Azure Synapse Link makes it simple for data teams to unlock greater value in their data by eliminating barriers between Microsoft data stores – including both operational data stored in Azure Cosmos DB and business application data stored in Microsoft Dataverse – and the limitless cloud analytics capabilities available in Azure Synapse.
As of last week’s Ignite conference, we are excited to share that Azure Synapse Link for Microsoft Dataverse is now generally available. Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse makes it possible for developers working in Power Apps or Dynamics 365 to bring their app data into Azure Synapse with just a few clicks. This unlocks opportunities for data integration with external sources, enrichment with pre-built and code-first AI and ML, and data lake analysis with familiar T-SQL queries.
We are also pleased to announce updates to Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB, including the option to further optimize query performance with support for custom partitioning (currently in public preview). Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB, which became generally available for both the Core (SQL) API and the API for MongoDB in March 2021, automatically syncs operational data into an analytical column store, empowering data teams to use Apache Spark or serverless SQL pools on Azure Synapse interchangeably to gain insights through business intelligence, big data analytics, built-in AI and machine learning options, and more.
Finally, we are thrilled to announce that Azure Synapse Link for SQL Server 2022 is now included in the SQL Server 2022 private preview. This update vastly improves the time-to-value from on-premises SQL Server data by providing the ability to run near real-time analytics with minimal impact to operational systems. To learn more or to request to join the preview, please see this blog.
Making sense of business application data with Microsoft Dataverse integration
Previously, analyzing the wealth of data stored in Microsoft Dataverse required working across multiple tools. This impeded timely insights and made it challenging to see the full value of that data. With Azure Synapse Link, Microsoft Dataverse developers can link their Dataverse environments with Azure Synapse for continuous data delivery and easy analysis and visualization with just three clicks. This means automated data export to your Azure Synapse environment, powering near real-time data access for data integration pipelines, big data processing with Apache Spark, data enrichment with built-in AI and ML capabilities, and serverless data lake exploration for ad-hoc analysis.
Unlocking insights in NoSQL data with Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB
To gain insight into operational data, data teams traditionally had to set up ETL (extract, transform, load) processes to prepare the data and load it into the system, lengthening the time between when the data was generated and when it could be analyzed. With Azure Synapse Link, Azure Cosmos DB customers can get near real-time insights on their operational NoSQL data, all without impacting their operational workloads.
New as of Ignite 2021, customers can optimize queries by setting custom partitions for their Azure Cosmos DB analytical store using keys that are commonly used as query filters. This compacts and optimizes the analytical data written to the partitioned store, resulting in better query performance even when working with a high volume of update or delete operations.
Azure Synapse Link is also now available for Azure Cosmos DB serverless accounts, expanding the integration to cover data from workloads with bursts of traffic or uncertain traffic patterns.
Finally, Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB now supports full fidelity schema when working with the Azure Cosmos DB Core (SQL) API. This means greater flexibility to run near real-time analytics against Core (SQL) API containers with mixed data types for properties or nested structures.
To learn more, check out this blog from the Azure Cosmos DB team.
Azure Synapse Link in action
Using Synapse Link, data teams can accomplish the following and more:
- Automatically import and transform Dataverse and Azure Cosmos DB data using Azure Synapse pipelines and data flows.
- Enrich Azure Cosmos DB and Dataverse data with both familiar open-source and propriety AI and ML solutions, directly available in Apache Spark pools on Azure Synapse.
- Run ad-hoc analysis on data using serverless SQL pools.
- Prepare data for end user analysis in Power BI.
What's next?
- To learn more, check out these resources on Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse.
- Ready to get started? Follow this tutorial to start analyzing your Microsoft Dataverse data in Azure Synapse.
- Interested in what else is new with Azure Synapse? Check out an overview of all of our Ignite 2021 updates.