DataMinds Connect 2025: a recap of insights and experiences
13 October 2025The DataMinds Connect 2025 event was a great success, bringing together data enthusiasts and experts for three days of insightful sessions and valuable networking. TriFinance is a proud sponsor of this event. Together with many professionals we take a deep dive into the world of Data and explore the latest trends and developments.
Our colleagues attended several sessions on a variety of topics, with a strong focus on Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and data management strategies. Here is a summary of their experiences and key takeaways.
Microsoft Fabric and Power BI Innovations
Several sessions delved into the capabilities of Microsoft Fabric, including Translytical Taskflows for data writeback in Power BI, Fabric security features with data governance through Purview, and optimizing Power BI workflows using Project Files, Source Control, and TMDL. The concept of custom Python modules in Fabric for code reusability and efficiency was also highlighted with: “Don't Repeat Yourself, how custom Python modules in Microsoft Fabric give you back hours every day”.
The sessions gave us more awareness of where our customers stand on the Fabric roadmap, and some clear next steps on how we can support them. A great reminder that success with Fabric is just as much about people and process as it is about technology.
- Jonas: The session on Translytical Taskflows in Microsoft Fabric was particularly interesting. This technology allows report users to write data back to a database, which can then be displayed in Power BI using a direct lake connection. This opens up opportunities for commenting on actuals that exceed budget, with comments accessible to other users.
- Emre and Anke: We joined an insightful session from a member of the Microsoft Fabric CAT team (Matthew Roche) about the Roadmap to Microsoft Fabric. It was a great mix of strategy and practicality. We talked about what it takes to build a strong data culture, the importance of having clear executive sponsorship, and how content ownership and governance play a huge role in creating trust in data. It made us realize how much of this journey is about alignment between IT and the business, not just tools and technology.
- Sammy: Interesting keynote showing all new features of Fabric. Lots of new stuff coming in the online view and heavy upgrade of the Copilot integration.
Advanced DAX Techniques
"DAX - Beyond the Basics" was a popular session with Marco Russo, a guru in the Data & Analytics world providing attendees with a deeper understanding of complex DAX problem-solving, different data granularities in fact tables, visual calculations, and new features like UDFs and calendar-based time intelligence. The emphasis was on finding effective and efficient solutions tailored to different data scales.
- Nico: The thing with DAX is, there are multiple roads to Rome. Certain solutions work well in small companies with a limited amount of data. Other solutions are more suited for big companies with tons of data. Marco Russo is an institution in the D&A world. He runs the website https://www.sqlbi.com/ which is filled with interesting articles, news, techniques for all things Business Intelligence technologies and data presentation. He is also an experienced trainer and was very open to answer all questions from the audience.
- Abdullah: The session with guru Marco Russo was theory-heavy at times, but very insightful, and great to see a DAX guru live. It helped me see how to approach tricky, unusual data problems in a structured way. It wasn’t as interactive as I expected, so I’ll still need a bit of time to digest all the tips and tricks.
- Thomas: Marco Russo gave a clear explanation of how the DAX engine works and thinks, which will help me look at future problems differently and hopefully solve them more easily.
Data Communication and Culture
Sessions also covered the art of data communication, stressing the importance of understanding the audience, creating reports that inspire action, and evaluating reports through feedback. The "Roadmap to Microsoft Fabric" session underscored the significance of building a strong data culture, executive sponsorship, content ownership, governance, and fostering a community of practice for successful data and analytics adoption.
Lise: The art of data communication session was interesting although too high-level for me. Next time, I’ll go for a session that goes more in-depth. My personal takeaways for this session were: understand your audience before starting to build your report by talking to them and asking the right questions, create reports that inspire people to take action and make informed decisions, evaluate your reports through feedback sessions afterward.
Data Quality and Architecture
Topics such as Generative Data Quality (using AI to detect, explain, and resolve data issues), Fabric capacity management, and a high-level overview of Azure Architecture for efficient environment setup were also part of the discussions.
Overall, the event was well-received, with colleagues appreciating the valuable insights, the opportunity to learn from experts, and the chance to connect with other data enthusiasts. We look forward to the next edition of DataMinds Connect.
DataMinds Connect is one of the leading data community events in Belgium, bringing together professionals, experts, and enthusiasts from across the data landscape. Organized by the DataMinds community, the event offers three days filled with inspiring keynotes, hands-on sessions, and networking opportunities. It covers a broad range of topics, from data strategy, analytics, and AI to Microsoft technologies such as Power BI, Azure, and Fabric.
More about DataMinds Connect: https://datamindsconnect.be/
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