Azure Updates - Latest from Azure Charts

From Azure Synapse and Azure Data Factory to Microsoft Fabric: The Next-Gen Analytics Leap

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 05:49:01 Z

If you haven’t already, check out Arun Ulag’s hero blog “FabCon and SQLCon 2026: Unifying databases and Fabric on a single, complete platform” for a complete look at all of our FabCon and SQLCon announcements across both Fabric and our database offerings. Coauthor: Bogdan Crivat Across industries, organizations are rethinking their analytics foundation. The era … Continue reading “From Azure Synapse and Azure Data Factory to Microsoft Fabric: The Next-Gen Analytics Leap”
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Data Factory, Categories:

Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 10:29:13 Z

We have made Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5 for our Azure Synapse Spark customers generally available for customers to start using it for their production workloads, while they get ready and prepare for migrating to Microsoft Fabric Spark. What This Mean for You You can now create Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark … Continue reading “Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5 (Generally Available)”
Update Type: GA, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Categories:

Upsert and Script Activity in Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics for Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 15:15:03 Z

Announcing the general availability of the Upsert method and Script activity support in Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics when using Azure Database for PostgreSQL. This enhancement enables you to perform efficient, scalable, and declarative d
Update Type: GA, Services: Synapse Analytics, Database for PostgreSQL, Data Factory, Categories: Features

Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5 (Preview)

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 12:40:00 Z

We’re thrilled to announce that we have made Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5 for our Azure Synapse Spark customers in preview, while they get ready and prepare for migrating to Microsoft Fabric Spark. Apache Spark 3.5 You can now create Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5. The essential changes include features which come from … Continue reading “Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.5 (Preview)”
Update Type: Preview, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Categories: Features

Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.4

Fri, 30 May 2025 11:15:51 Z

End of Support Announcement for Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.4. Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.4 will be deprecated and disabled March 31, 2026.
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: SDK and Tools, Retirements

Azure Synapse Analytics CI/CD with Custom Parameters for Managed Private Endpoints (MPEs)

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 06:52:00 Z

Azure Synapse Analytics is designed for modern data analytics — and when it comes to secure networking, Managed Private Endpoints (MPEs) are key. They ensure your Synapse workspace communicates with ...
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories:

Azure Synapse Data Explorer (Preview) to Be Retired on October 7, 2025

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:00:03 Z

Synapse Data Explorer (Preview) will be retired on October 7, 2025. The next generation of Synapse Data Explorer offering is evolving to become Eventhouse in Real-Time Intelligence, part of Microsoft Fabric. Eventhouse offers the same powerful features an
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Data Explorer, Categories: Retirements

Delivering Information with Azure Synapse and Data Vault 2.0

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 09:40:00 Z

Data Vault has been designed to integrate data from multiple data sources, creatively destruct the data into its fundamental components, and store and organize it so that any target structure can be ...
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories:

Microsoft Fabric Runtime 1.1 End of Support

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:00:13 Z

End of support for Microsoft Fabric Runtime 1.1 was announced July 12, 2024. We recommend that you upgrade your Fabric workspace and environments to use Runtime 1.3 (Apache Spark 3.5 and Delta Lake 3.2). This latest Fabric Runtime 1.3 also offers a Native
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Power BI Embedded, Microsoft Fabric, Data Factory, Categories: Retirements

Introducing Simplified Subscription Limits for SQL Database and Synapse Analytics Dedicated SQL Pool

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 15:06:29 Z

We are introducing new and simplified subscription limits for Azure SQL Database and Azure Synapse Analytics Dedicated SQL Pool (formerly SQL DW). These updates are designed to reduce customer confusion and improve the overall quota management experience. What's changing? New vCore based limits: The new limits will be based on vCores per Subscription per Region, which will be directly equivalent to DTU and DWU. Default logical servers limit: All new and existing subscriptions will now be subject to a maximum default limit of 250 logical servers. The previous limits on Logical Server DTUs have been discontinued. Configurable vCore limits: Customers now have the convenience of easily changing their subscription limits via the support section of the Azure Portal, with approvals often processed within minutes. New portal experience: Below is an example of the new portal experience where customers can view their existing limits and current vCore usage and have the option to request higher limits. Existing limits: Subscriptions that were previously approved for limits beyond the old system's default settings will be seamlessly transitioned to the new system without any changes to their approved limits. Frequently asked questions What happens to my current quota limits? All subscriptions will have a default and maximum of 250 logical servers. For customers with previously approved quotas, the limits will be carried over to the new system. Do quotas apply equally to my serverless DBs? Yes. Currently, quotas are determined by overall usage, meaning that serverless usage is considered in the same manner as provisioned usage. Is there a way to get notified before I hit my quota limit?Not at this time. However, as a workaround you can leverage the Subscription Usages API with the usageName parameter set to "RegionalVCoreQuotaForSQLDBAndDW". What about Dedicated SQL Pool limits in Azure Synapse Analytics?Synapse Analytics will sho
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories: Management

Retirement: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.2 disablement

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 00:00:00 Z

Effective September 12th, 2024, disablement of jobs running on Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.2 will be executed.
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: Retirements

