As organizations aim to be more data-driven, integrated, scalable, and collaborative platforms are vital. Azure Databricks delivers unified data analytics for processing, AI, and real-time insights. Its full potential emerges within the integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. This session shows how Azure Databricks serves as the data and AI backbone while empowering users to leverage Microsoft solutions like Power BI, Power Apps and Microsoft Foundry for advanced, real-time decision-making.

Join this hands-on lab to design and deploy a modern, cloud-native analytics and AI solution using Azure Databricks, Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft Copilot Studio. Work with the Zava-Litware scenario to perform data ingestion, orchestration with Lakeflow, AI-driven insights via Genie, mirrored catalog in Microsoft Fabric, Copilot Studio low-code automation, and advanced reporting in Power BI. Build a scalable, cost-efficient solution showcasing AI-powered analytics for business transformation.

Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

Discover how to supercharge analytics and AI workflows using Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric. This hands-on lab explores native AI/BI features in Azure Databricks, including ML-powered insights and real-time analytics. Learn multiple ways to serve data to Power BI, with a deep dive into Direct Lake mode with Fabric. Ideal for developers, data scientists, data analysts, and engineers modernizing BI with lakehouse architecture in the AI era.

Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

Discover how to supercharge analytics and AI workflows using Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric. This hands-on lab explores native AI/BI features in Azure Databricks, including ML-powered insights and real-time analytics. Learn multiple ways to serve data to Power BI, with a deep dive into Direct Lake mode with Fabric. Ideal for developers, data scientists, data analysts, and engineers modernizing BI with lakehouse architecture in the AI era.

Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

Discover how to supercharge analytics and AI workflows using Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric. This hands-on lab explores native AI/BI features in Azure Databricks, including ML-powered insights and real-time analytics. Learn multiple ways to serve data to Power BI, with a deep dive into Direct Lake mode with Fabric. Ideal for developers, data scientists, data analysts, and engineers modernizing BI with lakehouse architecture in the AI era.

Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

Join this hands-on lab to design and deploy a modern, cloud-native analytics and AI solution using Azure Databricks, Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft Copilot Studio. Work with the Zava-Litware scenario to perform data ingestion, orchestration with Lakeflow, AI-driven insights via Genie, mirrored catalog in Microsoft Fabric, Copilot Studio low-code automation, and advanced reporting in Power BI. Build a scalable, cost-efficient solution showcasing AI-powered analytics for business transformation.

Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

Cloud-native architectures are transforming app development, and Azure’s infrastructure drives this evolution. This session dives into services that help develop and deploy resilient, scalable cloud-native solutions—with real customer insights and field-tested guidance. Learn how VMSS handles stateless workloads, Azure Storage and Container Networking optimize performance and cost, and how Kubernetes and other OSS thrive on Azure with enterprise-grade reliability.

Delivered in a silent stage breakout.

Join this hands-on lab to design and deploy a modern, cloud-native analytics and AI solution using Azure Databricks, Microsoft Foundry, and Microsoft Copilot Studio. Work with the Zava-Litware scenario to perform data ingestion, orchestration with Lakeflow, AI-driven insights via Genie, mirrored catalog in Microsoft Fabric, Copilot Studio low-code automation, and advanced reporting in Power BI. Build a scalable, cost-efficient solution showcasing AI-powered analytics for business transformation.

Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

Discover how to launch serverless workspaces in seconds, power Data & AI apps with Lakebase, and analyze unstructured data without coding using Agent Bricks. With AI/BI Genie + Copilot Studio, ask natural language questions directly in Microsoft Teams. Join this session to see how Azure Databricks makes AI simple, actionable, and enterprise-ready.

Discover how to supercharge analytics and AI workflows using Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric. This hands-on lab explores native AI/BI features in Azure Databricks, including ML-powered insights and real-time analytics. Learn multiple ways to serve data to Power BI, with a deep dive into Direct Lake mode with Fabric. Ideal for developers, data scientists, data analysts, and engineers modernizing BI with lakehouse architecture in the AI era.

Please RSVP and arrive at least 5 minutes before the start time, at which point remaining spaces are open to standby attendees.

SAP Databricks on Azure integrates Databricks Data Intelligence Platform with SAP Business Data Cloud, unifying SAP and external data for advanced analytics, AI, and ML. It enables building intelligent apps and actionable insights using trusted SAP and third-party business data. Available natively on Azure within SAP Business Data Cloud, it offers seamless access without data duplication via Delta Sharing. This session highlights automated forecasting, exploratory analysis, and BI use cases.

Topic: Evaluating AI Agents Learn from industry practitioners, researchers, and experts on the latest and greatest on evaluations frameworks and tools to bring AI Agents to production

Abstract: Explore the suite of tooling in Databricks that enables you to build, evaluate, and deploy production-quality AI applications with monitoring and governance, and this session will include customer stories illustrating real-world impact.

Pitching to Jury with speakers Kendy Rannenberg, Anastasia Barner, Tim Bunkus, Ruta Donovan, Gordana McNamara, and Women in Big Data Berlin Team.

Expert session 1 on Strategic Networking with speakers Katarzyna (Kasia) Stoltmann and Kendy Rannenberg.

Want to get your GenAI idea noticed? Databricks engineers share their hands-on experiences building interactive demos that actually made business leaders sit up and take notice.

