As information and AI workloads scale, organizations want a platform that does extra than simply join providers—it should unify them. Azure Databricks brings collectively the complete energy of the Databricks Information Intelligence Platform with deep Azure integrations to simplify and speed up each step of the info lifecycle. From centralized governance and open information codecs to built-in warehousing and native AI instruments, Azure Databricks permits groups to maneuver sooner, scale back complexity, and innovate responsibly. Trusted by 1000’s of shoppers, together with main enterprises similar to AT&T, Swiss Re, JLL, CVS Well being, HSBC, Shell, and Walgreens, Azure Databricks is a confirmed platform at scale.
This is a more in-depth have a look at 5 key explanation why information and AI groups are selecting Azure Databricks as their unified platform for analytics and AI at scale.
1. Unified governance for information + AI
Azure Databricks consists of Unity Catalog, the unified governance resolution that enables organizations to make use of one method to handle all their information and AI property. Whether or not it’s tables, information, notebooks, fashions, or dashboards, Unity Catalog permits groups to set entry insurance policies as soon as and apply them persistently throughout all workloads.
Unity Catalog’s Lakehouse Federation permits you to mount current information with zero copy from programs similar to SQL Server, BigQuery, Snowflake and storage similar to ADLS or S3. It’s also possible to hook up with current Iceberg or Hive Catalogs.
As a part of the Databricks Information Intelligence Platform on Azure, Unity Catalog helps guarantee enterprise-grade safety and lineage monitoring, and interoperability with Microsoft Purview, eliminating the necessity for a number of disconnected governance instruments. Unity Catalog helps guarantee discoverability, enterprise-grade safety and lineage monitoring to your Azure Databricks property, with the flexibility to increase this to your complete information property by combining with Microsoft Purview.
“Unity Catalog has been a game-changer for our enterprise as a result of now we’re capable of present fine-grained management and entry to our information.”
2. Deep integrations throughout the Azure ecosystem
Azure Databricks is totally built-in throughout the Azure ecosystem, providing first-party, native connectors and streamlined experiences throughout:
- Energy BI – publish straight from Unity Catalog and Databricks Workflows with full semantic mannequin assist
- Azure OpenAI Service – mix massive language fashions with enterprise information securely and responsibly. Along with Azure OpenAI, Azure Databricks offers you mannequin alternative together with unique entry to Anthropic Claude fashions hosted on Azure Databricks and open-source fashions like Meta’s Llama 4
- Azure Information Lake Storage, Azure Information Manufacturing facility, Entra ID, and Microsoft Purview – unify storage, id, pipeline orchestration, and compliance in a single stack. New in Azure Information Manufacturing facility, the native Databricks Job exercise makes it simpler than ever to set off Databricks Workflows natively.
- Azure AI Foundry – run Azure Databricks Jobs and combine Azure Databricks AI/BI Genie with Foundry Brokers to ship contextual, enterprise-aware solutions
- Microsoft Energy Platform – seamlessly energy your apps, automations, and agent workflows with ruled information, all with out duplicating it
With a few clicks from the Azure Portal, you might have a totally built-in surroundings, with your entire customers and teams from Entra ID obtainable to construct information and AI programs.
The prebuilt integrations scale back architectural overhead and speed up time to perception, serving to prospects take full benefit of the Azure-native Databricks expertise.
“Azure Databricks works throughout the ecosystem. We have an information platform right here that is very wealthy, that makes use of so many various elements of the Microsoft stack. Databricks is open and orchestrates nicely throughout the totally different platforms.”
3. Constructed-in information warehousing with efficiency and adaptability
With the Databricks SQL information warehouse, prospects can serve fashionable SQL analytics and BI use circumstances straight inside Azure Databricks, with out requiring a separate warehouse or creating copies of information. Information stays in an open format, not locked right into a proprietary system, enabling enterprise analysts and information engineers to collaborate on a single platform that helps:
- Excessive-concurrency, low-latency dashboards and advert hoc queries utilizing commonplace SQL
- Direct Energy BI integration with full governance through Unity Catalog
- Pure language querying by way of AI/BI Genie, making insights accessible to extra customers
“With Azure Databricks serving because the Information Intelligence Platform complemented with Microsoft’s Energy BI, the enterprise consequence has been profound. Our use circumstances, like annuities digital risk, has had a multi-million greenback affect on winbacks.”
This degree of efficiency and ease displays the facility of Azure Databricks, enabling groups to unify their analytics layer with out compromising governance or scale.
4. AI growth made easy
Whether or not you are constructing LLM-powered copilots, fine-tuning proprietary fashions, or operating traditional machine studying workloads, Azure Databricks presents the flexibleness to do all of it whereas preserving governance and observability on the forefront.
By means of integrations with Azure OpenAI, open supply fashions like Llama 4, and assist for suppliers like Anthropic, prospects can:
- Select the proper mannequin for the proper use case
- Customise together with your enterprise information and serve fashions securely inside ruled environments
- Monitor value and efficiency by way of built-in observability instruments
The unified structure of the Databricks Information Intelligence Platform on Azure makes all of this attainable, simplifying AI growth and aligning with enterprise safety necessities.
5. Excessive efficiency with low TCO
Azure Databricks is optimized for each efficiency and effectivity. With the Photon engine, workloads run sooner whereas consuming fewer sources, leading to actual, measurable financial savings for information and AI groups. Key advantages embrace:
- 6x sooner efficiency than legacy warehouse engines
- Consumption-based pricing – pay just for what you utilize
- AI-powered auto-optimization, lowering the necessity for guide tuning
“As a part of our adoption of the Databricks Information Intelligence Platform, we’ve got noticed an amazing quantity of information high quality enchancment, sooner insights by at the very least 25%.”
These capabilities replicate the design rules of the Databricks Information Intelligence Platform on Azure: open, clever, and cost-efficient.
Speed up innovation with Azure Databricks
From analytics to GenAI, Azure Databricks supplies a unified basis for innovation. As a part of your Microsoft Azure surroundings, Azure Databricks lets you construct smarter, transfer sooner, and govern all the things in a single place, whether or not you’re scaling BI, accelerating AI, or simplifying your information property. Hear extra how main enterprises are unlocking sooner insights, higher information high quality, and tangible value financial savings utilizing Azure Databricks.
Get Began with a Free 14-day Trial of Azure Databricks.
