwide, enabling organizations to run operational workloads straight on the Databricks platform.
Frequent use circumstances embody:
- Operational functions and workflow programs
- AI agent state administration
- Buyer personalization and have serving
- Transactional analytics on operational knowledge
Extending Azure Databricks into Microsoft 365
Many enterprise selections nonetheless occur in acquainted instruments like Excel and Groups. A key focus of this week’s bulletins is extending Azure Databricks into Microsoft 365 so ruled knowledge and AI insights can be found the place customers already work.
This builds on beforehand introduced integrations between Azure Databricks and Microsoft 365, together with help for Genie-enabled Copilot Studio brokers — permitting staff to obtain trusted insights from Genie straight in Groups or M365 Copilot – in addition to upcoming initiatives similar to a Databricks app in Groups that permits direct entry to Genie.
Azure Databricks Excel Add-in (Public Preview)
The Azure Databricks Excel Add-in connects Excel on to ruled lakehouse knowledge.
Customers can:
- Browse Unity Catalog tables and Metric Views straight from Excel
- Construct pivot tables utilizing Metric Views and ruled semantic definitions
- Filter and analyze knowledge with out writing SQL
The add-in works throughout Excel for Home windows, macOS and the net, serving to organizations substitute fragile exports with direct entry to trusted lakehouse knowledge.
To study extra, overview the documentation.
Genie: AI that is aware of your small business
AI-powered analytics adoption on Azure Databricks has grown quickly, with 98% of Databricks SQL warehouse prospects utilizing AI/BI, and Genie month-to-month energetic customers growing >300% YoY.
On the heart of this expertise is Genie, which allows customers to ask questions on their knowledge and obtain solutions as tables, charts or natural-language explanations.
Genie is the conversational AI expertise for knowledge in Databricks, whereas Genie Code extends these capabilities to builders constructing pipelines, ML fashions, BI dashboards and functions.
Genie Agent Mode
For advanced analytical questions, Genie Agent mode introduces an agentic strategy to enterprise evaluation.
Agent mode makes use of multi-step reasoning and speculation testing to analyze advanced questions and uncover deeper insights from enterprise knowledge. As a substitute of returning a single question consequence, Genie can discover an issue iteratively and refine its strategy because it learns from intermediate outcomes. Genie Agent Mode allows customers to transcend fundamental “what occurred” questions, to grasp “why” and “what’s subsequent”.
With Genie Agent mode, customers can:
- Robotically generate and execute a analysis plan throughout a number of queries
- Take a look at hypotheses and refine evaluation primarily based on intermediate findings
- Mix structured knowledge exploration with narrative explanations and visualizations
- Ship complete solutions supported by tables, charts and proof
This transforms Genie from a easy conversational question interface into an AI analyst able to investigating advanced enterprise issues.
Genie Code
For knowledge practitioners, Genie Code allows agentic knowledge engineering, knowledge science, and analytics workflows straight within the Databricks workspace.
Genie Code is an AI agent constructed particularly for knowledge groups. It understands enterprise knowledge context by Unity Catalog, enabling it to purpose about datasets, lineage, governance insurance policies, and enterprise semantics whereas working straight inside notebooks, SQL editors, and Lakeflow pipelines.
Genie Code offers a unified agentic growth expertise for constructing and working knowledge pipelines, analytics and AI functions.
With Genie Code, groups can:
- Construct and prolong knowledge pipelines, dashboards, and ML workflows from pure language prompts
- Debug failures and examine anomalies throughout Lakeflow pipelines and fashions
- Generate notebooks, SQL queries, and visualizations grounded in enterprise knowledge context
- Automate routine operational work similar to pipeline monitoring and troubleshooting
By combining deep platform integration with multi-step reasoning, Genie Code permits knowledge groups to maneuver past assisted coding towards delegating advanced knowledge duties to an AI associate.
Genie in Databricks One
Databricks One now consists of a unified, multi-agent chat expertise powered by Genie, giving enterprise customers a easy strategy to ask questions throughout their whole knowledge property. Customers can seamlessly entry and mix insights from a number of Genie areas, with no need to know the place knowledge lives or which area to decide on. When a query goes past current Genie areas, Databricks One can have interaction further brokers to discover the information and generate new solutions. This enables customers to deal with each well-defined and on-the-fly questions in a single expertise.
Alongside chat, customers can search, discover AI/BI dashboards, and work together with Databricks Apps, all inside a streamlined interface designed to make knowledge and AI accessible to everybody.
Databricks One Cellular
Databricks One Cellular brings the brand new Genie multi-agent chat expertise to iOS and Android, enabling enterprise customers to securely entry and work together with their knowledge from anyplace.
With Databricks One Cellular, customers can ask Genie questions, discover AI/BI Dashboards, and entry Databricks Apps from their cellphone. It offers enterprise customers a easy strategy to analyze knowledge and make selections whereas on the go.
Why Azure Databricks is the perfect knowledge and AI platform on Azure
These bulletins construct on the core strengths that make Azure Databricks the platform of alternative for knowledge and AI on Azure.
Unified governance
Unity Catalog centralizes governance throughout tables, information, fashions, dashboards and AI belongings.
Deep Microsoft integrations
Azure Databricks integrates natively with Energy BI, Excel, Groups, Azure OpenAI and different Microsoft providers.
Lakehouse-native analytics
Databricks SQL delivers high-performance analytics straight on open lakehouse storage.
AI growth
Genie and Agent Bricks present a unified platform for constructing and deploying AI functions.
Decrease whole price of possession
Serverless compute, Lakebase scale-to-zero and simplified ingestion cut back infrastructure complexity and price.
See these improvements at FabCon
In the event you’re attending FabCon 2026 in Atlanta, cease by to see these improvements in motion. The Databricks staff shall be on-site all through the week demonstrating how organizations are constructing fashionable knowledge and AI functions with Azure Databricks. It’s also possible to be a part of our session Accelerating Information and AI with Azure Databricks (Thursday, March nineteenth, 8:00–9:00 AM, room C302) to see how these capabilities come collectively to speed up efficiency, simplify structure, and maximize worth on Azure.
- At FabCon, you may:
See dwell demos of Azure Databricks Lakebase, Lakeflow Join, Genie, AI/BI, and far more. - Join with Databricks SMEs to debate methods to unify knowledge engineering, BI and AI on Azure
- Find out how prospects are integrating Azure Databricks, Energy BI and Azure OpenAI
We’ll even be becoming a member of companions throughout the Microsoft ecosystem for neighborhood occasions in the course of the convention week. Be part of us and Slalom for a FabCon networking joyful hour on Wednesday 3/18 to attach with knowledge leaders and practitioners throughout the Microsoft and Databricks communities:
FabCon Completely happy Hour with Slalom → https://go.slalom.com/MSFT-FabCon26
And mark your calendar for Databricks Information + AI Summit, June 15–18, 2026 in San Francisco — the world’s largest convention devoted to knowledge, analytics and AI, that includes 25,000+ attendees, 800+ periods and hands-on coaching throughout the Databricks Platform.
The way forward for knowledge and AI on Azure is right here — and we’re simply getting began!