SQL vs. Fabric? Why Not Both! A Practical and Entertaining Guide for All
Regular 50 minute session for SQLBits 2026Friday - 24 Apr 2026 - 12:20 - 13:10 Room 1ATL; DR
Do you have to be experts like Bob Ward and Anna Hoffman to use SQL? What about Fabric? Why not both? Come join our experts from Microsoft in this entertaining and educational session where the worlds of SQL and Fabric come to together in way you never knew existed
Session Details
SQL or Fabric - do you really have to choose? Join Microsoft experts Bob Ward and Anna Hoffman, together with Kasper de Jonge and Mark Pryce-Maher for an engaging and practical session on how SQL and Fabric fit together. From trusted SQL foundations to the modern Fabric experience the presenters show how these worlds complement each other and how to use them effectively side by side. Expect clear guidance, practical demos, and a shared perspective from presenters who work with these technologies every day.
3 things you'll get out of this session
• Learn how SQL and Fabric work together seamlessly
• Discover capabilities you never knew existed
• Gain practical knowledge from Microsoft experts in an accessible format
• Discover capabilities you never knew existed
• Gain practical knowledge from Microsoft experts in an accessible format
Speakers
Mark Pryce-Maher's other proposed sessions for 2026
New in Microsoft Fabric: The Warehouse and the SQL Analytics Endpoint - 2026
Mark Pryce-Maher's previous sessions
From Beginner to Certified: A Fabric Analytics Engineer Workshop
In this full day workshop, we’ll cover the skills and tasks required for a career as a Microsoft Fabric Analytics Engineer and prepare you for the DP-600 Certification Exam.
Nose-Dive Narratives: Slide Karaoke 2024
Get ready to wrap up a serious day of learning with a dash of humor, spontaneity, and friendly competition! SQLBits presents "Slide Karaoke" where SQLBits speakers reveal their hidden talents while vying for bragging rights. This session promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience that will leave you in stitches and awe, and the speakers scrambling for their non-existent notes!
Fabric Product Group - Ask us Anything
Come and join the Fabric Product Group for one of our fireside chats. Bring your questions because we have all the answers!!
Fabric Power Hour
The famous Power BI Power Hour returns, but this time it has expanded to cover the whole of Fabric!
A Deep Dive into Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse
Deep Dive into Data Warehousing in Microsoft Fabric. Explore the intricacies of Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse, unraveling its capabilities and demonstrating effective strategies for its utilization.
Bob Ward
cloudblogs.microsoft.com/sqlserver
Bob Ward's other proposed sessions for 2026
The Roadmap for One SQL: Edge to PaaS to SaaS - 2026
Ask Me Anything: Migrating On-Prem SQL Server to Azure SQL – Real-World Experience - 2026
Ask us anything - Panel session with SQL LT - 2026
Build Secure, Scalable AI Applications with Azure SQL Database Hyperscale - 2026
Inside SQL Server 2025 Part 1 - 2026
Inside SQL Server 2025 Part 2 - 2026
SQL and AI for the rest of us - 2026
SQL Server Versioning Explained - 2026
What's new in the SQL core engine - 2026
Microsoft SQL and AMD in the era of AI - 2026
Bob Ward's previous sessions
The Cloud Workshop for the SQL Professional
Are you thinking, exploring, migrating, or have migrated from SQL Server to Azure? Come translate your SQL Server skills to the cloud in an interactive, hands-on workshop. (In-person only)
Welcome to the world of SQL Copilots
Microsoft is building a new experience of an AI companions called Copilot that are transforming how people work, write code, and solve problems faster. In this session come learn the latest innovations in SQL Copilot technology including GitHub Copilots for developing code and assisting with the T-SQL language. In addition you will get the latest look at Copilot technology to assist you in using and managing SQL in Azure. We will have plenty of demos in this session so come in and get ready to learn the new world of AI companions with SQL.
Come see your SQL Perfmon in the cloud
Come learn the latest innovations for monitoring technologies for SQL Server and Azure SQL
The Microsoft Data Leadership Panel
TBD
SQL Server and Windows Server Better together on Azure
Join us to learn how you can reap more technical and business benefits by running Windows Server and SQL Server on Azure. In this session you will get a first look at Windows Server vNext and innovative technologies for SQL Server including new monitoring and AI experiences.
Kasper de Jonge
Kasper de Jonge's other proposed sessions for 2026
Microsoft Fabric, Lakehouses and Power BI: A guide for BI developers - 2026
Unlocking AI Potential: Leveraging Your Data with Microsoft Fabric - 2026
Kasper de Jonge's previous sessions
Fabric security: everything you need to know!
Learn how Microsoft Fabric makes sure your data is secure. Did you know for example that all data is encrypted by default? Or that you can configure MFA for all your users? Fabric offers many of these possibilities and more out of the box without most of us knowing! In this session you will learn everything to convince your security team
Understanding Zero Trust security
In this session we will look at what Zero Trust principles are. Zero Trust is the modern way to apply security. It assumes a breach, verifies every user, and enforces least privilege, giving users access only to the private applications and resources they need. It no longer secures the perimeter (the network boundaries) which doesn't scale in the modern world.
We will see how it applies to your Microsoft services like Microsoft Fabric too.
Anna Hoffman
Anna Hoffman's other proposed sessions for 2026
The Roadmap for One SQL: Edge to PaaS to SaaS - 2026
Architecting Intelligence: What Powers SQL Copilots - 2026
Ask us anything - Panel session with SQL LT - 2026
Batteries included: SQL DevOps with SQL projects - 2026
SQL database in Fabric Scenarios and Solutions - 2026
SQL database in Fabric: The unified database for AI apps and analytics - 2026
SSMS 22 Unlocked: Features You’ve Been Waiting For - 2026
What's new in Mirroring SQL to Fabric: The Fast Track to Modern Data Integration & Analytics - 2026