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Deciphering Data Architectures: When to Use a Warehouse, Fabric, Lakehouse, or Mesh with James Serra

What \~ Toronto Data Professionals Community (Virtual) When \~ Wednesday, 14th January, 2026 Time \~ 6:00 PM EST

Agenda:

• 6:00 PM Networking and Introduction
• 6:15 PM Topic: Deciphering Data Architectures: When to Use a Warehouse, Fabric, Lakehouse, or Mesh with James Serra
• 7:30 PM End

Where: Online via Microsoft team

Session Details: Data fabric, data lakehouse, and data mesh have recently appeared as viable alternatives to the modern data warehouse. These new architectures have solid benefits, but they’re also surrounded by a lot of hyperbole and confusion. In this presentation, I will give you a guided tour of each architecture to help you understand its pros and cons. I will also examine common data architecture concepts, including data warehouses and data lakes. You’ll learn what data lakehouses can help you achieve, and how to distinguish data mesh hype from reality. Best of all, you’ll be able to determine the most appropriate data architecture for your needs. In addition, I will delve into how Microsoft Fabric can be leveraged within each of these architectures. From integrating data fabrics for enhanced data management and governance, to implementing data lakehouses for streamlined analytics, and establishing data meshes for decentralized data ownership, Microsoft Fabric offers robust solutions and tools. By the end of this presentation, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to use Microsoft Fabric to build and optimize these diverse data architectures, tailored to meet your specific requirements.

Speaker Bio: James works at Microsoft as a big data and data warehousing solution architect where he has been for most of the last ten years. He is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics, including data architectures such as the modern data warehouse, data lakehouse, data fabric, and data mesh. Previously he was an independent consultant working as a Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence architect and developer. He is a prior SQL Server MVP with nearly 40 years of IT experience. He is a popular blogger (JamesSerra.com) and speaker, having presented at dozens of major events including PASS Summit, SQLBits, Data Summit, SQLDay, Enterprise Data World conference, Big Data Conference Europe, SQL Saturdays, and Informatica World. He is the author of the book “Deciphering Data Architectures: Choosing Between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh”.

Please join us on January 15th, 2025 to listen to the topic: Using Generative AI on Structured Data (to query or modify data) with James Serra

What \~ Toronto Data Professionals Community (Virtual) When \~ Wednesday, January 15th, 2025

Agenda:

• 6:00 PM Networking and Introduction
• 6:15 PM Topic: Using Generative AI on Structured Data (to query or modify data) with James Serra
• 7:30 PM End

Where: Online via Microsoft team

Session Details: Generative AI, traditionally used for processing unstructured text, is rapidly advancing to handle structured data like relational databases, spreadsheets, and CSV files. New tools now enable AI to extract meaningful insights, identify patterns, and generate predictions from structured datasets. This presentation will explore how AI transforms our interaction with structured data, providing practical applications for enhanced automation, decision-making, and efficiency in data analysis. I will discuss ChatGPT, Copilot, and Microsoft Fabric AI Skill and provide a level-set on GenAI definitions, RAG, fine-tuning, and cover industry use cases for using both unstructured and structured data to make better business decisions.

Speaker Bio: James works at Microsoft as a big data and data warehousing solution architect, where James has been for most of the last ten years. James is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics, including data architectures such as the modern data warehouse, data lakehouse, data fabric, and data mesh. Previously, James was an independent consultant working as a Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence architect and developer. James is a prior SQL Server MVP with nearly 40 years of IT experience. James started a career as a software developer, then was a DBA for 12 years, and for the last twelve years, James has been working extensively with business intelligence and data warehousing using numerous Microsoft technologies and tools. James has been at times a permanent employee, consultant, contractor, and owner of a business. All these experiences, along with continuous learning, have helped James to develop many successful data warehouse and BI projects. James is a popular blogger and speaker, having presented at dozens of major events, including PASS Summit, SQLBits, Data Summit, SQLDay, Enterprise Data World Conference, Big Data Conference Europe, SQL Saturdays, and Informatica World. James is the author of the book “Deciphering Data Architectures: Choosing Between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh.” James has numerous Microsoft certifications and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. More info can be found at James's LinkedIn.

Data fabric, data lakehouse, and data mesh have recently appeared as viable alternatives to the modern data warehouse.

These new architectures have solid benefits, but they’re also surrounded by a lot of hyperbole and confusion. In this presentation I will give you a guided tour of each architecture to help you understand its pros and cons.

I will also examine common data architecture concepts, including data warehouses and data lakes. You’ll learn what data lakehouses can help you achieve, and how to distinguish data mesh hype from reality. Best of all, you’ll be able to determine the most appropriate data architecture for your needs. And I’ll finish with discussing Microsoft’s version of the data mesh.

The content is derived from my book Deciphering Data Architectures: Choosing Between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh.

Data fabric, data lakehouse, and data mesh have recently appeared as viable alternatives to the modern data warehouse. These new architectures have solid benefits, but they're also surrounded by a lot of hyperbole and confusion. This practical book provides a guided tour of these architectures to help data professionals understand the pros and cons of each. James Serra, big data and data warehousing solution architect at Microsoft, examines common data architecture concepts, including how data warehouses have had to evolve to work with data lake features. You'll learn what data lakehouses can help you achieve, as well as how to distinguish data mesh hype from reality. Best of all, you'll be able to determine the most appropriate data architecture for your needs. With this book, you'll: Gain a working understanding of several data architectures Learn the strengths and weaknesses of each approach Distinguish data architecture theory from reality Pick the best architecture for your use case Understand the differences between data warehouses and data lakes Learn common data architecture concepts to help you build better solutions Explore the historical evolution and characteristics of data architectures Learn essentials of running an architecture design session, team organization, and project success factors Free from product discussions, this book will serve as a timeless resource for years to come.

Please join us on 24th January 2024 to listen to the topic: Deciphering Data Architectures (choosing between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh)

What \~ Toronto Data Professionals Community (Virtual) When \~ Wednesday 24th January 2024

Agenda:

• 6:00 PM Networking and Introduction
• 6:15 PM Topic: Deciphering Data Architectures with James Serra
• 7:30 PM End

Where: Online via Microsoft team

Session Details: Data fabric, data lakehouse, and data mesh have recently appeared as viable alternatives to the modern data warehouse. These new architectures have solid benefits, but they’re also surrounded by a lot of hyperbole and confusion. In this presentation I will give you a guided tour of each architecture to help you understand its pros and cons. I will also examine common data architecture concepts, including data warehouses and data lakes. You’ll learn what data lakehouses can help you achieve, and how to distinguish data mesh hype from reality. Best of all, you’ll be able to determine the most appropriate data architecture for your needs. And I’ll finish with discussing Microsoft’s version of the data mesh.

Speaker Bio: James works at Microsoft as a big data and data warehousing solution architect where he has been for most of the last nine years.

He is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics, including data architectures such as the modern data warehouse, data lakehouse, data fabric, and data mesh.

Previously he was an independent consultant working as a Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence architect and developer. He is a prior SQL Server MVP with over 35 years of IT experience. He is a popular blogger (JamesSerra.com) and speaker, having presented at dozens of major events including SQLBits, PASS Summit, Data Summit and the Enterprise Data World conference.

He is the author of the upcoming book “Deciphering Data Architectures: Choosing Between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh”.