Azure Synapse is Microsoft’s Data Warehouse solution on the Azure cloud. However, it has been facing internal competition from Databricks for some time and, since last year, from Microsoft Fabric as well.
Microsoft Synapse and Databricks are well-known solutions for building a Data Warehouse or Data Lakehouse, both offered by Microsoft on its Azure cloud. Since last year, Microsoft has introduced Microsoft Fabric , which competes with both but is also integrated with them. Although Databricks is a more standalone solution, this article focuses more on whether Fabric is effectively the successor to Synapse.
Users and companies may now be asking themselves which service to choose. With the introduction of Fabric, it becomes increasingly important to understand the difference between it and Azure Synapse Analytics. Synapse is Microsoft’s cloud tool for data processing, well tested over the years. Constant improvements have brought countless features and bug fixes, offering many options for preparing data, and it is widely used to build ETL pipelines.
_Synapse vs Fabric_
Fabric, on the other hand, aims to be the complete solution for data. Parts of Synapse are integrated into Fabric, with Azure Synapse Analytics features being gradually adopted. Both products coexist, and Fabric Synapse includes the creation of Data Lakehouses and Warehouses. Data storage, which is not provided in Azure Synapse Analytics, happens, for example, in an Azure Datalake. Technologically, in Fabric, storage is just an extension of an Azure Datalake, called OneLake, managed automatically by Fabric.
Now you may be wondering why you would choose Azure Synapse when Fabric offers more features, and companies using Synapse may be asking whether they need a major migration to the Fabric project. There won’t be many updates and new features for Azure Synapse, while Microsoft Fabric, on the other hand, is the newer product, still has some features in preview, and is being developed quickly. Microsoft plans to ease the migration from Synapse to Fabric, making the move from Azure Synapse Analytics to Microsoft Fabric simpler in the future, which should reassure Synapse users.
In general, Fabric is the tool for the future and the right choice, especially for long-term planning. By standardizing multiple functions, Fabric offers the most comprehensive solution.
Sources and further reading
Microsoft, Azure Synapse Analytics - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/synapse-analytics#:~:text=Azure%20Synapse%20Analytics%20is%20an,log%20and%20time%20series%20analytics.
Microsoft, Introducing Microsoft Fabric: Data analytics for the era of AI - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-microsoft-fabric-data-analytics-for-the-era-of-ai/
Microsoft, Microsoft Fabric explained for existing Synapse users - https://blog.fabric.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-fabric-explained-for-existing-synapse-users/
