Fabcon 2026 was a huge show for our team at BIChart. We are new to the Microsoft ecosystem, and our leadership team is big on community as a driving force for our success. Our first Fabcon last year, we wandered around, listened, asked lots of questions and put those learning to work. This year, we re-connected brought our own stories and felt aligned and energized where things are headed. Here are some of the most exciting things we saw and experienced:
Fabric Planning (Lumel)
Microsoft introduced its Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) workload as a native capability inside Microsoft Fabric. Powered by Lumel, this powerful suite of capabilities enabling users to run planning workflows (budgeting, forecasting, scenario modeling) directly on Fabric data.
Given our experience reviewing InfoRiver matrix controls, I think the quality, intuitiveness, and expertise poured into products built by the Lumel team shines through… There is something profound happening inside of Fabric, now that we are keeping a close eye on it. This is a foundation that is one argentic workflow away from being truly transformational!
Key specifics from the announcement:
- Built natively in Fabric (not an external tool)
- Running directly on semantic models / OneLake data
- Supports:
- budgeting
- forecasting
- scenario modeling
- driver-based planning
- Includes write-back and workflows (approvals, inputs, updates)
- Designed to eliminate separate planning systems and data duplication
Fabric IQ
Fabric IQ Microsoft’s “semantic intelligence layer” that sits on top of all data in Fabric. I got a lot of different answers for “What is Fabcric IQ?” at Fabcon. We will be reviewing and sharing our Fabric IQ lab in upcoming weeks, but we absolutely see a huge opportunity at BIChart to help translate and prepare the structure s that help you derive meaning from your BI / Analytics journey into Microsoft.
- Semantic model interpreter
- Sits on top of Power BI / Fabric models and understands measures, tables, and relationships Measure-centric layer
- Focused primarily on DAX measures and how they’re defined and used Natural language bridge
- Translates user questions → semantic model queries (for Copilot / AI) Context layer (lightweight)
- Adds basic business meaning via naming, synonyms, and model structure Scoped to individual models/workspaces
- Not a true cross-enterprise ontology
Balanced AI with Foundations, Fundamentals, and Governance
The most refreshing part of Fabcon was the depth of real-world experience on the floor. As an analytics builder and practitioner, I spoke with teams and contributors working through the same challenges. Most of those challenges are related to migrating, learning, and pivoting team competency into Fabric + Power BI.
I had more conversations about governance than AI, and I couldn’t be happier it’s getting a refreshed focus. The concept of analytics governance is catching on very quickly
That is why community is so important! Remember that there are always people coming in to learn something new who can benefit from your wealth of experience.
Connecting and Networking with MSFT Power BI and Fabric Community
By next year, our own customer success at BIChart will hopefully allow us to leave a grater impression on the community. We will continue to pay it forward sharing our learning as more customers migrate to Microsoft Fabric and Power BI. Until then, we will be hitting the road and participating in local events in 2026.
