About
I work at Microsoft as a big data and data…
Activity
35K followers
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James Serra shared thisWhen a Microsoft Fabric capacity starts running out, the answer isn’t always “buy a bigger capacity.” In my latest blog, I look at how to decide when to optimize, scale up, scale out, or isolate workloads—and how monitoring and alerts can help you catch problems before users do. https://lnkd.in/gqBhWscx #MicrosoftFabric #DataArchitecture #Analytics #PowerBIWhen Your Microsoft Fabric Capacity Runs Out: Optimize, Scale Up, Scale Out, or Isolate?When Your Microsoft Fabric Capacity Runs Out: Optimize, Scale Up, Scale Out, or Isolate?
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James Serra shared thisMicrosoft Fabric OneLake shortcuts can make data across workspaces, tenants, and external storage appear as one unified lakehouse—but when should you use them, and when are Mirroring or Data Factory better choices? In my latest blog, I cover shortcut formats, cross-workspace and cross-tenant access, caching, performance tradeoffs, Iceberg and Snowflake support, and a practical decision tree. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gws4CHJx #MicrosoftFabric #OneLake #DataArchitecture #DataEngineeringMicrosoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not ToMicrosoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
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James Serra shared thisPower BI performance depends on more than just report design. I’ve updated my Power BI performance guide for 2026, covering semantic models, storage modes, report optimization, Fabric capacity, and a practical troubleshooting workflow. The key principle: measure before you redesign—and redesign before you spend more. https://lnkd.in/gSPdzyAE #PowerBI #MicrosoftFabric #DataAnalyticsPower BI Performance in 2026: A Practical Guide to Faster Semantic Models and ReportsPower BI Performance in 2026: A Practical Guide to Faster Semantic Models and Reports
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James Serra shared thisMicrosoft has put the Copilot name in so many places that it can be difficult to understand what each one actually does. My latest blog breaks down the major Copilot experiences across Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Microsoft 365, GitHub, and Copilot Studio—and explains where each one fits. https://lnkd.in/gv3mE8yK #MicrosoftCopilot #MicrosoftFabric #PowerBI #ArtificialIntelligenceMicrosoft Copilot: What Each Copilot Does and Where It FitsMicrosoft Copilot: What Each Copilot Does and Where It Fits
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James Serra shared thisIf you are looking to learn about Fabric OneLake Security, check out my latest blog at https://lnkd.in/gVN8TAZM #MicrosoftFabric #OneLakeSecurity
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James Serra posted thisI will be presenting "Using Generative AI on Structured Data" at the Atlanta Microsoft Business Intelligence User Group this Monday, July 6th, at 6:30pm EST. This is an online event, and you can sign up at https://lnkd.in/g2hM23cd. Looking forward to seeing you there!
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James Serra shared thisI am excited to announce my participation at the PASS Data Community Summit for the seventh consecutive year! My session is titled: - Learning to Present and Becoming Good at It In this session, I will share practical steps to overcome the fear of public speaking and develop strong presentation skills. I will discuss my journey from being an introvert to becoming a professional speaker at Microsoft and major tech conferences. For more information, visit https://lnkd.in/g43Z7_u6 Looking forward to seeing you there! #PASSSummit #JamesSerra #Presenting
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James Serra shared thisI’m honored to have joined Hevo’s Data Builders Club and to share some lessons from my 40-year career in data. In the interview, I talk about what it really takes to build an AI-ready data foundation. There is a lot of excitement around AI, but AI success does not start with the model. It starts with trusted, high-quality, well-governed data. My main message: AI will only be as good as the data foundation underneath it. Thanks to the Hevo team for including me and for spotlighting the people building practical, reliable, production-ready data systems. Watch/read the interview here: https://lnkd.in/gGzFRmpH #DataArchitecture #AIReadyData #DataEngineering #DataQuality #DataGovernance #DataStrategy #AI #GenerativeAI #MicrosoftFabricJames Serra on AI-Ready Data, Data Quality & Trust | Data Builders ClubJames Serra on AI-Ready Data, Data Quality & Trust | Data Builders Club
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James Serra shared thisIf you want a summary of the major data and AI announcements from Microsoft Build, check out my blog https://lnkd.in/enZE2veK #MicrosoftBuild #MicrosoftFabric #AgentSkills #FabricApps #FabricSkills
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James Serra liked thisJames Serra liked thisRussell Reynolds interviewed more than 20 CHROs and landed on something I’ve been saying for years. The job stopped being HR a while ago. It became systems integration. The tech was never the hard part. The org around the tech is. Somebody has to own that seam, whether the title says so or not. That’s the whole idea behind the Golden Thread. Strategy, technology, and the people doing the work only move together if someone is deliberately fostering the line between them over the long termQuiet Changes, Loud Implications: The Transforming CHRO RoleQuiet Changes, Loud Implications: The Transforming CHRO Role
