From Legacy Data Warehouse to Modern Data Platform in 5 weeks: How our Cairn for Fabric revolutionizes migration
"Migration? But that means months of downtime, risk of data loss, a massive budget, and tying up an entire army of IT staff." Today, we will show you how we completely eliminate these risks at DataRiseLab (DRL) and why we can close a project in a timeframe that is virtually unimaginable for most companies implementing data solutions.What is our "Cairn for Fabric" in practice? Our Data Architect explains it as simply as possible: "Our Cairn for Fabric is an advanced, digital assembly line." Imagine that instead of building every house from the foundations to the roof, you bring ready-made, high-quality prefabricated elements to the construction site and assemble them on the spot. Our...
Semantic Link in Microsoft Fabric
Semantic Link as a Bridge Between Power BI and Python Integrating business logic from Power BI models with the flexibility of Python within Microsoft Fabric previously required duplicating data structures. With the introduction of the Semantic Link feature, this barrier has been eliminated, creating a direct bridge between the semantic layer and the data science environment. This solution allows DAX measures, relationships, and metadata to be read directly in notebooks. This enables the use of predefined business rules in data cleaning processes and machine learning model development, ensuring consistent results and reducing the time required to implement advanced analytics.Business...
Case Study: Cost Optimization – Transitioning from Power BI Premium Per User to MS Fabric Introduction
Most restaurant chains start with Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) because it offers a quick and affordable entry point. However, once you scale hundreds of managers or franchisees, the licensing invoice quickly starts to "eat" into your margins. Migrating to Microsoft Fabric F64 represents a shift from a "per-head" model to dedicated compute capacity. In this article, we examine how this change regains control over the IT budget and why, at the right scale, it is simply the most logical business move. In the low-margin restaurant industry, optimizing data analytics spending is a key operational strategy. While initial deployment using Power BI Premium Per User (PPU) licenses is justified...
2025 summary
2025 has been an intense and defining year for us - not just as a data and AI company, but as a trusted partner and advisor helping organizations make better decisions with data.This year, we nearly doubled our revenue, reaching around 10 million PLN, and we deliberately reinvested most of that growth back into the Company - into our People, our offering and the foundations for future products.Our Team grew from 28 to 44 people (with 5 more people joining us in early January 2026). We introduced a new organizational structure, strengthened leadership and delivery functions, and implemented processes that allow us to scale - without turning into a rigid, over-engineered organization. At the...
SVG visualizations as the fulfillment of dreams about your own custom visualization
I. Introduction SVG visuals in Power BI unlock a level of precision and storytelling that standard charts can’t easily reach. Because SVG is just markup, every pixel - positions, shapes, labels, and interactions - can be driven by measures and dynamic business rules. The result: compact, brand-consistent visuals (custom gauges, bullet charts, waterfalls, timelines, scorecards, schematics) that stay responsive to slicers, drill-throughs, and row-level context without external add-ins.In this article, we’ll walk step-by-step through building an SVG visual from scratch: choosing the coordinate system, binding measures to geometry, formatting text for legibility, layering annotations, and...
How to create a visually appealing report in Power BI? Why are aesthetics and readability important in reports?
Creating reports in Power BI is more than just plugging in data and throwing in a few charts. Even the best-designed analytical logic can go unnoticed if the report is unreadable, cluttered, or visually inconsistent. A report's aesthetics and readability directly impact how effectively users perceive and understand the presented data. In this article, we present key principles for creating clear and aesthetic reports in Power BI – both from a design and technical perspective.1. Visual consistency - the key to a professional lookVisual consistency is the foundation of report aesthetics. A consistent style enhances its professional appeal and facilitates data analysis. What is particularly...
How was our company intranet created? The Story of a Grassroots Initiative at DRL
Does a small business need an intranet? From our experience – definitely.At DataRiseLab, we're a team of nearly 40 people. We work on data projects. And although we use modern technologies every day, we lacked a single place where information would be organized and easily accessible. This isn't about rocket science. It's about answers to simple, everyday questions: How do I complete my Time Sheet? How do I report vacation time? Where can I find marketing materials? What are our employee/project referral policies? Who is responsible for a given area in the organization? What's new at the company? and so it began.An idea born out of necessity – maturing for a long time The idea of creating...
We have achieved the Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Partner status
We are pleased to share another important achievement in our history – DataRiseLab has achieved Microsoft Solutions Partner status in the Azure Infrastructure area! This is the third Microsoft partnership our team has secured, following previous recognitions in Data & AI (Azure) and Digital & App Innovation. This designation confirms our expertise in designing and implementing scalable, secure, and reliable infrastructure in the Microsoft Azure cloud. We join a group of partners who not only understand the foundations of a modern cloud but also know how to build them in practice – from the migration of local environments to comprehensive infrastructure management at the highest...
We got it! New partnership with Microsoft – Azure Digital & App Innovation
With great joy, we announce that DataRiseLab has received another prestigious Microsoft Solutions Partner designation – this time in the area of Azure Digital & App Innovation. This is the second Solutions Partner title awarded to our organization – after our previous success in the Data & AI (Azure) category, we now also join the group of partners recognized for their competences in creating modern cloud applications. This is an important step in our development, confirming both our technological skills and our commitment to delivering scalable, secure and innovative solutions based on the Microsoft Azure platform.What requirements did we have to meet? To become a Solutions...
Terraform – Your Digital Infrastructure Handyman
Why Terraform is the "handyman" for IT Let’s imagine your cloud is a house, and each server, network, or database is another piece of furniture or an electrical installation. Instead of moving furniture around blindly, all you need is a simple drawing… Terraform – which will assemble, move, or dismantle any element on its own when given simple instruction.source: https://developer.hashicorp.comOne instruction – many possibilities Everything you do in Terraform is saved in .tf files – it's like having a set of architectural blueprints: Adding: "Build a new office" (create a server; configure the network). Updating: "Change wall color" (adjust instance parameters). Removing: "Demolish an...