When deciding whether to use Microsoft Fabric, Solver, or a combination of both for analytics, reporting, and data warehousing, consider the following guidelines based on their capabilities and strengths: 

When to Use Microsoft Fabric 

Summary: (Data/IT Team initiatives) – Unified data platform, data governance, advanced analytics, operational reporting, AI strategies.  

1. Unified Analytics Platform: Fabric is ideal for organizations with multiple data sources seeking an all-in-one solution for data integration, processing, and analytics. It unifies tools like Power BI, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Data Factory into a single SaaS platform, simplifying workflows and reducing complexity. 

2. Real-Time Data Processing: If our clients require real-time insights or need to handle streaming data efficiently, Fabric’s real-time intelligence and integrated pipelines make it a strong choice. 

1. Lake-Centric Data Warehousing: Fabric’s data warehouse is built on a lakehouse architecture, providing a sinble place for data and enabling seamless collaboration between data engineers and business users while supporting open data formats like Delta-Parquet. 

3. Scalability and Performance: Fabric offers near-instantaneous scaling and high-performance distributed query processing, making it suitable for large-scale analytics projects. 

4. Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: If our clients already use Microsoft tools like Power BI or Dynamics 365, Fabric’s native integration can streamline workflows and enhance efficiency. 

5. AI and Machine Learning: Fabric supports AI-driven workflows, making it a good fit for projects that require predictive modeling or advanced analytics. 

When to Use Solver 

Summary: (Finance led initiatives) – Financial reporting, financial and operational budgeting, forecasting and planning.  

1. Financial Reporting : Solver the fit for purpose tool for financial financial reporting requirements.Its modern Excel add-in simplifies report creation with templates and drag-and-drop features. 

2. Planning – Solver excels in financial and operational budgeting, forecasting and planning.  

3. Reporting and planning for Dynamics ERPs : Solver integrates seamlessly with Dynamics ERP systems and provides pre-built connectors for simplified data management, making it ideal for financial reporting. 

4. Data Warehouseing for Financial Reporting and Planning: Solver’s pre-configured Azure-based data warehouse is tailored for consolidating financial data for reporting purposes. It is user-friendly and designed to be managed by business users without extensive technical expertise. 

5. Power BI Connector: Solver integrates with Power BI to create dashboards across the Solver data. providing financial data analysis. 

When to Use Both Together 

Summary: Client requires fit for purpose financial reporting and planning capabilities to combine with data management and analytics strategies 

1. Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics Needs: If your clients require both advanced financial reporting (Solver) and broader analytics capabilities (Fabric), combining the two can provide a robust solution to align with their data strategy 

2. Financial and operational planning requirement/use cases to align with an existing or developing data platform and analytics requirement. 

3. Data Consolidation with Solver; Advanced Analytics with Fabric: Use Solver’s pre-configured data warehouse to consolidate for financial reporting and planning while leveraging Fabric’s capabilities for large-scale data processing, real-time analytics, or AI-driven insights. 

4. Enhanced Visualization: Data processed in Solver can be fed into Fabric’s Power BI integration for advanced visualization and sharing across teams. 

Key Considerations 

• Data Volume: For very large datasets exceeding 100GB or requiring extensive processing, Fabric may be more suitable due to its scalability. 

• Technical Expertise: Solver is easier to use for financial professionals familiar with Excel, while Fabric will require more technical expertise for setup and management. 

• Cost Efficiency: Evaluate the cost structure of each tool based on our clients’ needs—Solver has fixed costs tied to its modules and implementation using templates, while Fabric uses a pay-as-you-go model

By aligning the strengths of each platform with our clients’ specific requirements—whether focused on financial reporting or broader analytics— we can maximize the value delivered through our services. 

PA’s ideal position is that we provide a complimentary Fabric/Solver solution to a client – Fabric and Solver are not mutually exclusive and work well together. 

Our default solution to meet the financial reporting and planning needs of our Dynamics Business Central clients is Solver which can integrate with Power BI for and Fabric 

Our default solution to meet general data warehousing / analytics needs is Fabric/Power BI. The more non-Business Central datasets an organisation seeks to have analytics over the more compelling a Fabric lake-centric solution becomes including the option of integrating directly with a Solver data warehouse.