PBIMCR presents ' A Murder Mystery Built on Microsoft Fabric'

Join us for August's PBIMCR meet-up

When: Thursday 27th of August 2026
Time: arrive for 530pm with talks starting from 6pm start prompt
Location: Matillion, Two New Bailey, Stanley Street, Salford, England, M3 5GS
Complimentary drinks & pizza provided by our hosts Slalom & sponsors Robert Walters

Talk 1:
Ghost in the Aether: A Murder Mystery Built on Microsoft Fabric
Ghost in the Aether is an interactive murder mystery built entirely on Microsoft Fabric, showcasing how batch and real-time data, Direct Lake semantic modelling, Power BI and AI can be combined into a single solution. Through a live investigation, attendees will explore reports, analyse streaming clues, interact with a grounded Data Agent, and vote on the culprit before uncovering the end-to-end Fabric architecture behind the experience. The session demonstrates how the same patterns can be applied to real-world scenarios such as IoT, operational monitoring and support analytics.

Our speakers:
David Mitchell is a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft specialising in Microsoft Fabric, Power BI and Azure data platforms. With over 20 years' experience in data and analytics, he helps organisations design and deliver modern analytics solutions, and enjoys sharing practical insights from real customer projects with the wider community.

Adrian Critchley is a Sr. Technical Support Engineer at Microsoft with a background in data analytics and business intelligence. Prior to joining Microsoft, he worked as a Power BI Consultant, helping organisations design and deliver data-driven solutions. Today, he specialises in supporting organisations to solve complex technical challenges and get the most from their Fabric data platform.

Talk 2: Centralise or Federate - How to Scale your Lakehouse by Craig Porteous
As organisations modernise their data platforms, one key question always surfaces: How do we scale this to serve the business?

Should you maintain a central Data Lakehouse for consistency and control, or federate it to empower teams and scale with agility?

In this session, I’ll explore the trade-offs between centralised and federated Lakehouse architectures, how to decide what fits your organisation, and why the best solutions often blend both approaches. You’ll learn how governance, data ownership, training, and tooling choices can make or break your strategy. Attendees will walk away with an understanding of the benefits of federation, and a practical roadmap for balancing autonomy with standardisation in a real-world Data Lakehouse.

Topics Covered: Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, Azure Analysis Services, Azure AI, OneLake, Real-Time Data

1st time attendees what to expect:
Engaging tech talks/demos/presentations and an opportunity to network in a friendly community environment with complimentary drinks and pizza served.