Microsoft unveiled major updates to its Fabric data platform at the FabCon/SQLCon 2026 conference. The company introduced Fabric IQ, a semantic ontology layer designed to ground AI agents in business concepts rather than technical schemas. This update signals a strategic shift from AI experimentation toward operational excellence.
Microsoft is unifying its data ecosystem by absorbing SQL Server, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure Cosmos DB into the Fabric platform. These systems will now operate through a centralized control plane called the Database Hub.
The company entered the Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) sector by launching a new Planning workload integrated into Fabric. This move positions Microsoft against specialized EPM vendors. Microsoft reports that more than 31,000 customers currently use the Fabric platform.