> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.doformedata.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # My first FabCon experience and why you should attend - URL: https://www.doformedata.com/first-fabcon-experience/ - Published: 2026-10-08T13:13:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T13:13:41.000Z - Author: Teemu Multanen - Tags: Community ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4f/2c/4f2c86d6-9cfe-44cd-9605-96265424f869/content/images/2026/10/fabcon_swagbag.jpg) This year, attendees received a sweet swag bag with some goodies inside. Last week I attended my first Fabric & SQL Conference in Barcelona. It’s Europe’s largest conference dedicated to Microsoft Fabric and SQL. In this post, I'll cover what it's all about and why you should join the fun next year. ## Event introduction So far, FabCon & SQLCon has been held twice a year - once in the USA and once in Europe. In 2027, an additional event will be hosted in Australia. The USA edition is the biggest of the bunch, but for me personally, the European one was plenty big enough. The event is community-driven and offers great learning and networking opportunities. The main event lasts for three days, but a pre-day is also available. For Microsoft partner companies, the pre-day is an amazing opportunity to hear about Microsoft's focus and how to get the most out of the partner program. For enthusiastic learners, pre-day offers full-day workshops led by top experts in the field. The main event offers a wide variety of activities to choose from. - The keynote and the corenotes showcase what is new and what is to come. - Expert-led sessions cover basically all areas of Fabric on different levels and for different target audiences. - All the event sponsors can be found in the expo hall including Microsoft's experts across different teams who are happy to answer any questions you might have about their products. - My personal favorite, the community lounge, brings together top community voices, allows you to get involved with the community, and has all the swag you could ever want. That's the blueprint. Now let's get to my experiences and what I found the most valuable. 💡 FabCon Atlanta is scheduled for March 8-12, 2027\. [Learn more](https://fabriccon.com/?ref=doformedata.com) ## Extensive selection of sessions Whoever you are, whatever your background is, there are multiple sessions to benefit from - that's guaranteed. Microsoft's events categorize sessions into four different levels ranging from introductory to deep technical so there really is something for everyone. Want to know where a specific product like Data Factory or Fabric IQ is headed? There's a session for that. Want to learn how to better optimize your workloads such as Spark notebooks? There's a session for that. With the amount of great choices, you will most likely end up having difficulties choosing which ones to pick. These were my favorites: Hearing more about the partner program. Learning how to get more sales opportunities or how to upskill your employees using the program is incredibly valuable for a partner company. Seeing all the new announcements. Feature summaries and blog posts often explain the features, but not the vision and reasoning behind them. To ride the wave, you need to understand where the platform is headed. Attending the deep technical sessions. I'm a data engineer and for me, learning how to improve my solutions is a matter of pride. One person can't be the top expert in everything so you'll always find someone to learn more from. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4f/2c/4f2c86d6-9cfe-44cd-9605-96265424f869/content/images/2026/10/barcelona_keynote.jpg) The keynote is the crown jewel that kicks things off. ## The amazing community Let's talk about the Fabric community. In my experience, it is hands down the most welcoming and helpful community in tech. People come from very different backgrounds, and some are just starting out while some have seen the creation of the internet. No matter who you are, you're welcome into the community. During FabCon, whenever you have a break from the sessions, the community lounge is the place to be. You'll find a lot of fun activities, amazing people, and cool swag to bring home. The amazing people will be helping you at different booths: - Fabric Super Users will tell you how to become a Super User. - Fabric experts will help you get certified. - Community leaders will help you find a user group. - Active contributors will guide you on how to join a user panel and let your voice be heard. And none of this would be possible without the incredible Microsoft community team. They're working non-stop to keep things running smoothly. I can't emphasize enough how much effort they put into providing everyone with the best community experience possible. I've been quite active in the community for a while and met a lot of amazing people virtually. But as the community is global, I haven't met a lot of the people face to face before. FabCon was a great opportunity to connect with people I've been wanting to meet for so long and also make new friends. ## Connecting with Microsoft product teams I don't think it's a surprise that the biggest Microsoft-related events get a lot of attendees that work for Microsoft. There are people from different teams and different roles, but the important part is that many of them are there for you. During the event, you'll have multiple opportunities to ask questions of people who are building Fabric. In the expo hall, you'll find "ask the experts" booths. There's one for each experience such as Data Factory, Data Engineering, Fabric IQ and so on. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4f/2c/4f2c86d6-9cfe-44cd-9605-96265424f869/content/images/2026/10/ama_booth.jpg) I was able to man the Data Engineering booth before the expo hall officially opened. It was early. In the morning. A lot of the sessions are also led by Microsoft employees. Most often, you'll have time for some Q&A at the end of the session. Also, the last day of the event was heavily populated by AMA (ask me anything) sessions hosted by different Microsoft product teams. If you hadn't had the opportunity to ask questions yet, those sessions offered another opportunity. Hearing others ask questions is also a great opportunity to learn something you might not have thought of yourself. ## Summary To sum everything up, if you work with Microsoft Fabric or SQL, this is a conference you don't want to miss. As stated before, there's something for everyone. Many people get reimbursed by their company, and in exchange, they share knowledge internally. You'll also most likely find a campaign or a discount code to save some money when buying the tickets. With all the learning and networking opportunities, this event is one of the most efficient ways to boost your career. Also, it's so much fun to share the experience with amazing people. I'll be there next time! Will you?