At the core of this shift is AI. By making decisions on the most up-to-date data, AI can detect anomalies, uncover patterns, trigger alerts, and continuously optimize workflows, as events unfold. No more waiting for yesterday’s reports to make tomorrow’s decisions.

Batch systems inherently operate on delay that doesn’t impact historical reporting, but isn't sufficient for live operations. Streaming flips that model, delivering a continuous flow of insights when they matter most: now.

Henry Ford once said, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said faster horses.” We don’t need faster batch jobs. We need a new paradigm. So instead of trying to speed up a process that isn’t designed for real-time, start where the action begins: at the moment data is born.

The pace of business has changed. Has your analytics kept up?

How is batch processing used today?

Enterprises today often use a centralized analytics team to handle batch processing. This involves extracting data from various sources, processing it through multiple stages in a “medallion architecture” (bronze, silver, gold), loading that data into a compute engine, and finally delivering it to end-users via tools like Power BI. This process is often slow and cumbersome, leading to delays in decision-making. Batch processing works when you have a very predictable set of data that always needs the same processing structure, but it suffers from:

• Delayed insights from reporting on stale data.
• A need for centralized control and governance.
• Pipeline failures affecting the whole batch.

In today’s dynamic world, our expectations and our customers’ expectations have increased to a more agile, adaptable framework. This is where real-time streaming comes into play.

What is real-time streaming?

Real-time streaming is a data processing paradigm that involves the continuous flow and analysis of data as it is generated. Unlike traditional batch processing methods that collect and process data at intervals, real-time streaming allows for instantaneous insights and responses, making it possible to act on information as events unfold.

This approach is increasingly vital in a range of applications, from fraud detection and live monitoring to dynamic decision-making in business processes. By leveraging real-time streaming solutions, organizations can enhance operational efficiency, improve responsiveness, and deliver more agile, data-driven experiences.

How do you know you need real-time streaming?

The shift to real-time often starts with a question. When organizations begin asking for faster insights, smarter automation, and more responsive systems, it’s a clear sign they’ve outgrown batch processing. Here are common signs: “I want to…”

• Respond to events in my business.
• Receive instant alerts when something changes.
• Monitor digital and physical assets continuously and in detail.
• Generate real-time reports and dashboards.
• Enable AI and machine learning to act in the moment.
• Scale systems without sacrificing performance.
• Build and deliver data products in real time.

If these needs resonate with you, your organization is ready to evolve. And your data infrastructure should, too.

What benefits does streaming data provide?

Streaming data enables faster and more responsive operations by delivering insights as events unfold. It eliminates the delays of batch processing and supports continuous awareness and action. With streaming data, businesses can:

• Detect and respond to changes instantly.
• Diagnose problems as they emerge and shorten the time-to-resolve.
• Power real-time dashboards and decision-making.
• Feed machine learning and generative AI with live, high-fidelity inputs.
• Monitor digital and physical assets continuously.
• Scale analytics without sacrificing performance.
• Deliver real-time data products to internal and external consumers.

This shift turns data into a live operational asset, driving immediate action, automation, and continuous improvement.

What is Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric?

Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric is built for the now. It delivers a powerful, unified SaaS platform for continuously ingesting, processing streaming data, training machine learning and AI models, and transforming raw signals into actions in real time. It bridges the gap between data and action. It’s not just about seeing what’s happening, it’s about responding as it happens.

Across industries, Real-Time Intelligence is already powering smarter, faster decision-making in thousands of organizations across a variety of industries:

Is Fabric Real-Time Intelligence cost-effective?

Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Intelligence is built for both performance and cost-efficiency. With a flexible, consumption-based pricing model, you only pay for what you use, whether it’s streaming ingestion, transformation, or event-driven processing, allowing you to start small and scale seamlessly. Unlike traditional batch systems, which often require heavy infrastructure and redundant data processing, it optimizes costs by processing only the most recent records in real time.

In many cases, it’s not just more responsive than batch. It’s more affordable. And compared to other streaming platforms, Real-Time Intelligence in Microsoft Fabric delivers powerful real-time capabilities at a lower total cost of ownership. Real-time insights don’t have to come at a premium.

The future is streaming, don’t let it pass you by

Real-time is no longer a luxury. It’s a competitive necessity. With Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Intelligence, you can harness streaming data with a streamlined, intuitive experience designed for scale, speed, and simplicity. It’s not about processing everything faster. It’s about processing the right data, as it happens, and turning it into action.

Say goodbye to outdated batch jobs, complex pipelines, and latency that holds your business back. With event-driven transformations and real-time ELT, you’re not just cleaning up data. You’re clearing the path to instant insight and smarter decisions.

The future of data is already in motion. Are you ready to move with it?

• Learn

  • Use the docs: https://aka.ms/realtimedocs
  • Complete the learning path: https://aka.ms/realtimelearningpath
  • Get Certified: https://aka.ms/realtimeskill

• Get hands on

  • Play the Kusto Detective agency: https://aka.ms/realtimedetective
  • Complete the tutorial: https://aka.ms/realtimetutorial

• Engage

  • Ask Questions: https://aka.ms/realtimeforum
  • Submit ideas: https://aka.ms/Fabric-ideas

• Stay updated

  • Read the blog: https://aka.ms/realtimeblogs
  • Follow us on LinkedIn: https://aka.ms/realtimelinkedin
  • Watch us on YouTube: https://aka.ms/fabricyoutube

Check out the release plan https://aka.ms/realtimereleaseplan.