Retirement: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.1 disablement

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:00:00 Z

Effective August 29, 2024, disablement of jobs running on Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.1 will be executed.
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: Retirements

Retirement: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 2.4 Disablement

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 Z

Effective August 15th, 2024, disablement of jobs running on Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 2.4 will be executed.
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: Retirements

Retirement: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.2

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 00:00:00 Z

Deprecation of Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.2 
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: Retirements

Retirement: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.3

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 00:00:00 Z

Azure Synapse runtime for Apache Spark 3.3 will be retired and disabled March 2025.
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: Retirements

Public Preview: Azure Cosmos DB continuous backup for accounts using Azure Synapse Link

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 00:00:00 Z

Now Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB customers can migrate to continuous backup.
Update Type: Preview, Services: Synapse Analytics, Cosmos DB, Categories: Features

Public Preview: Azure Cosmos DB continuous backup for accounts using Azure Synapse Link

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 23:21:12 Z

Status: Now Available Continuous backup is now in public preview for Azure Cosmos DB accounts using Azure Synapse Link. Migrate to continuous backup to optimize costs and unlock point-in-time restores. This also enables you to use Fabric mirroring, for your advanced analytics on Microsoft Fabric. Continuous backup is a pre-requisite for Fabric mirroring. Learn more. Related Products Azure Cosmos DB _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update Type: Preview, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Cosmos DB, Categories:

Announcing General Availability of Graph Semantics in Kusto

Mon, 27 May 2024 00:00:00 Z

The Graph Semantics extension to Kusto is now generally available. Users are encouraged to integrate this tool into their production workflows to enhance understanding of complex datasets and uncover hidden patterns.
Update Type: GA, Services: Synapse Analytics, Data Explorer, Categories: Features

General Available: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.4 is now GA

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 Z

Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.4 is now Generally Available
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: Features, Open Source

Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.2 End of Support

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 00:00:00 Z

End of Support for Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.2. Apache Spark 3.2 will be retired and disabled as of July 8, 2024.
Update Type: Deprecation, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories: Retirements

Enhanced Performance in Additional Regions: Azure Synapse Analytics Spark Boosted by up to 77%

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 22:50:41 Z

We are committed to continually advancing the capabilities of Azure Synapse Analytics Spark, and are pleased to announce substantial improvements that could increase Spark performance by as much as 77%. Performance Metrics Our internal testing, utilizing the 1TB TPC-H industry standard benchmark, indicates performance gains of up to 77%. It's important to note that individual workloads may vary, but the enhancements are designed to benefit all Azure Synapse Analytics Spark users. Technological Foundations This performance uptick is attributable to our transition to the latest Azure v5 Virtual Machines. These VMs bring improved CPU performance, increased SSD throughput, and elevated remote storage IOPS. Regional Availability We have implemented these performance improvements in the following regions, bold indicates a new region: Australia East Australia Southeast Canada Central Canada East Central India Germany West Central Japan West Korea Central Poland Central South Africa North South India Sweden Central Switzerland North Switzerland West UAE North UK South UK West West Central US Additionally, all Microsoft Fabric regions, with the exception of Qatar Central, are already operating with these enhanced performance capabilities. Future Rollout The global rollout of these improvements is an ongoing process and expected to take several quarters to complete. We will provide updates as additional regions are upgraded. Customers in updated regions will automatically benefit from the performance enhancements at no additional cost. Next Steps for Users No action is required on your part to benefit from these improvements. Once your region receives the upgrade, you may notice reduced job completion times. If cost-efficiency is a priority, you may opt to decrease node size or the number of nodes while maintaining improved performance levels. Learn more about Optimizing Spark performance, Apache Spark pool configurations, Spark compute for Data
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Virtual Machines, Categories: Regions & Datacenters

Announcing NBCROW Compression in Kusto's TDS Implementation

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 Z

A new feature that reduces the data transfer for MSSQL queries on Kusto.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Data Explorer, Categories: Features

General availability: Time travel in Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 Z

We are announcing the general availability of the time travel capability in Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL and MongoDB API.
Update Type: GA, Services: Synapse Analytics, Cosmos DB, Categories: Features

General availability: Azure Synapse Link for existing MongoDB collections

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:00:00 Z

Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB enables near real time analytics, now available for existing MongoDB collections in Azure Cosmos DB for Mongo DB.
Update Type: GA, Services: Synapse Analytics, Cosmos DB, Categories: Features

General availability: Azure Synapse Link compatibility with Cosmos DB continuous backup

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:00:00 Z

Now Azure Cosmos DB customers using continuous backup can enable Synapse Link in their database accounts.
Update Type: GA, Services: Synapse Analytics, Cosmos DB, Categories: Features

Generally available: Custom partitioning in Azure Synapse Link for Azure Cosmos DB

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 00:00:00 Z

You can now partition your data in analytical store using keys that are critical for your business logic to achieve better query and data load performance.
Update Type: GA, Services: Synapse Analytics, Cosmos DB, Categories: Features

New in Kusto: `.show databases entities` command for viewing tables, functions, and more

