Are you looking to improve your Power BI skills but unsure which conferences best fit your desired learning? John White has been helping clients with Power BI since its first release and has spoken at the biggest Power BI conferences, globally! This makes him the perfect person to help!
Video Summary
- Introduction to Conferences: Vlad introduces John, a Power BI expert, to discuss which conferences Power BI professionals should attend in 2025, highlighting the difference between SharePoint/Microsoft 365 and Power BI expertise.
- Power BI’s Evolution: John explains his background in SharePoint and how Power BI evolved from Power Pivot for SharePoint, eventually becoming part of Azure Data while still being marketed under the Power Platform.
- Conference Options: There are two main conferences in North America for Power BI professionals: the Power Platform Conference and the Fabric Conference. In Europe, there’s also the European Business App Summit and the European Fabric Conference.
- Choosing the Right Conference: The choice between the Power Platform Conference and the Fabric Conference depends on your focus. If you’re more into data visualization and sharing insights, go for the Power Platform Conference. If you’re into data management and infrastructure, the Fabric Conference is better suited.
- Final Recommendations: Ideally, attending both conferences would be beneficial if budget allows. Vlad also mentions potential discount codes for the Fabric Conference and provides details on European conference options.
For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!
Video Transcript
A lot of you have reached out to ask me, as a Power BI professional, what conference you should go to in 2025. Since I’m more on the SharePoint and Microsoft 365 side of things, I decided to bring in an actual Power BI expert to help answer that. John, thank you so much for taking the time. You’ve been in the Microsoft 365, Power BI, and Fabric fields for over a decade now, so I’m sure a lot of people know you. But for those who don’t, can you introduce yourself?
John responds, “Well, first of all, expert is a strong word, but you know, just between the two of us, I’ll go with it. Just by way of quick background, you and I know each other from the SharePoint and Microsoft 365 community. My focus on it, when I first really heavily got into SharePoint, was on what you would call the persona today of business intelligence. Remember way back when we had Excel Services, Performance Point, and Power Pivot for SharePoint? I remember setting them up as an admin, setting up the service applications and service accounts. As soon as I would set them up, I’d be like, ‘Nope, not my problem anymore,’ and that’s where you came in.”
John continues, “What happened ultimately with those workloads is they spun out and spun into what really is where Power BI came from in the first place. It came out of Power Pivot for SharePoint. I’ve followed along that whole process. Now, Power BI is its own thing with its own structure within Microsoft, and it’s actually part of Azure Data all up. I built a company along the way, Tigra, that did analysis for Microsoft 365, so I’ve always had both feet in both worlds.”
Vlad mentions, “You mentioned something called Azure Data, which as a learner and somebody not in the field as much as you, we had Power BI that was in the Power Platform. When it launched, it wasn’t the Power Platform from a marketing point of view, but it still is. The logo is still there. The conference got renamed to the Azure Data Conference for a few months a while back.”
John clarifies, “There were different conferences. The Azure Data Conference got renamed into the Microsoft Fabric Conference. Fundamentally, there was the world of business apps, and Power BI lived in that world for a long time. That’s the same group you find Dynamics in, and Power Platform is in that same group. Power BI was the first Power Platform product.
Then along came Power Apps and Power Automate, which was Flow at one point. They consolidated under certain leadership, and Power BI had different leadership within that group. Ultimately, the leadership of Power BI within that group became in charge of all data within Microsoft, which is in Azure. So, Power BI from an engineering standpoint is part of Azure Data, but from a marketing standpoint, it’s still part of the Power Platform. That’s where all the confusion comes in.”
Vlad asks, “So if we look at the conferences and training opportunities we have today, in North America, we have the Power Platform Conference and the Fabric Conference. In Europe, we have the same thing and also the new conference in Germany, the European Business App Summit, which combines both of them.”
John responds, “Yes, the European Business App Summit includes Power Platform as well. If you’re from North America and you’re a Power BI person, which conference should you go to? It depends on your focus area. Power BI uniquely straddles both the collaborative apps and data aspects.
If your focus on Power BI is around the care and feeding of data, the more infrastructure side, the Fabric Conference is the way to go. If you’re interested in Power BI from a communication standpoint, integrating into Teams, SharePoint, and spreading the word, the Power Platform Conference is for you. Ideally, attending both conferences would be beneficial if budget allows.”
Vlad recaps, “If you’re more like me, where your data is already pretty, you just connect to something, build out your report, and focus on visuals and sharing, go for the Power Platform Conference. If you’re more on the backend, doing DAX queries and ensuring data is clean, the Fabric Conference is better. Hopefully, you’ll be at the Fabric one, and there might be a discount code for it. If you’re from Europe, you have options like the European Business App Summit in May or the European Fabric Conference in September.”
John concludes, “Yes, there will likely be a discount code for the Fabric Conference. As soon as I know, I’ll let you know. There are also many conferences in Europe, like the European Power Platform Conference in Vienna in June. I’ll put the links to all of them in the description below. Thank you for having me, and thank you everyone for watching.
