Medium-sized Company Data Warehouse

[psmalley]

Hello All,

I work for a mid-sized (@350 employees) custom jobshop in the aerospace industry. The company grew out of a "Mom & Pop" shop over the last 15 or so years. I have been with the company for 1.5 years as the Continuous Improvements manager.

I am an Army retiree with an intelligence background. As such, we were taught that ALL data is data, you just have to figure out what story you want it to tell. We have a ton of data generated, but we use very little. I am trying to show the necessity of proper data storage to be used in business intelligence.

This company currently operates using MS 365 Enterprise and Visual Jobshop (SQL server). Before I arrived, everything was done in Excel tables and VBA-scripted Excel reports. I was building dashboards in the Army with Excel, so I introduced those here. After a bit, I discovered Power BI. Everything has been self-taught with YouTube, so I am no expert.

What I would like to know, or be pointed in the right direction, is how can I leverage Fabric and data warehousing without it costing the company thousands of dollars per month? We have data from machining, chemical treatment, painting, assembly, and so on. I would like to build a warehouse from scratch to ensure we are capturing the data in a way that is usable with other tools, such as Power BI or Power Apps.

I looked at the pricing structure, but I do not understand what I would need. The references to read/write operations are not something I understand. If anyone could give me any advice (even self-education advice), I am wide open to it.

Thank you for reading.

[Anonymous]

Hi @psmalley ,

Thanks for using Fabric Community.

Fabric's a great choice for building your data warehouse! It can help your business make smarter decisions based on real data.

• Future-Proof Scalability: Fabric's serverless architecture scales seamlessly with your data volume. You won't have to worry about infrastructure limitations as your business grows.
• Streamlined Data Integration: Azure Data Factory, a complimentary service with Fabric, simplifies data movement from various sources like Visual Jobshop and Excel files. It automates data pipelines, saving you time and effort.
• Enhanced Security: Data security is paramount. Fabric offers robust built-in security features to protect your sensitive manufacturing data.
• Advanced Analytics Potential: Fabric integrates seamlessly with Power BI for advanced analytics. This enables you to uncover deeper insights into your machining, chemical treatment, painting, and assembly processes, leading to improved efficiency and cost savings.

Remember:

• Cost Optimization: While Fabric offers a pay-as-you-go model, you can still manage costs effectively. Start small, focusing on a specific use case, and gradually expand as your needs evolve.

Please refer below docs to get some idea on Fabric Pricing -
A closer look at Microsoft Fabric pricing, billing, and autoscaling (dataroots.io)
Microsoft Fabric Pricing Model - Everything you need to know! - Data Mozart (data-mozart.com)
Understanding Microsoft Fabric Pricing And Licensing For Your Business | by Kanerika Inc | Medium
Fabric Pricing Explained (linkedin.com)

Absolutely! While Fabric offers some amazing features, it's always good to consider the specific needs of your business. Ultimately, the best choice depends on your unique data situation.

Hope this is helpful. Please do let me know incase of further queries.

[Anonymous]

Hi @psmalley ,

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if your query was answered.
Otherwise, will respond back with the more details and we will try to help .

Thanks

[psmalley]

My apologies. I was away from the desk on a project for a bit.

I am working with IT to try to determine what our best step forward is. I am trying to avoid approaching this without focus. Unfortunately, for this week I have been covered up with competing priorities.

I will provide an update early next week.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Hi @psmalley ,

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if your query was answered.
Otherwise, will respond back with the more details and we will try to help .

Thanks