In today’s data-driven world, the divide between business and IT is more than just a workflow issue, it’s a strategic barrier. At the recent webinar From Silo to Strategy: From Silo to Strategy Webinar: Uniting IT and Business Quisitive’s Jimmy Ledbetter and Bryan Blain shared how Microsoft Fabric, Excel, and Copilot are helping organizations break down silos and build smarter, more collaborative data ecosystems.

The Reality of Data Today

Despite the rise of modern analytics platforms, Excel remains the heartbeat of business operations. As Jimmy pointed out, “Your data starts with Excel. It ends with Excel.” From budgeting to forecasting, Excel is still the go-to tool for decision-makers even in organizations with robust BI platforms.
But this reliance on Excel often leads to fragmented data, inconsistent reporting, and governance blind spots. Bryan added, “We walk into meetings where everyone has their own report, but none of them are based on authoritative data sources.”

Fabric’s Role in Bridging the Gap

Microsoft Fabric offers a unified platform that connects structured and unstructured data, enabling seamless ingestion, transformation, and visualization. What makes Fabric stand out is its ability to meet users where they are especially in Excel.
With native integration, users can connect directly to semantic models in Fabric, ensuring they’re working with governed, trusted data. This empowers business users to build reports confidently, while IT maintains control over data lineage and compliance.

Copilot: Making Data Conversational

One of the most exciting developments is the rise of conversational analytics. Copilot in Power BI and Excel allows users to ask natural language questions like “What are our most profitable accounts?” or “Where are the data quality issues?” and receive instant, actionable insights.
This shift from static dashboards to interactive data conversations is a game-changer. It democratizes access to insights and reduces reliance on report developers accelerating decision-making across the organization.

Governance Without the Overhead

Governance is often seen as a blocker, but Fabric and Microsoft Purview are changing that narrative. Sensitivity labels, domain-based controls, and automated lineage tracking are now built into the workflow making governance seamless and scalable.
Bryan showcased how Purview integrates directly with Fabric, enabling organizations to classify, protect, and monitor data from ingestion to export. Even Excel files exported from Fabric inherit sensitivity labels automatically, ensuring compliance without manual effort.

From Insight to Impact

By combining Excel’s familiarity, Fabric’s scalability, and Copilot’s intelligence, organizations can move from reactive reporting to proactive insight generation.
And the ROI? With recent licensing changes, Copilot features are now available at lower tiers, making it easier than ever to justify the investment. As Jimmy noted, “We barely have to offset half the cost of one analyst to unlock these capabilities for everyone.”