What’s New in Azure Databricks at FabCon 2026: Lakebase, Lakeflow, and Genie

2026-03-18 · Source: Databricks · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Data Science & Analytics · Depth: Intermediate, medium

Summary

Databricks is extending Azure Databricks into Microsoft 365, making governed data and AI insights available within familiar tools like Excel and Teams. Key announcements include an Azure Databricks Excel Add-in, now in Public Preview, which connects Excel directly to Unity Catalog tables and Metric Views, enabling users to build pivot tables and analyze data without SQL across Excel for Windows, macOS, and web. The company also highlights advancements in Genie, its conversational AI experience, with Genie Agent Mode for multi-step reasoning on complex analytical questions and Genie Code for agentic data engineering, science, and analytics workflows. Furthermore, Databricks One now features a unified, multi-agent chat experience powered by Genie, accessible via Databricks One Mobile on iOS and Android, allowing business users to query their entire data estate from anywhere.

Key takeaway

For CTOs and VPs of Engineering evaluating data platform integrations, these Azure Databricks enhancements simplify access to governed lakehouse data and advanced AI analytics directly within Microsoft 365 and mobile environments. Your teams can reduce reliance on fragile data exports and empower business users with self-service AI-driven insights, potentially lowering total cost of ownership through unified governance and serverless compute.

Key insights

Databricks integrates AI-powered analytics and governed lakehouse data directly into Microsoft 365 and mobile platforms.

Principles

• Bring data and AI to user workflows.
• Enable multi-step reasoning for complex analysis.
• Unify data governance across all assets.

Method

Genie Agent Mode uses multi-step reasoning and hypothesis testing to iteratively investigate complex business questions, refining its approach based on intermediate results to provide comprehensive answers.

In practice

• Use the Excel Add-in for direct lakehouse data access.
• Employ Genie Agent Mode for "why" and "what's next" questions.
• Utilize Genie Code for automated data pipeline development.

Topics

• Azure Databricks
• Microsoft 365 Integration
• Genie AI
• Lakehouse Architecture
• Unity Catalog

Best for: Executive, CTO, VP of Engineering/Data, Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Business Analyst

Related on AIssential

• Unifying Data and Governance in the Agentic Era: What’s New with Azure Databricks — Azure Databricks unifies data, AI, and governance to power autonomous agents and integrate AI into daily workflows.
• Talk to all your data, wherever it lives — Databricks Lakehouse Federation unifies disparate enterprise data for AI-driven natural language querying without migration.
• Databricks nears $5bn equity raise at $134bn valuation — Databricks secured $7B in funding at a $134B valuation to expand its AI-driven data platform offerings.
• Why Databricks is Winning the Data Wars in 2026 — A Technical Breakdown — Databricks' Lakehouse architecture unifies data warehousing and data lake functionalities on open standards, driven by governance and AI needs.
• Learn Databricks in Under 2 Hours — Databricks offers a collaborative, Spark-based platform with integrated AI for end-to-end data workflows.
• Databricks Lakebase, LTAP, and Lakehouse//RT- Demystified — Databricks aims to unify transactional and analytical systems, simplifying data architectures and reducing operational complexity.

Open in AIssential →

Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Databricks.