James Serra

James works at Microsoft as a big data and data warehousing solution architect where he has been for most of the last nine years. He is a thought leader in the use and application of Big Data and advanced analytics, including data architectures such as the modern data warehouse, data lakehouse, data fabric, and data mesh. Previously he was an independent consultant working as a Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence architect and developer. He is a prior SQL Server MVP with over 35 years of IT experience. He is a popular blogger (JamesSerra.com) and speaker, having presented at dozens of major events including SQLBits, PASS Summit, Data Summit and the Enterprise Data World conference. He is the author of the book “Deciphering Data Architectures: Choosing Between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh”.

Blog Post

Fabric Cost Analysis (FCA)

Monitoring costs in Microsoft Fabric can be trickier than it first appears. You might assume it’s just a flat fee per capacity (easy, right?), but real-world usage tends to...

2026-02-23 (first published: )

291 reads

Blog Post

Microsoft Ignite Announcements Nov 2025

Announced at Microsoft Ignite two weeks ago were many new product features related to the data platform. Check out the Major announcements and Book of News. I went through the many announcements and picked...

2025-12-10 (first published: )

375 reads

Blogs

T-SQL Tuesday #196 – Two risky career decisions I made

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The T-SQL Tuesday topic this month comes James Serra. What career risks have you...

T-SQL Tuesday #192: What career risks have you taken?

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This T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by the one and only James Serra – literally...

T-SQL Tuesday #196: Taking Risks

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This month we have a new host, James Serra. I’ve been trying to find...

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Forums

OPENQUERY Flexibility

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item OPENQUERY Flexibility

A Full Shutdown

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item A Full Shutdown

Going Native with Fabric Spark Pools: The Fabric Modern Data Platform

By John Miner

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Going Native with Fabric Spark...

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Question of the Day

OPENQUERY Flexibility

Which of these are valid OPENQUERY() uses?

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