Evaluate Azure analytics technologies like Azure Data Factory

Reference architecture for Azure analytics with Xpert BI

Use Xpert BI to add automation and governance to your Azure analytics environment.

azure analytics, azure data factory, azure synapse analytics

Select from a wide range of compute and storage technologies in Azure and grow the environment to your changing needs. Xpert BI serves as the glue in the architecture, letting your analytics team deliver on time, govern your analytics solutions and adapt to changes. It enables developers to focus on business needs and gives line-of-business people intuitive and searchable end-to-end documentation.

Azure technologies supported

A wide range of analytics technologies for storage and compute are supported. It gives the freedom to choose where to execute code and where to store your data, and at any time switch between technologies or run them in sequence or parallel. No need to build and maintain a custom-code automation framework.

Azure Synapse Analytics

Limitless analytics service that brings together data integration, enterprise data warehousing, and big data analytics. Automation examples: Generate pipelines, data load techniques, consistency checks, metadata management, column lineage, migration, REST APIs and DataOps. See also ADLS Gen2.

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2

Azure data lake implementation built on Azure Blob storage enabling parallel comput and storage of any data at low cost. Automation examples: SQL code generation, Data load techniques, consistency checks, folder structures, metadata management, column lineage, migration, REST APIs and DataOps.

Azure SQL DB / MI

As fully managed database services, Azure SQL database enables a single database whereas a managed instance allows multiple databases. Automation examples: Data load techniques, consistency checks, metadata management, column lineage, migration, REST APIs and DataOps.

Azure Data Factory

A fully managed, serverless data integration service typically used for ingesting data into the Azure cloud and manually building a data platform. Automation examples: Generate pipelines, data load techniques, consistency checks, metadata management, column lineage, migration, REST APIs and DataOps.

SQL Server on VM

Running multiple databases with a SQL Server on a virtual machine when requirements limit the use of a fully managed service. Automation examples: Generate SQL code, data load techniques, consistency checks, metadata management, column lineage, migration, REST APIs and DataOps.

Snowflake

Enabling the use of Snowflake as cloud database on Azure with limitless scalability. Automation examples: Generate pipelines, data load techniques, consistency checks, metadata management, column lineage, migration, REST APIs and DataOps.

Benefits from adding Xpert BI

Deliver analytics on time - every time

Enable your analytics team to enforce standardization and best practices, easily connect to data sources, generate and refactor code based on metadata, have Live documentation and use DataOps for agile development. Enable timely delivery even as the data platform grows in complexity over time.

Automate your Azure analytics growth path

Enable your analytics team to try out different Azure storage and compute technologies and switch between them with simple configuration. It avoids the risk of lock-in into a single Azure storage or compute technology and encourages the organization to choose the optimal technology at each step in their growth.

Govern your Azure analytics solutions

Enable your analytics team to collaborate closely with business stakeholders and have an end-to-end Live documentation and data lineage. The Xpert BI Solution Catalog is metadata based and can be integrated via APIs to other catalog such as Azure Purview.

Focus on what motivates your team

Enable your analytics team to have a ready automation framework from day one. Free up your teams' time and energy from tedious, boring and repetitive tasks to more creative, value-adding and inspiring work, solving business problems rather than fixing the basics.

Let your Power BI users trust the data

Let your line-of-business people have access to intuitive end-to-end documentation with all reports and assets in Power BI with Live information on where data is coming from and which business rules have been applied. Can be combined with other catalogs such as Azure Purview.

Get recognition for working smarter

Enable your analytics team to work more efficiently having the right amount of standards and best practices enforced. Show that IT delivers, is cautious about operating costs and can quickly adapt to changing business needs.

Getting started

1. Get started with Azure

Evaluate potential Azure analytics technologies such as Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure SQL DB, Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics.

2. Automate using Xpert BI

Add Xpert BI to expand your solution with automation and metadata-based development according to best practices and data governance such as full data lineage.

3. Grow with changing needs

Want to explore new analytics technologies? Xpert BI simplifies an agile growth path with configurable transition between Azure analytics technologies.

Adding Automation and Governance to Azure Analytics