Microsoft Insights

Practical advice from the people who work with Microsoft data & AI technologies every day.

Keeping up with Microsoft technology isn’t easy.

There’s a dizzying array of products and capabilities, and with AI moving at the pace it is, things are changing faster than ever.

At Oakland, our consultants work with these technologies every day. They’re implementing solutions for clients, talking to Microsoft, attending industry events and finding out what’s new, what’s useful and what’s actually working.

We know you don’t always have the time to keep up with everything, so think of us as your eyes and ears.

Here you’ll find blogs, videos, guides and real-world case studies created by our Microsoft specialists. We share what we’re learning, what we’re seeing across the industry and the practical advice that comes from doing the work, not just talking about it..

Microsoft blogs

Recent thinking, hot takes, and practical explainers from our Microsoft data and AI consultants to help you make sense of MS technologies.

  • Microsoft
  • Spotlight

Rajan Chavda Discusses MS Fabric

A Technical Deep Dive with Rajan Chavda, Senior Solutions Architect. For our first Spotlight interview, Nicola, our Head of Marketing, sat down with Rajan Chavda to discuss how Microsoft Fabric is paving the way for analytics and AI adoption, the shift from infrastructure management to plug-and-play analytics, and why the single source of truth remains the enterprise's main goal.

Poster for a "LinkedIn Live" event titled "Oakland - Microsoft Ignite: The Debrief" with the subtitle "What's next for data leaders?"
  • Microsoft
  • Tech Talk

Microsoft Ignite 2025: The Debrief from Oakland’s LinkedIn Live

If you missed our very first LinkedIn Live, don’t worry – we’ve pulled out all the key points in this handy blog. Here are the practical takeaways from our four experts as they looked back at Microsoft Ignite 2025 and what it all means for the future of data and AI for your organisation!

  • Microsoft
  • Tech Talk

How Microsoft Fabric is Reshaping the Enterprise Data Platform

At a recent Oakland event co-hosted with Microsoft, we had the pleasure of welcoming Chris Webb, a seasoned Microsoft Fabric expert and member of the Fabric Customer Advisory Team. Chris ran a session exploring Microsoft Fabric in full, answering: Below, we round up the insight Chris shared during the informative session – a must-read if…

  • Microsoft
  • Platform & Data Engineering

Should you Adopt Microsoft Fabric as your Data Platform?

As Microsoft Partners; here at Oakland we’re being asked by more and more clients if Microsoft Fabric could help them to drive better more profitable outcomes from their data? Source: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-fabric Microsoft Fabric has been out on general release for a while now and is increasingly seen as a serious alternative to a bespoke Data…

Microsoft Purview Workshop
  • Data Governance
  • Microsoft

Microsoft Purview Latest Insights

As Oakland is ‘everything data’ we are always working on the latest and best ways we can help our clients deliver value, with data governance tooling such a huge part of enterprise organisations data governance journey, we jumped at the chance to host a workshop with our Microsoft partners focused on our Microsoft Purview consulting…

  • Data Governance
  • Microsoft

Is Microsoft Purview The Answer to Modern Data Governance?

In today’s data-driven world, effective governance is crucial for managing vast volumes of information while ensuring security and compliance. Microsoft Purview promises a robust solution to modern data governance challenges, offering seamless integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem. As businesses increasingly rely on data to drive decision-making, tools like Purview help streamline data cataloguing, classification, and protection. …

Microsoft case studies

Choosing a Microsoft consultancy is a big decision. You want to know they’ve done it before. Explore our real-world projects and see how we’ve helped organisations implement Microsoft technologies and deliver results.

Large modern office block.
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Platform & Data Engineering
  • Azure

Enterprise Finance AI: Transforming Financial Information at Scale

The Challenge The organisation’s central finance function supports a workforce of approximately 30,000 employees and more than 3,000 cost centre managers operating across multiple regions. Financial information was spread across multiple transaction systems, creating a fragmented view of spend and compliance. As a result, finance teams struggled to: Even where issues were known to exist,…

Man sitting at a desk holding papers in one hand and using a laptop with the other hand.
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Azure

AI Product Classification Solution at Scale

How we brought order to complexity and created a scalable, AI-driven foundation for more informed, data-led decision-making for a leading provider of IT solutions and services.

  • Platform & Data Engineering
  • Azure

Leveraging Microsoft Azure for Market Expansion and Growth

Oakland was tasked with building a cloud-based data analytics platform designed to propel Emerald into the future. This platform needed to provide comprehensive data governance and quality functionality, reconciling conflicting data from diverse sources.

Microsoft videos

Meet our Microsoft specialists. They’re passionate about technology, know their stuff and don’t take themselves too seriously. Watch them share their expertise, discuss the latest developments and explain what really matters in practice.

Microsoft guides

In-depth, jargon-free guides packed with pragmatic advice to help you take the next steps with your MS investment.

  • Microsoft

Microsoft Fabric

Software used to arrive in boxes once a year. Now it ships in sprints and cycles, which is excellent for the product and harder for anyone writing about it. Microsoft Fabric is a great example. New components arrive every month. Some may get renamed or retired. Any document capturing the full feature set is essentially a historical record by the time it reaches you.

About our Microsoft Data & AI Consultancy

Got a Microsoft challenge? Let’s talk.

Whether you’re exploring what’s possible or tackling a specific problem, our data and AI specialists can help you work out the best way forward.

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