Microsoft Modern Data Stack Overview
This overview highlights how Microsoft’s Azure ecosystem supports each layer of the modern data stack—from ingestion to AI, BI, and governance.
| Layer | Microsoft Tools | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Data Sources | Dynamics 365, SQL Server, Microsoft 365, APIs | Business applications and databases where raw data originates |
| Data Ingestion (EL) | Azure Data Factory, Synapse Pipelines, Fabric Dataflows | Moves raw data into Azure from SaaS, APIs, and databases |
| Data Lake & Storage | Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS), Blob Storage | Scalable cloud storage for raw and semi-structured data |
| Data Warehouse | Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse | High-performance structured storage for querying and modeling |
| Transformation (ELT) | dbt Cloud for Azure, Synapse SQL, Dataflows, Power Query | Build analytics-ready data models from raw warehouse data |
| Analytics & BI | Power BI, Microsoft Fabric | Data visualization, dashboards, and self-service reporting |
| Data Science & AI | Azure Machine Learning, Azure OpenAI, SynapseML | AI model development, training, and deployment |
| Orchestration | ADF Pipelines, Azure Logic Apps, Power Automate | Schedule and automate data pipelines and business workflows |
| Governance & Security | Microsoft Purview, Azure RBAC | Data cataloging, lineage tracking, access control, compliance |
| DevOps & CI/CD | Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions | Infrastructure automation, version control, environment management |
Breakdown by Phase
- Ingestion: Azure Data Factory & Synapse Pipelines offer scalable ingestion with 90+ connectors.
- Storage: Azure Data Lake (ADLS) handles big data; Synapse stores structured, query-ready data.
- Modeling: dbt Cloud for Azure and Power Query clean and model data using SQL or low-code tools.
- Analytics: Power BI enables enterprise dashboards and self-service reporting.
- AI/ML: Azure Machine Learning supports predictive analytics and operational ML models.
- Orchestration: Azure Logic Apps and Data Factory automate data and event-driven workflows.
- Governance: Microsoft Purview enables full data lineage, classification, and cataloging.
Key Highlight: Microsoft Fabric
Microsoft Fabric unifies Synapse, Power BI, Data Factory, and ML into one SaaS platform with OneLake as its shared storage foundation. It simplifies the analytics workflow across engineering and business teams.
Sample Use Case: Healthcare Stack
- Data Sources: Epic, Salesforce, Meditech
- Ingestion: Azure Data Factory
- Storage: ADLS + Synapse
- Modeling: dbt Cloud
- Reporting: Power BI
- AI/ML: Azure ML + Azure OpenAI
- Governance: Microsoft Purview
