What should we ask a Microsoft Fabric partner before signing a contract?
Four questions decide the outcome: are the KPIs pre-built or billed as discovery and custom build; do the Fabric artifacts deploy inside your own Azure tenant; who operates the pipelines and semantic model after go-live; and what is the committed date for the first live module. IntelliFabric answers 200-plus pre-built KPIs, in-tenant deployment with no data egress, managed operation, and four to six weeks to the first live module.
- 01Four questions decide the outcome of a Fabric engagement: pre-built or custom KPIs, where the artifacts are deployed, who operates the platform after go-live, and a committed date for the first live module. The rest of a proposal is detail.
- 02Ask for the KPI list in writing before you sign. A partner with a pre-built library can send 200+ KPI definitions by name and metric logic. A partner billing discovery and custom build cannot, because the list does not exist yet — you are funding its creation.
- 03Make the first-module date contractual and tied to named phases, not an estimate. IntelliFabric commits to 4–6 weeks across four phases: discovery and connect in weeks 1–2, Fabric Data Factory pipelines in weeks 2–3, the Power BI semantic model in weeks 3–4, dashboards and go-live in weeks 4–6. Complex multi-source or strict-governance environments run 6–8.
- 04Count all four cost lines before comparing quotes: Fabric capacity (an F2 capacity or above, billed by Microsoft to your own subscription), per-consumer Power BI licences for as long as your capacity tier requires them, the implementation fee, and ongoing operation of the pipelines and semantic model. A quote that prices only the implementation fee is not the cheaper quote.
- 05Two answers should end the conversation: "we will copy your data into our environment for processing" and "we will define the KPIs during discovery". The first breaks the governance you already paid for; the second is a 3–6 month custom build wearing a product label.
- 06You may not need an implementation partner at all. If you already have two or more Fabric-capable data engineers, a governed semantic model in production, and KPI definitions the business has stopped arguing about, what you need is capacity and a prioritised backlog, not a vendor.
Where to go deeper
Related questions, answered
What should a Fabric partner put in the proposal before we sign?
Six items: the named KPI list with metric definitions, the named source systems and which connector template is pre-built for each, which Azure subscription the Fabric workspace is created in, dated phases with a first-module go-live date, who holds capacity admin and workspace admin, and exit terms stating the artifacts remain yours. Anything missing becomes a change order later.
How do we verify that our data never leaves our own tenant?
Ask three questions and get written answers. Which Azure subscription is the Fabric workspace created in? Which subscription is the capacity attached to? Does any transformation, profiling or model training run outside it? IntelliFabric deploys as Fabric artifacts inside your own subscription, so there is no external copy and no egress, and your existing Azure governance still applies.
What capacity size should a partner recommend, and who should buy it?
Buy it directly from Microsoft into your own subscription rather than through a partner reselling opaque capacity. A good partner sizes against concurrent report users, refresh frequency and data volume, starts at an F2 capacity or above, and states the pause-and-resume plan for non-business hours. Confirm current SKUs and rates against Microsoft documentation before you budget.
Do all our report consumers need a Power BI licence as well?
Under Microsoft licensing, consumers generally need a per-user licence until the Fabric capacity reaches a higher tier, at which point read-only consumption is covered by the capacity instead. The threshold and the per-user rates change, so require the partner to state in writing which model the quote assumes, then verify it against current Microsoft licensing documentation.
Where will our data physically sit, and who can see it?
The Fabric artifacts are deployed into your own Azure subscription, so the data stays in the region that subscription is configured for and under your existing tenant governance. Access is controlled by your Entra ID groups, with row-level security in the semantic model deciding which rows each role sees. Ask any partner to confirm the subscription and region in writing.
When should we not hire a Fabric implementation partner?
Three cases. You already have data engineers with Fabric experience and a governed semantic model in production. Your reporting need is one department with fewer than five sources, where a single analyst in Power BI is enough. Or the business genuinely cannot agree what revenue means — settle the definitions first, because no partner can arbitrate that for you.
Sources
- Microsoft Fabric — licences and capacity concepts · checked 2026-10-06
- Fabric region availability · checked 2026-10-06
Figures on this page: 4–6 weeks · 3–6 months · 200+ · 50+ · data stays in your tenant · F2 · F64
What this costs for an operation your size
Three engagement tiers, what each includes, and the Microsoft licensing you need alongside it.
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