We’ll walk through the journey from a single idea to a working prototype in under a month. Hear how we did it, what worked, what didn’t, including the unexpected hurdles that tripped us up, by taking a practical look at how to:

• Translate technical impact into business value
• Make your voice heard in large dev teams
• Avoid common pitfalls, from permissions to procurement

If you’re a data scientist, engineer, or AI leader who wants to move fast and make your work impossible to ignore, join us to explore how you could create the Minimum Viable Product that makes you the Most Valuable Player.

The age of autonomous agents is here, and it’s moving fast. Gartner predicts that 70% of organizations will deploy AI agents this year to automate complex business processes. But as technology vendors promise exponential productivity, data leaders face a new reality: when every team member can command thousands of digital workers, who’s really in control?

Join Dael and Robin for a candid, entertaining fireside chat as they tackle the tough questions every CDO, CTO, and CIO should be asking. How do you keep oversight when agents are making split-second decisions at scale? What new risks (ethical, operational, and reputational) emerge when AI agents go rogue? And how do you build a data strategy that balances innovation with accountability?

Using real-world stories, surprising data points, and a dash of humour, this session will help you rethink how you buy, build, and govern technology in the age of agentic business. Whether you’re already deploying agents or just starting to explore, you’ll leave with practical insights to avoid the pitfalls, and harness the promise of this next frontier.

Holly Smith will take a closer look at the three big projects in this space; Delta, Hudi and Iceberg. They’re all trying to solve for similar data problems and have tackled the various challenges in different ways. Her talk will start with the very basics of how we got here, what the history is before diving deep into the underlying tech, their roadmaps, and their impacts on the data landscape as a whole.

We’re excited to be back at Big Data LDN this year—huge thanks to the organisers for hosting Databricks London once more!

Join us for an evening of insights, networking, and community with the Databricks Team and Advancing Analytics!

🎤 Agenda:

6:00 PM – 6:10 PM | Kickoff & Warm Welcome

Grab a drink, say hi, and get the lowdown on what’s coming up. We’ll set the scene for an evening of learning and laughs.

6:10 PM – 6:50 PM | The Metadata Marathon: How three projects are racing forward – Holly Smith (Staff Developer Advocate, Databricks)

With the enormous amount of discussion about open storage formats between nerds and even not-nerds, it can be hard to keep track of who’s doing what and how this actually makes any impact on day to day data projects.

Holly will take a closer look at the three big projects in this space; Delta, Hudi and Iceberg. They’re all trying to solve for similar data problems and have tackled the various challenges in different ways. Her talk will start with the very basics of how we got here, what the history is before diving deep into the underlying tech, their roadmaps, and their impacts on the data landscape as a whole.

6:50 PM – 7:10 PM | What’s New in Databricks & Databricks AI – Simon Whiteley & Gavi Regunath

Hot off the press! Simon and Gavi will walk you through the latest and greatest from Databricks, including shiny new AI features and platform updates you’ll want to try ASAP.

7:10 PM onwards | Q&A Panel + Networking

Your chance to ask the experts anything—then stick around for drinks, snacks, and some good old-fashioned data geekery.

Forecasting is no longer just about historical trends and spreadsheets. AI is redefining how organisations anticipate demand, manage risk and make faster, smarter decisions.

In this expert-led panel of Women in Data® senior leaders from esure, Domestic & General and Databricks, moderated by a leading voice from NTT DATA, we will explore how AI-enabled forecasting is transforming planning across industries. They will take a candid look at the current landscape, how to realign goals and priorities and how to forge a business that is dynamic, data-rich and future-ready.

Powered by: Women in Data®

Over the last four years, ASDA has been through an incredible period of transformation. From data strategy, governance, platforms, culture, skills, and everything in between Alex Meakin (Senior Director of Data Delivery & Strategy) and his team have embraced it all and turned initials aspirations into real measurable impact. 

Brought to you by Women in Data®, Alex will be joined by moderator Robin Sutara and key partners from PwC and Databricks as he shares his honest reflections, key milestones, and practical lessons on building data maturity, driving adoption, and sustaining momentum.  

Whether you're navigating the complexities of your own transformation, still building on those early wins, or reigniting interest, this session offers practical insights, candid lessons, and fresh perspective from those who have been through it, end to end. 

Powered by: Women in Data®

So you’ve heard of Databricks, but still not sure what the fuss is all about. Yes you’ve heard it’s Spark, but then there’s this Delta thing that’s both a data lake and a data warehouse (isn’t that what Iceberg is?) And then there's Unity Catalog, that's not just a catalog, it also does access management but even surprising things like optimise your data and programmatic access to lineage and billing? But then serverless came out and now you don’t even have to learn Spark? And of course there’s a bunch of AI stuff to use or create yourself. So why not spend 30 mins learning the details of what Databricks does, and how it can turn you into a rockstar Data Engineer.

Curious how to apply resource-intensive generative AI models across massive datasets without breaking the bank? Join this session to discover efficient batch inference strategies for foundation models on Databricks. Learn how to build scalable, cost-effective pipelines that power LLMs and other generative AI systems—optimized for performance, quality, and throughput. We’ll also dive into ai_query, a powerful new capability that lets you run generative AI directly on your data using SQL-like syntax. See how it simplifies development, unlocks new use cases, and accelerates insights with live demos and real-world examples.