RADACAD Data Analytics Updates 5th May 2026

Five reasons why analytics projects Fail

In this video, I break down the five most common reasons analytics projects fail, and more importantly, what you can do to avoid them. Whether you're a data analyst, BI developer, or leading a team through a Power BI or Microsoft Fabric implementation, these pitfalls can derail even the best-planned projects. Watch this video to learn what to watch out for before your next project hits a wall.

Auckland Power BI & Fabric Meetup Recording April 2026 - Gilbert Quevauvilliers - Semantic Lab

Stop doing Fabric admin tasks manually. Semantic Link Labs lets you automate everything — and in this session, Gilbert Quevauvilliers shows you exactly how. In this Auckland Power BI & Microsoft Fabric User Group session, Gilbert walks through real, live demos of Semantic Link Labs — the open-source Python library that automates the most painful, repetitive tasks in Microsoft Fabric and Power BI. From copying reports to managing incremental refresh policies with just a few lines of code, this is a must-watch for anyone working with Microsoft Fabric. Gilbert Quevauvilliers is a Microsoft Fabric and Power BI consultant based in Brisbane, Australia. He helps organizations automate and scale their Fabric and Power BI environments through consulting.

In-Person Fabric and Power BI Courses

Our Power BI and Microsoft Fabric training courses were a huge success during last year's world tour — and the feedback from attendees was incredible. We are still finalizing the dates and cities for this year's tour, so stay tuned for that announcement. In the meantime, if you do not want to wait, reach out to us directly. We are more than happy to schedule a private training session for your team — at your pace, on your schedule, tailored to your needs. Just send us a message and we will take it from there.

Here are some feedback from this round of training;

Enthusiastic and intense, it’s been an incredible three days, covering all important aspects of Data engineering, Data warehousing, Integration, Data governance, and Fabric best practices. From hands-on lab exercises to ad hoc discussions, we’ve dived deep and explored every facet of the Fabric landscape.
The course was very helpful to deepen more into the Power BI capabilities and its use cases, seeing different solution alternatives, and strengthen the knowledge we already have in some topics.
I liked the training a lot. It was a very interactive session - good level of overview around PowerBI Architectures, mixed with right level of deeper dives. Reza was always open and approachable to adjust the agenda and answering questions relevant to the audience. I enjoyed switching between presentation and Live-demos, which made the content easy to understand and remember.
Reza is very knowledgeable in MS tech stack and some of the questions he answered went beyond just the fabric usage in a more holistic and practical view from his experiences. It was one of the best engaging trainings I have attended in years and would definitely recommend anyone looking to learn Fabric architecture and workloads to attend this brilliantly designed course.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Microsoft Fabric training. The content was well-structured and relevant, providing a deep dive into essential topics. Reza was an outstanding trainer, whose enthusiasm and deep knowledge made the learning process both effective and enjoyable. His practical examples and hands-on approach greatly aided in understanding the complexities of Fabric. I leave this course better equipped and confident in applying these new skills in my work. Highly recommend!
I really enjoyed the training. I learned a lot. Reza has the ability to convey information well and takes the time for questions.
The course was quite informative and filled up gaps in understanding MS Fabric platform. Now we have clearer strategy what is the best way to use the platform.
Thank you! Great job!

Here are some photos from the previous year's training tour;

Power BI & Fabric Summit 2027: dates announced

The 6th edition of the Power BI and Microsoft Fabric Summit this year took place from the 23rd to the 27th of February 2026. We had almost 150 sessions presented by almost 170 speakers at a week-long conference across eight tracks, spread into two repeating time slots.
We received a huge amount of positive feedback, which is heartwarming for our team after all the hard work. This is made possible by many of our wonderful speakers. If you attended this year's summit, thank you. We are glad that you could be with us this time. If you haven't been able to attend, the recordings of all sessions are now available through the event website below.
Last but not least, save the dates for Summit 2027: 22nd to 26th Feb 2027. Stay tuned for when the ticket sales are open.

Event's website:
https://globalpowerbisummit.com/

Difinity Conference 2026: Dates announced

Difinity is the largest Microsoft Data, AI, Power BI, and Fabric Conference in New Zealand and Australia, focusing on Microsoft Fabric and Data and AI technologies of Microsoft. IT Decision Makers, Developers, Business Analysts, IT Professionals, Data Engineers, Data modelers, ETL developers, Data Architects, BI Managers, BI Professionals, Database Administrators, Architects, Digital & Big Data business leaders, and Consultants will gather for two consecutive days of learning.

Difinity 2025 was a huge success. We have run 10 Difinity events so far and we got amazing feedback from attendees of all three cities.

The dates for Difinity this year are as follows;

Auckland: 3-4 Dec 2026
Melbourne: 10-11 Dec 2026
TBD: Difinity Toronto (Stay tuned)

Ticket sales will be open soon. The call for speakers is already open.

In Loving Memory of Leila Etaati

Leila Etaati is a name that RADACAD started, grew, and matured with it. She was the heart and brain of RADACAD. It is with great sadness that she passed away on the morning of 31st of December 2023 after 11 months of nonstop fight with progressive head and neck cancer. Leila was co-founder and co-director of RADACAD, Power BI & Fabric Summit, Difinity conference, Data Insight Summit, SQL Saturday Auckland, Power BI and Analytics user group in Auckland, and Global AI BootCamp in Auckland.
Some of the videos and articles published in 2023 were done while Leila was either at the hospital or going through difficult treatment plans. Nothing has ever stopped Leila from doing her work, which she loved and wanted to help community at the same time.
The past few months were split into two parts: the part that she was battling deadly cancer with all her might, I have been with her at the hospital, and we never really had much chance to think about work and our newsletter. And after her passing, which was not less difficult for me to keep going.
I may write about her difficult path in the last few months of her life at some stage, it is the most unbelievable and sad story, but also shows how strong Leila was facing all of those in a situation that everyone else would have lost hope.
I have written a tribute to her which is also mentioned in her Eulogy, which you can read here.
Below is also the video of her funeral. Leila is always with RADACAD.

Reza