Gareth Stretch

Microsoft Fabric is one of the fastest-evolving platforms in data analytics. For organisations, the early stages of exploring Fabric can feel exciting but also overwhelming. For consultants, this is where the groundwork is laid — shaping client trust, setting realistic expectations, and translating technical possibilities into real business value.

As a Microsoft Certified Fabric professional, I’ve had the privilege of guiding clients through those crucial first steps of their Fabric journey. Along the way, I’ve distilled seven practical principles that every Fabric consultant should keep front of mind when guiding clients at the start of their engagement.

The first few weeks of a Fabric project can make or break adoption. Clients are curious, cautious, and often overwhelmed. As consultants, our role isn’t just technical — it’s about trust, clarity, and momentum.

Here are the 7 principles I’ve seen separate good consultants from great ones

1 – Listen first, advise second

Every client’s data story is different. Don’t jump straight into demos of Lakehouses or DirectLake. Start by listening: What business outcomes matter most? Where are the current pain points in their data stack? This context helps you recommend whether the client’s “quick win” is a Fabric Data Factory pipeline, a OneLake consolidation, or Power BI reporting. Trust is earned when recommendations map directly to their world.

2 – Keep it simple

Fabric is huge: OneLake, DirectLake, Data Factory, Real-Time Analytics, Copilot… and more arriving monthly. Throwing the whole catalogue at a client only overwhelms them. Anchor discussions to two or three features that solve today’s problems — for example, unifying siloed data in OneLake or accelerating reporting with DirectLake. Simplicity builds clarity, which builds momentum.

3 – Balance business + tech

Clients don’t just want to know what Fabric is; they want to know what it does for them. Translate features into outcomes:

• DirectLake → no duplicated data → reduced costs.
• OneLake → single source of truth → faster insights.
• Copilot → automated workflows → time for innovation.

When you connect Fabric’s technical power to tangible business value, the story resonates.

4 – Secure early wins

Nothing builds confidence like results. Don’t start with a 12-month roadmap. Instead, launch a pilot: stream data into OneLake, surface insights in Power BI, and show the business how Fabric connects the dots end-to-end. Quick, visible wins create believers and earn you the runway for broader adoption.

5 – Set expectations

Fabric isn’t a one-off “go-live” — it’s a SaaS-first platform that evolves every month. Be clear with clients: adoption won’t be “done” in a week. Position Fabric as an ongoing journey where each new capability compounds value. This mindset helps leaders see adoption not as a project, but as a continuous transformation.

6 – Stay ahead of change

Microsoft is releasing Fabric updates at lightning speed. Consultants must not only keep up with the Fabric blog, roadmap, and release notes, but also prepare clients for what’s coming. By managing this constant evolution, you reduce surprises, keep adoption smooth, and build confidence that the roadmap is under control.

7 – Balance expertise with humility

You may be the Fabric specialist, but your clients know their industries inside out. The best outcomes happen when you co-create: blending Fabric expertise with client domain knowledge to design use cases that are both technically feasible and business relevant. Great consultants don’t impose Fabric, they align it.

Cover both domains early

Beyond these principles, strong Fabric consulting means exploring two critical domains early: the Business Domain and the Technical Domain. Skipping either leaves adoption lopsided.

• Business Domain: Connect Fabric to organisational strategy, stakeholder priorities, and change readiness. Map Fabric features to objectives like cost optimisation, customer insights, or compliance.
• Technical Domain: Assess data landscapes, governance frameworks, and architecture readiness. Identify how OneLake, DirectLake, and Fabric’s SaaS-first model fit with current infrastructure.

These conversations shape realistic roadmaps and prevent nasty surprises later.

The 5 questions every client will ask

Clients always ask me the same five questions. How you answer them makes or breaks credibility:

1. “What’s the ROI?”
   Beyond cost savings, Fabric drives ROI by consolidating tools, reducing integration overheads, and delivering faster time-to-insights. Efficiency and agility compound into financial and strategic gains within months.
2. “When will we see results?”
   With the right pilot, many organisations see tangible outcomes in 2–6 months. Target high-value use cases like consolidating data into OneLake or operational reporting in Power BI to deliver early wins.
3. “Is Fabric enterprise-ready?”
   Yes. Fabric ships with Purview integration, role-based access, encryption, multi-region scale, and tight Azure alignment. It’s designed for enterprise workloads while remaining agile enough for mid-market clients.
4. “How does it fit with our current stack?”
   Fabric integrates smoothly with existing Microsoft services (Power BI, Azure Synapse, Dynamics 365) and plays well with Salesforce, AWS, and Snowflake via open standards. It extends, not replaces.
5. “What skills do our teams need?”
   Teams with Power BI or Azure experience ramp up quickly. Others benefit from Fabric’s low-code/no-code design. Training via Microsoft Learn or workshops bridges the gap and accelerates adoption.

Conclusion

The early stage of any Microsoft Fabric engagement is pivotal. It’s not about dazzling clients with features — it’s about listening, simplifying, delivering quick wins, and guiding them through both the business and technical dimensions of adoption.

Fabric evolves fast, but so do client expectations. Consultants who blend technical expertise with humility, and who anchor Fabric in business value, create lasting impact.

For my fellow consultants: which of these principles has made the biggest difference in your Fabric projects? Let’s swap stories and sharpen our craft — because every Fabric journey deserves a strong start.