Announcing SQL database in Microsoft Fabric (Preview)
The SQL Server and Azure SQL team has embarked on a mission to make building AI apps faster and easier than ever, announcing the Public Preview of SQL database in Microsoft Fabric. This simple, autonomous and secure, and optimized for AI service will help you in the era of AI, where 1 billion new apps are estimated to be built in the next 5 years, and 87% of leaders believe AI will give their organizations a competitive edge.
With operational databases coming to Fabric, Fabric is evolving from an analytics platform to a data platform and the data layer of the AI and Copilot stack. SQL database in Fabric is adopting the principles that have made Fabric an extremely fast-growing service for enterprises and small businesses alike. With this unified and integrated platform, you can build AI apps faster and with less overhead. In fact, we surveyed over two hundred cloud professionals, asking them to perform common tasks associated with AI application development. They were able to complete tasks up to 71% faster, up to 63% more effectively, and with up to 83% more confidence with SQL database in Fabric*.
SQL database in Fabric is centered on three themes: simple, autonomous and secure, and optimized for AI. Try it for free today!
Simple
SQL database in Fabric enables you to focus on building your app
Deploying and configuring your database only requires a name and the database is ready to go in seconds. No need to go through pages of selections or have a deep understanding of your networking, compute, and storage requirements. Additionally, there are many integrations and getting started options like import sample data or get data with data flows or data pipelines. You can also get AI-assistance, both in-line in the new Query Editor and in the chat with multi-turn conversations with Copilot. You can easily switch to your tools of choice, like VS Code and SSMS, or you can create a GraphQL API (which became generally available today) in a couple of clicks. Of course, since it’s built on the SQL Server and Azure SQL Database engine, it’s the familiar T-SQL language you know and love.
SQL database in Fabric enables every database to be under source control
The combination of SDK-style SQL projects with the source control integration in Fabric means you can commit database objects to a git repository and update database objects from code in a git repository. Fabric supports integrating with both GitHub and Azure DevOps, where you can configure more advanced workflows to ensure SQL code quality and enable complex architectures.
SQL database in Fabric lands all your data in OneLake in near-real time for analytics and AI
All data is replicated in near-real time to open-source delta parquet format in OneLake. When you deploy a SQL database in Fabric, you get two endpoints: an endpoint to the database and a “SQL analytics endpoint” that allows querying the replicated data in OneLake. This unifies operational and analytics work without having to move any data. With the SQL analytics endpoint, you can query using the data warehouse engine or you can create shortcuts to reference the data in OneLake from other items, like Lakehouse, Notebooks, and more. Since the data is all landing in OneLake, you can ultimately consume this data from anywhere in Fabric.
Unified billing with the Fabric capacity model
Since SQL database is a native item in Fabric, it utilizes Fabric capacity units like other Fabric workloads. It is integrated with the Fabric SKU Estimator (now in private preview), allowing customers and partners to accurately assess capacity requirements and select the most suitable SKU. Compute charges apply only when the database is actively used, and the compute is auto-scaling, so you only consume what you need. Storage is billed separately on a monthly basis and so are automatic backups, which are retained for seven days. SQL database in Fabric will be free until February 1, 2025, after which compute and data storage charges will begin, with backup billing starting on March 1, 2025.
Autonomous and secure
SQL databases in Fabric are autonomous so you can focus on building your AI apps
When developing AI applications, making the right choices and managing databases is complex. SQL database in Fabric enables you to get the best performance and availability by default with an autonomous database. SQL database in Fabric is automatically configured for high availability with zone redundancy. Storage and compute scale automatically to accommodate the user workload. The database is auto-optimized through the latest Intelligent Query Processing enhancements while the system creates any missing indexes to improve query performance. All data is replicated to OneLake by default. Finally, the database always receives the latest security updates with auto-patching, while automatic backups provide peace of mind in case a disaster occurs.
Secure and governed by default
SQL database in Fabric offers a robust suite of security controls, many of which are enabled by default, such as authentication via Microsoft Entra and encryption at rest (with plans for CMK support in the future) and in transit, with TLS 1.2. Additionally, permissions configured at the workspace level in Fabric are inherited by the SQL database.
Network security is ensured through full support for Private Link (tenant-level rolling out in January, workspace-level in the future). Auditing, which will be available in the coming months, will be enabled by default for every new database, and central governance with Microsoft Purview enables sensitivity labels and enforcement of Purview protection policies.
Optimized for AI
Build new AI apps with SQL Database in Fabric
SQL database in Fabric includes several key features that make it a great choice for building new AI apps: native vector and RAG support, the ability to call any model via APIs from within the database, integration with popular AI platforms and services e.g., Azure AI services and Azure AI Foundry, the ability to manage a variety of data ranging from structured to unstructured, and compatibility with popular frameworks such as LangChain and Semantic Kernel. We are investing heavily in AI capabilities, while making sure your data remains secure and within the boundaries of your organization.
Since SQL database is integrated into the Fabric platform, you have everything you need to build new AI apps faster and easier than ever before. You can leverage Data Science and Notebook capabilities in Fabric to more easily create experiences and leverage data in your database in addition to data in OneLake. You can also use Power BI and the default semantic model that’s created with SQL database in Fabric to generate reports that use Direct Lake mode for better performance. The list of Fabric integrations is long and ongoing! Checkout an AI chatbot application example built on SQL database in Fabric.
Customers
In the private preview, we had many customers try out SQL database in Fabric and give us their feedback. Take a look at some of the feedback in this video.
In addition to customers, our Microsoft partners are also excited about the opportunities that are opening with SQL database coming to Fabric.
Get started today
Free trial
Get started for free today with a Fabric free trial. If you are already using Fabric, contact your Tenant Admin to get SQL database in Fabric enabled, it will be available in all Fabric regions by early December and does not depend on a specific capacity.
SQL database in Fabric is simple, autonomous and secure, and optimized for AI. We encourage you to try it today and see how you can build new AI apps faster and easier than ever!
Learning
- We have multiple resources to help you, and your teams swiftly ramp up on Fabric Databases:
- Explore the documentation and build with our end-to-end tutorials
- Skill up with the new Fabric Databases learn modules
- Watch new Data Exposed episodes starting Thursday, November 21st
- Watch the new Microsoft Mechanics episode dropping this week
- Get the latest product news here on the Fabric updates blog
- Join the community for a free live learning series starting on December 3rd
Feedback
We are taking all your feedback to make sure we invest in the right areas to help you build new enterprise AI apps faster and easier than ever. Please leverage the Fabric community forums to ask questions, share feedback, and contribute and vote for product improvement ideas. We will make our release plans public in early 2025.
*SOURCE: Based upon n=210 user studies conducted with technical practitioners by Microsoft Corporation in October 2024 that measured time to complete four common tasks associated with AI application development on a SQL database in Microsoft Fabric and on Azure SQL Database. Actual results may vary based upon individual performance and sentiment.