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 00:00:00 Z

View the entities of all accessible cluster databases with the new `.show databases entities` command for Kusto, and customize the output with various options.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Data Explorer, Categories: Features

Introducing Graph Semantics in Kusto, a new way to contextualize time series data

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 Z

Analyze networks, connected assets and more with Kusto's graph semantics extension to the Kusto Query Language (KQL). Find out how to contextualize your time series data in KQL, and how to leverage time-aware graphs.
Update Type: Preview, Services: Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric, Data Explorer, Categories: Features

Harness analytical and predictive power with Azure Synapse Analytics

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 00:00:00 -0800

Since its preview announcement, we’ve witnessed incredible excitement and adoption of Azure Synapse from our customers and partners.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Machine Learning, Synapse Analytics, Categories:

Save up to 76 percent on Azure Synapse Analytics and gain breathtaking insights of your ERP data

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 00:00:00 -0700

To help customers save on data warehouse migration costs and accelerate time-to-insight on critical SAP data, we are announcing two new analytics offers from Azure Synapse Analytics.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories:

Azure Synapse Analytics: Insights for all

Thu, 21 May 2020 00:00:00 -0700

In November we announced Azure Synapse Analytics—a limitless analytics service that brings together enterprise data warehousing and big data analytics.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories:

Azure SQL Data Warehouse is now Azure Synapse Analytics

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 00:00:00 -0800

On November fourth, we announced Azure Synapse Analytics, the next evolution of Azure SQL Data Warehouse. Azure Synapse is a limitless analytics service that brings together enterprise data warehousing and Big Data analytics.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Simply unmatched, truly limitless: Announcing Azure Synapse Analytics

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 00:00:00 -0800

Today, businesses are forced to maintain two types of analytical systems, data warehouses and data lakes. Data warehouses provide critical insights on business health.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories:

Azure SQL Data Warehouse reserved capacity and software plans now generally available

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0700

We’re excited to share more ways to optimize your Azure costs. Today we are releasing the general availability of Azure SQL Data Warehouse reserved capacity and software plans for RedHat Enterprise Linux and SUSE.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Announcing the public preview of Data Discovery & Classification for Azure SQL Data Warehouse

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0700

Today we’re announcing the public preview of Data Discovery & Classification for Azure SQL Data Warehouse, an additional capability for managing security for sensitive data.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Announcing the general availability of Query Store for Azure SQL Data Warehouse

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:00:00 -0800

Since our preview announcement, hundreds of customers have been enabling Query Store to provide insight on query performance. We’re excited to share the general availability of Query Store worldwide for Azure SQL Data Warehouse.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

General availability of VNet Service Endpoints for Azure SQL Data Warehouse

Thu, 06 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0800

We’re excited to share the general availability of Virtual Network (VNet) Service Endpoints for Azure SQL Data Warehouse in all Azure public cloud regions. Azure SQL Data Warehouse is a fast, flexible, and secure cloud data warehouse tuned for running complex queries fast and across petabytes of data.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Virtual Network, Categories:

Row-Level Security is now supported for Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Today we’re announcing general availability of Row-Level Security (RLS) for Azure SQL Data Warehouse, an additional capability for managing security for sensitive data.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories: Security

Azure SQL Data Warehouse introduces new productivity and security capabilities

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:00:00 -0800

Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse continues to provide best in class price/performance offering, and now leads its peers in TPC-H and TPC-DS benchmarks based on independent testing.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Azure SQL Data Warehouse Gen2 now generally available in France and Australia

Thu, 23 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0700

Today, we announce the broader regional availability of the industry-leading performance provided by Azure SQL Data Warehouse (Azure SQL DW). Azure SQL DW is a fast, flexible, and secure analytics…
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Automatic intelligent insights to optimize performance with SQL Data Warehouse

Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0700

We are excited to announce that SQL Data Warehouse (SQL DW) serves you intelligent performance insights within the Azure portal! SQL DW is a flexible, secure, and fully managed analytics platform for the enterprise optimized for running complex queries fast across petabytes of data.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, Categories:

Azure sets new performance benchmarks with SQL Data Warehouse

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0700

Today we are excited to announce that Azure SQL Data Warehouse has set new performance benchmarks for cloud data warehousing by delivering at least 2x faster query performance compared to before.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Blazing fast data warehousing with Azure SQL Data Warehouse

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0700

Today, we announced general availability of Azure SQL Data Warehouse (SQL DW) Compute Optimized Gen2 tier, the new generation of Azure SQL DW. Azure SQL DW is a fast, flexible, and secure cloud...
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Turbocharge cloud analytics with Azure SQL Data Warehouse

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0700

Data is transformative. The ability to turn data into breakthrough insights is foundational to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive market. To help our customers deliver fast insights from…
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories:

Adaptive caching powers Azure SQL Data Warehouse performance gains

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0700

Today we made Azure SQL Data Warehouse (SQL DW) Compute Optimized Gen2 Tier generally available to our customers. Even though data and data sources grow exponentially, organizations continue to demand faster and faster insights.
Update Type: Announcement, Services: Synapse Analytics, SQL Database, Categories: