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  • SOLUTION 07. DATA AND ANALYTICS

Decisions you can prove.
Data that runs the business.

Microsoft Fabric on OneLake. Your operational data and your analytics on the same plane. AI agents deployed where the ROI is proven.
Scope your data unification
Run the data benchmark check
SA clients
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Microsoft
-certified
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Microsoft
Managed
Partners
0 in SA
Gartner Data
ntegration
MQ
0 yrs Leader
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  • The wedge no global data partner can claim.

Your Dynamics data and your Fabric data live in the same OneLake.

OneLake is one copy of your data, multiple compute engines on top. Fabric reads operational data from Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 directly. No ETL. No copy. No integration project. Snowflake reads its own copy, kept in sync by pipelines you maintain.
Microsoft Fabric eliminates the ETL layer between your operational and analytical workloads.
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  • The Microsoft stack

The Microsoft data stack you'll run. Five products. One unified platform.

Microsoft Fabric

The unified analytics platform. Power BI, Data Engineering, Data Science, Real-time and Data Activator on the same compute fabric.

OneLake

One copy of your data. Multiple compute engines. No data movement between Microsoft workloads.

Microsoft Purview

Data governance, lineage and POPIA-aligned cataloguing. Required for auditable AI on operational data.

Customer Insights, Data

The customer data platform inside Dynamics 365. The same unified record CRM and Marketing use.

Microsoft Foundry. Built by Braintree.

Custom domain agents on top of OneLake where Microsoft does not yet ship a named one.

  • The data pipeline. End to end.

Every stage. One unified platform. Microsoft-named, Braintree-deployed.

From source ingestion to governed serving, the Microsoft data agents are organised by lifecycle stage. We deploy them where the ROI is proven. Not by default.
Stage 01

Source

Microsoft Fabric mirroring

Reads Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 and Azure SQL directly. No copy. No ETL.

Stage 02

Ingest

Data Factory pipelines

Schema-on-write to OneLake Delta. Native connectors for SAP, Salesforce, Excel and stream sources.

Stage 03

Transform

Fabric notebooks plus Dataflows Gen2

Spark and SQL on the same data, no copy. Power Query for the analyst pattern. Versioned, governed.

Stage 04

Serve

Power BI plus Copilot in Fabric

Semantic models on OneLake. Native Copilot in Power BI. Real-time dashboards on Data Activator streams.

Stage 05

Govern

Microsoft Purview

Lineage across Microsoft and connected non-Microsoft sources. POPIA-aligned cataloguing. Audit-ready by default.

Custom domain agents

Built by Braintree on Microsoft Foundry

For the use cases Microsoft does not yet ship a named agent. Built on Microsoft Foundry, Copilot Studio and Power Automate. SA-grounded. Production. POPIA-aligned. Custom agents enter through the AI Value Framework. Same business case discipline as the named agents above.
  • How we deploy

How we deploy. The AI Value Framework.

Four stages. Business case first. ROI modelled. Deployed only where the case proves out.

Discover

Map data sources, decision workflows and reporting fragmentation with the highest unification ROI.

Evaluate

Go / No-go gate Full ROI and TCO model on Fabric vs Snowflake or status quo. Presented to management. Sign-off before any migration.

Deploy

Microsoft's named data agents and Power BI workloads, deployed only where the business case warrants them.

Build

Custom domain agents on Microsoft Foundry where Microsoft does not yet ship a named one.

Braintree doesn’t deploy AI agents by default. We deploy them where the ROI is proven.
  • Two paths to one Microsoft data platform.

Greenfield Fabric or migrate off your current warehouse. Pick one.

Different starting points need different scoping work. Read the column that applies. We meet you there.
PATH 01. GREENFIELD. You have not yet stood up an enterprise data platform.

Greenfield Fabric

  • Power BI on a handful of dashboards. Spreadsheets and SQL Server reports doing the rest. No central semantic model. No governance layer.
  • This is the cleanest entry point to Fabric. OneLake stands up in days. The first ROI dashboard ships in week two.
  • Typical first project. 8 to 12 weeks. Two analysts. One business sponsor.
  • Timeline: Scope a greenfield Fabric setup.
PATH 02. MIGRATE. You’re on Snowflake, Databricks or a legacy data warehouse.

Migrate from Snowflake, Databricks or legacy DW

  • OneLake reads existing warehouses via Fabric mirroring before any data moves. The migration runs in parallel with the existing dashboards. Zero downtime.
  • Schema converts to Delta tables natively. Existing dashboards rebuild in Power BI. Historical records archive to OneLake for compliance retention.
  • Typical migration. 6 to 12 months. Joint Braintree plus customer team. Phased cut-over.
  • Scope a Snowflake or Databricks migration.
Scope your data unification
  • The commercial spine.

One Microsoft Customer Agreement. Not a stack of vendor contracts.

How the commercial model changes when your data, analytics, Microsoft 365 and Azure run on one Microsoft agreement.
BEFORE. FRAGMENTED.

Your current data stack.

  • Snowflake credits on one contract. Power BI seats on another. Azure consumption on a third.
  • Cross-cloud egress fees stack each month.
  • Three vendors finger-pointing when a dashboard breaks.
  • Renewals stagger across the year. No leverage on negotiation.
  • Data residency depends on which vendor and which region.
AFTER. ONE INTELLIGENT AGREEMENT.

Your Microsoft data platform on one contract.

  • One Microsoft Customer Agreement covers Fabric capacity, Power BI, OneLake storage, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365.
  • No cross-cloud egress. The data plane stays inside Microsoft Azure.
  • One Braintree commercial lead is accountable end-to-end. No vendor finger-pointing.
  • One renewal cycle. One negotiation. One reference architecture.
  • Data residency is yours to set. Microsoft Azure South Africa North (Joburg, 3 AZs) or Microsoft Azure South Africa West (Cape Town).
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Microsoft Fabric customers in production Microsoft Build 2025 keynote.
Independently sourced via Microsoft press release.

5TH YR

Leader, Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools Microsoft named. Fifth consecutive year (2021 through 2025). Independent analyst evaluation.

90%

of Fortune 500 running Microsoft data platform workloads Microsoft public. Fortune 500, 2025.

  • vs the alternative

Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, and the practical winner.

Dimension
Snowflake
Microsoft Fabric
Practical winner
Data unification
Separate copy of operational data, sync pipelines you maintain
OneLake reads from Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 directly. One copy.
Fabric
Microsoft 365 native fit
Connector library, Snowflake-side compute
Native Copilot in Power BI and Excel. Native semantic models in Microsoft 365.
Fabric
AI agents on data
Cortex AI, Snowpark for Python
Agents on OneLake via Foundry. Cross-domain (sales, service, finance) on the same record.
Fabric
WedgeData residency for SA
US, EU, APAC. Not in SA.
Microsoft Azure Joburg plus Cape Town. POPIA-aligned.
Fabric
Third-party integrations and compute flexibility
Cross-cloud compute, deep partner network on top of Snowflake
Power Platform plus AppSource plus open formats (Delta, Iceberg) on OneLake
Snowflake
Total cost on Microsoft estate
Snowflake credits plus cross-cloud egress plus integration build
One Microsoft Customer Agreement covers Fabric capacity, Dynamics, Microsoft 365 on one renewal.
Fabric
5 to 1 in Braintree’s favour. Snowflake wins on cross-cloud compute flexibility. Honest.
  • Talk to a data specialist

Three specialists. One direct line. Plus the 8-minute benchmark check.

The bench you’ll work with

Three data specialists. Matched to your scoping call.

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01 Data Practice Lead

Microsoft Certified. Microsoft Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate.

02 OneLake Architect and Data Engineer

Microsoft Certified. Azure Data Engineer Associate.

03 Commercial Lead, One Intelligent Agreement

Microsoft Customer Agreement. CSP.

We match you to the right specialist when you book the scoping call. Names land in your calendar invite, not on a page you scrolled past.
Match me to a specialist →
  • Free, 8 minutes

How does your data stack compare to the SA enterprise median?

8 questions. We map your stack against benchmarks from 220+ SA clients. You get a tier. Above median, At median, Below median fixable in 90 days, Below median fixable in 12 months. Plus the actions to close the gap.
Run the data benchmark check
  • What happens after you click.

What happens after you click.

01

You share the environment.

NDA in place day one. Read-only Microsoft Fabric and Power BI access. Snowflake or other warehouse credentials only if a migration is in scope. We never write to your data.

02

We return a scoped response.

5 working days. Lance hard SLA. Inside the response. Your current state mapped, the unification opportunities ranked by ROI, and the named Microsoft agents we’d deploy first. Plus a 3-year TCO model.

03

30-minute findings call.

We walk you through the scoping response. You decide if you want a full Phase 02 Evaluate. No deck. No pitch. Just findings and the question “is this the right next move?”
Book the 30-minute scoping call
  • Common questions, honestly answered.

What CDOs ask before they book.

