Top Fabric Announcements that Shape Microsoft’s 2025 Roadmap

• Fabric plans announced at Ignite in Nov. 2024 show Microsoft’s intention to expand Fabric for non-analytic workloads.
• Database mirroring options that reduce integration efforts and a bevy of new development capabilities take center stage.
• FedRAMP certification allows some government customers to access Fabric, but also starts the clock on a forced migration for high-end Power BI deployments.
• The churn of new features is not slowing, so customers should approach Fabric cautiously and budget for rework.

Fabric announcements at Microsoft’s Ignite conference in Nov. 2024 included a long list of new features and capabilities that provide a clearer roadmap for Fabric in 2025 and beyond. Microsoft is expanding the scope of Fabric and allowing customers to use the service for different kinds of workloads and applications, going beyond the original focus on analytics. Key updates will simplify how data is brought into Fabric and introduce professional developer capabilities that improve governance and collaboration. However, Microsoft’s wide-ranging plans and monthly releases highlight that Fabric is still under development and a predictable release schedule is not available, so customers should carefully choose the components they use for production. (See the illustration “Fabric Feature Plan Levels for 2025.”)