When Aleksi Rytkönen, Pasi Era, Olli Hanhimäki and Riku Ojanen (in the picture, from left to right) sat in the hall of the Vienna Conference Center on a September morning, the first day of FabCon25, the atmosphere was electric. Over 4,000 attendees from around the world had arrived at the event, sharing an expectant excitement. Soon, they would get palpably close to the current developments in data processing.
Microsoft Fabric has revolutionized the way data is managed, processed, and utilized. To offer our specialists the opportunity to develop alongside the technology, and to enable our customers to have future solutions today, we must be where the development is happening. That is why Pinja's data specialists traveled to Vienna in September for Europe's largest Microsoft Fabric event, FabCon Europe. You can read about last year's event in the blog: What is Microsoft Fabric? Part 5: Fabric is Microsoft’s favorite child and it is developed rapidly.
Attending technology events is not just about learning from slides. It is a testament to the fact that the work community invests in expertise. At Pinja, every specialist has access to 10 paid training days a year – an opportunity to grow, get inspired, and bring new solutions to customer projects. Architects Aleksi, Riku, and Pasi, along with developer Olli, were therefore eager to hear how they could soon utilize new features in their daily work.
"The 'Mastering Data Engineering Git and CI/CD' lecture on the first day particularly stood out. We got to do hands-on work, using the new Variable Library, and discussed different implementation methods in Fabric's CI/CD pipelines," Riku recounts.
"There were more interesting presentations available than one could possibly have seen," Pasi notes.
The four-day program combined in-depth content, technical insights, and practical application. The significance of the event is further enhanced by the opportunity to pull Microsoft's developers aside and ask them directly about things on your mind. On one of the event days, Olli felt he received concrete proof of how quickly the platform is developing – and how fast its novelties become part of real-world work.
"A new tool was presented in the morning, and it was already being used in another session in the afternoon. That kind of development pace feels incredible," he laughs.
AI-powered components that automate the collection, transformation, and transfer of data between different sources. The everyday reality for data specialists in the future.
A comprehensive view of upcoming features and development directions – essential if you want to stay a step ahead in the field of reporting and visualization.
Centralized management that enables scalable, secure, and managed environments – important, especially in organizations where data is decentralized.
Of these three, data agents, in particular, came up in Pinja's specialists' discussions multiple times.
I'm especially looking forward to the agents' support for PDF files – that opens up many new ways to utilize data in an organization.
"The most interesting presentation for me was 'Integrating MS Fabric and Azure AI Foundry for a real-world scenario.' It covered how agents can be combined to automate diverse tasks," says Pasi, who is eagerly awaiting to see how data agents will shape daily work.
Aleksi, in turn, was impressed by a related presentation, which was Marco Casalaina and Abid Nazir Guroo's "Building Multi-Agent Systems for Enterprise Data with Azure AI Foundry & Fabric Data Agents." It provided concrete evidence of how far the development of data agents has already progressed – and how quickly it is changing the way data is processed and utilized.
"The presentation showed a bit of where this AI 'vibe' is heading. For example, there was a functional software development team consisting solely of data agents," Aleksi describes enthusiastically. He feels he gained many new ideas about all the things agents are technically capable of.
The influx of new technical information was significant, but the sense of community was an equally important part of the experience. A good and open spirit prevailed at FabCon, making it easy to meet other data specialists from around the world. The specialists were unanimous about the event's atmosphere.
"Even though there were many participants, the atmosphere remained warm and well-organized. It was great to be part of such a community-oriented event," Aleksi summarizes with a smile.
"In addition to the quality content, a certain sense of community is present at the event, and it's wonderful to be a part of it," Riku concurs.
Participation offered an opportunity not only to learn new things but also to strengthen professional networks and a sense of belonging to the international community of data and analytics experts.
Pinja's data specialists do not bring learnings back just for themselves – but also for other specialists and, of course, customers. The first step in implementing new knowledge is to share the event's takeaways with their colleagues in the monthly Competence Development meeting, where Pinja's more than 100 data management specialists gather to learn new things from each other. The best practices and technical possibilities learned at FabCon spread from one specialist to another and are collaboratively transferred to projects, where they bring concrete value and a competitive advantage to customers.
"I'm especially looking forward to the agents' support for PDF files – that opens up many new ways to utilize data in an organization," Aleksi states hopefully about the future.
Because the work of a data specialist never stops – it is constantly evolving. At Pinja, we believe that the best solutions are born when expertise, technology, and practice meet. That is why the training trip to FabCon meant, above all:
✅ Competitive Advantage for Customers – We bring the latest learnings directly to customer projects.
✅ Opportunities for Data Specialists – We provide the framework to grow, learn, and develop where new things are being created.
✅ Community – We are part of a global network of professionals building the future together.
You can read the deeper learnings from the event in the newest part of our popular blog series, "What is Microsoft Fabric?", which will be published soon.
What is Microsoft Fabric? Part 1: From the past to the present
What is Microsoft Fabric? Part 2: Technology
What is Microsoft Fabric? Part 3: Performance
What is Microsoft Fabric? Part 4: Licenses
What is Microsoft Fabric? Part 5: Fabric is Microsoft’s favorite child and it is developed rapidly
What is Microsoft Fabric? Part 6: Lakehouse integrates artificial intelligence and combines disparate data
With us, you work at the forefront of technology – in an environment where expertise is invested in and learning is supported. If you are a data specialist who wants to do meaningful work and grow as a professional, Pinja is the right place.
👉 Check out our open positions and come build the future of data with us.
Check out Business Intelligence Architect Aleksi's career path at Pinja
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