Eight questions we answer in every scoping call. Pre-empted here so you can scan first.
Where does our data live if we move to Microsoft Fabric?
On Microsoft Azure South Africa North in Joburg (with three Availability Zones) or Microsoft Azure South Africa West in Cape Town. POPIA-aligned by default. Fabric capacity runs in your region of choice. OneLake stores one copy per region. The Information Regulator’s 2026/27 priorities shifted from reactive complaints to proactive industry sweeps. The first direct-marketing fine of R100,000 was issued to FT Rams Consulting. The maximum penalty is R10 million or 10 years. A global Snowflake deployment cannot truthfully say your data stays in South Africa. Microsoft Fabric on Braintree can.
On data unification, OneLake reads from Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 directly. No ETL. Snowflake reads its own copy, kept in sync by pipelines you maintain. On AI, Fabric agents share the same customer record across Sales, Service, Insights and Contact Center. On TCO, the Microsoft Customer Agreement covers Fabric capacity plus Dynamics plus Microsoft 365 on one renewal. Snowflake wins on cross-cloud compute flexibility and a deep partner network. Microsoft is named a Leader in Gartner’s Data Integration Tools MQ for the fifth consecutive year. Honest comparison.
Step 02 Map produces a Snowflake-to-OneLake entity map. Tables migrate via Fabric mirroring (OneLake reads Snowflake schemas without copying data first), then convert to Delta tables natively. Active dashboards rebuild in Power BI on the same data. Historical records archive to OneLake for compliance retention. Integrations rebuild on Power Automate or Microsoft Foundry. Typical migration runs 6 to 12 months. Braintree is one of three Microsoft Managed Partners in SA, with proven enterprise data migration experience.
Fabric replaces the data warehouse layer (Synapse, Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery), the data lake layer (separate ADLS or S3), the BI tool (when Power BI is already in use), the data integration layer (where Fivetran or Stitch sits), and parts of the data science layer (where standalone Synapse Studio or notebooks sit). It does not replace your operational systems (Dynamics, Salesforce, Microsoft 365). It reads from them via OneLake, not by replacing them.
Stage 02 Evaluate produces a 3-year ROI / TCO model per shortlisted agent before any deployment. Sales agent ROI usually models against pipeline contribution and seller-hours saved. Finance agent ROI models against forecast accuracy and audit cycle time. Service agent ROI models against case deflection and CSAT. Microsoft published its own Sales Development Agent benchmark across 61,734 outreaches with a 15.1% lead-to-opportunity rate. We model your environment, not Microsoft’s. Braintree doesn’t deploy AI agents by default. We deploy them where the ROI is proven.
Customer Insights Data is the customer data platform inside Dynamics 365 and Fabric. It unifies records from sales, service, marketing, finance and external sources into a single profile on OneLake. A separate CDP makes sense when the data sources are heavily non-Microsoft and the activation channels are heavily non-Microsoft. For an enterprise consolidating onto Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Microsoft Foundry, Customer Insights is the default answer. The unified record matters more than the CDP brand on the box.
Purview handles data discovery, lineage, classification and POPIA-aligned cataloguing across the Microsoft estate plus connected non-Microsoft sources. Fabric handles the data and analytics workloads. They share OneLake’s metadata layer but solve different jobs. For SA enterprises with POPIA exposure or AI deployments running on personal data, Purview moves from “nice to have” to “required” once auditors ask “where is your data lineage?” We typically deploy Purview at the same time as Fabric for clients in regulated sectors.
Three answers. Credentials. Braintree is one of three Microsoft Managed Partners in South Africa. 220+ SA clients, 100+ Microsoft-certified professionals, 10+ years on the Microsoft data platform. Data residency. The only honest answer to “your data stays in South Africa” comes from a partner with SA Azure operations. Method. The AI Value Framework gates every agent deployment against ROI, every time. Most data partners sell the agent catalogue. Braintree sells the case for each one. Braintree doesn’t deploy AI agents by default. We deploy them where the ROI is proven.
  • From the Braintree practice.

Insights for CDOs and CIOs evaluating Microsoft Fabric.

Strategy

Snowflake vs Microsoft Fabric in 2026. The honest TCO scorecard for SA enterprises.

Snowflake compute pricing versus Microsoft Fabric capacity units. Cross-cloud egress versus same-Azure data plane. The TCO scorecard SA enterprises need before they sign another year of either platform.
  • Article in production

Migration

Lift-and-shift versus rebuild. When each makes sense for your data stack.

Lift-and-shift migrates the data and inherits the technical debt. Rebuild on OneLake costs more on day one, less by month twelve. The decision tree for SA enterprises moving off legacy warehouses.
  • Article in production

Methodology

From dashboards nobody opens to decisions nobody questions. The agent stack on top of Fabric.

Microsoft published Fabric customer benchmarks. 31,000+ in production. 90% of Fortune 500 on OneLake. The agent fleet that turns data into decisions, mapped to the four lifecycle stages SA enterprises run.
  • Article in production
  • Solutions adjacent to Data and Analytics.

Where Microsoft data meets the rest of your business.

One Braintree agreement. One team. Full Microsoft coverage.

AI Jumpstart

Custom domain agents on Microsoft Foundry, ready in 90 days. Operational data from your Fabric estate becomes the training set. ROI measured against decision throughput, not just model accuracy. Bioforum is the live SA reference.

Explore →

CRM and Customer Engagement

Dynamics 365 Sales, Service, Customer Insights and Contact Center on the same unified customer record. The data you unify in Fabric becomes the record CRM agents act on. One profile across every channel.

Explore →

Modernise ERP. Enterprise

Your operational ERP data on Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management feeds OneLake directly. The same data drives both your transactions and your decisions. No copy, no ETL, no waiting for the warehouse refresh.

Explore →
  • Decisions you can prove. Data that runs the business.

Get your CDO defending decisions, not chasing data.

30-min scoping call. We assess your stack, map the unification plays that pay back, and tell you whether Microsoft Fabric is the right move. No pitch deck.
Scope your data unification
Run the data benchmark check