The drive to become data-driven is universal, with many organisations making promising early progress. They implement Power BI, link a few data sources and generate reports that finally provide numbers to support intuition, which often suffices for a while.
However, over time, dashboards multiply as business units build their own versions of the truth. Data pipelines spread across spreadsheets, databases and cloud platforms. Governance falters, performance declines and confidence erodes.
At that point, leaders ask a familiar question: “If we’ve invested this much in analytics, why are decisions still taking so long?”.
The solution is found not in tools, but in structure.
This “pilot stage” is when analytics initiatives can lose their way. The technology works, but the organisation doesn’t. Teams operate in silos, processes aren’t standardised, and no one can confidently determine which dataset or report to trust. Our team describes this as being “lost in the middle,” and it’s the point where organisations have the intent and the tools but lack the framework to make them scale.
Some common patterns persist, recurring repeatedly:
This stage isn’t failure, it’s more the natural result of success. The organisation has shown that analytics has value, and now it needs a solid foundation to deliver that value consistently.
This is the opportune moment for enterprises to move from fragmented data landscapes to integrated and scalable platforms for value creation, but this transition is complex.
Microsoft Fabric unifies multiple services, including Data Factory, Synapse and Power BI, into a single platform. It takes the complexity of traditional ETL processes, data warehousing and reporting infrastructure, and brings it together. It aims to simplify the process, but deploying it still requires architectural decisions about storage, governance and cost management.
For many organisations, that’s a bigger challenge than the technology itself. They might have a skilled analytics team but lack the experience to turn Fabric’s architecture into a practical, governed environment that aligns with business priorities.
This is where most programs stall, not because of a lack of ability, but because they’re attempting it alone.
The reality is, building an enterprise-grade data foundation isn’t a job for one person or one team. It calls for cross-domain expertise in networking, security, data engineering, governance and cloud cost optimisation.
Data#3 has spent decades integrating those disciplines. Our customers trust us because we understand that analytics doesn’t exist in isolation. Rather, it operates on the same network, identity and security framework that supports the rest of the organisation.
We’ve seen what happens when teams try to build this themselves. Projects drag on, design choices are constantly revisited, and governance is ignored. By the time the platform is technically ready, the business has run out of patience. Data#3 removes that complexity, making it simple to start and practical to deliver with real results.
At this stage of the journey, the aim isn’t to build everything, but to create a solid foundation that can expand. Microsoft Fabric’s architecture underpins this concept with a unified data estate anchored by OneLake, where all workloads (engineering, warehousing, science, and business intelligence) share the same data and security model.
Getting to that point means defining four things clearly:
These are the foundations for long-term success, not one-time decisions. Microsoft describes this as building a “modern data foundation for sustained AI success,” because a well-managed analytics layer ultimately drives advanced capabilities like Copilot for rich analysis of data, or predictive modelling to forecast results.
To help organisations move confidently from pilot to platform, Data#3 offers an on-demand engagement that rapidly establishes your initial Microsoft Fabric environment using our proven methodology and experience.
This engagement exists because customers consistently ask the same questions:
The Fabric Foundation Rapid service answers all three.
Our Fabric Foundation Rapid engagement is designed to address all three. Depending on your size, complexity, and level of readiness, Data#3 tailors the work to meet your specific needs.
Smaller organisations may have the full design completed within the engagement itself, while larger enterprises may undertake a high-level design first, often eligible for Microsoft funding. Once qualified, organisations may also access Microsoft support through Fabric Assessment or Fabric Deployment funding programs, making the process faster, more cost-effective, and lower risk.
The engagement includes:
At the end of the engagement, customers will have a production-ready Fabric environment that is governed by design, easy to use, and ready to scale as demand increases.
Organisations that succeed in this stage do three things differently:
That’s exactly how Data#3 integrates this approach in every Rapid. It’s practical rather than theoretical, and it’s built for quicker results with cleaner data, reliable reports, and a framework that expands as new use cases arise.
The middle of the analytics journey is where projects either succeed or fail. It’s where the excitement fades and the real engineering starts and organisations shouldn’t be navigating this complexity alone.
Data#3 has guided many organisations through this same transition, simplifying the path, accelerating delivery, and helping teams build Fabric environments that actually deliver business value.
Getting analytics right isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing the right things, in the right order, with a partner who has proven experience.
Talk to Data#3 about the Fabric Foundation Rapid to:
This blog is part two of our three-part analytics series. If you missed blog one, revisit the common blockers that prevent data projects from ever leaving the ground. Ready to keep going? Head to blog three, where we explore why the real work – and the real value – begins after go-live.
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