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James Serra liked thisMost organizations balk at the words “transformation” and “continuous change.” And then wonder why most efforts here fail. Because they treat enablement like a value statement. Something you put in the deck, maybe on a poster. Enablement isn’t a value statement. It’s structural. A team. Not a committee bolted onto HR, an actual re-org. A tech tool. Something people touch, not something IT rolls out. A follow-up cadence. What happens six weeks after launch, when everyone’s stopped talking about it. Skip one of those three and the other two are just decoration. #hrtransformationJames Serra liked thisTransformations fail when they are treated as one-off efforts, risking organizational energy, engagement, and momentum. Instead, each transformation must be treated as a continuous change initiative that fundamentally reshapes how leaders see, think, and behave. Harvard Business Impact’s global study of 742 senior and executive leaders across industries examined the role of leadership behaviors in driving successful organizational transformation. 🔗 Download the infographic to uncover the insights: https://s.hbr.org/4tsyQnoHow Leaders and Culture Drive Transformation That Endures - Harvard Business ImpactHow Leaders and Culture Drive Transformation That Endures - Harvard Business Impact
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James Serra liked thisJames Serra liked thisEleven blueprints in, here is the part I have not said yet. They only work in one order. Technology as accelerant. Killing pilot mode. Enablement over adoption. Soul and care as the engine. The climbing wall. Every one of those is true on its own. Almost nobody fails because they picked the wrong one. They fail because they are running all of them at once. There is a sequence. I have watched it hold at company after company, through more technology waves than I care to count. One. Execution. Can a manager have a real conversation. Does anyone know what the company is actually trying to do. Is there a thread running from the strategy to the person doing the work. Two. Technology. Now the tools have something to attach to. Three. Growth. The compounding. Most orgs start at two. The platform arrives, the pilot runs, adoption sits low, and everybody blames the vendor. The vendor was fine. The tech showed up before there was anything for it to hold on to. AI compresses this. It does not let you skip it. Blueprint #12 of 12. That is the series. If you have been reading along, scroll back through the other eleven and put them in that order. They read differently. Elaine-Marie Bohen #hrtransformation
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James Serra liked thisAnd for math, science, CS and AI teachers facing the same privileged classrooms, there is Euclid's response to King Ptolemy when Ptolemy asked "Is there no easier way to learn geometry than reading Euclid's Elements?", Euclid famously replied , "Majesty, there is no royal road to geometry."
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James Serra liked thisJames Serra liked thisAnthropic will lose the AI race. Not because Claude isn't good. It's one of the best models on the planet right now. It's going to lose because of three things nobody wants to say out loud. 👉One. It doesn't own the ground it's built on. Anthropic runs on chips and data centers it doesn't control. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have pumped tens of billions of dollars into keeping it alive, and every one of those companies is also building a competing model. That's not a partnership. That's a leash. When compute gets tight, and it will, Anthropic has no fallback that belongs to it. 👉Two. Distribution is a joke compared to the competition. Google ships its AI through Search, Chrome, Gmail, and Android. Microsoft ships its AI through Windows and Office. Those are already open on your screen right now. Anthropic has to win every single user from a cold start. No operating system. No browser. No inbox. That's not a fair fight. That's a sprint against a car. Three. The scoreboard isn't close. Anthropic's valuation is a fraction of what Google's parent company is worth on the public markets alone. Not a small gap. Multiple trillions apart. If this race gets decided by who owns the full stack, chip to cloud to app, instead of who has the smartest model, Anthropic isn't just behind. It's playing a different sport. Smart people built this company. Smart doesn't win when the other side owns the field. Prove me wrong in the comments.
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James Serra liked thisI am grateful for Ed Pollack and the entire crew of volunteers and speakers for putting on another great Day of Data event! Thanks to Steve Jones for the overarching data events!James Serra liked thisDay of Data Albany is in the books! Thank you to the many speakers and volunteers for sharing your time, knowledge, and energy to this a success. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting our event and taking time out of your schedules to make community-driven events happen. We had many technical and professional development sessions that were given amazing feedback, two rounds of lightning talks, a WIT panel, a precon, an excellent venue at UAlbany, and maybe just enough coffee. I had a blast and (soon, really!) look forward to some time off from event-planning :-) #DayOfDataAlbany #SQLFamily #UAlbany #Training #Data
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James Serra liked thisJames Serra liked thisHighlights from the Fabric Weekly Newsletter for 11th August 2026: - Choosing your medallion pattern in Fabric Data Warehouse (Sidney Cirqueira) - Choose the right event pillar in Microsoft Fabric: Business Events, Fabric Events, and Azure Events (Roberto Cervantes) - Do You Really Need GitHub Copilot for Microsoft Fabric? (Aleksi Partanen) - Enabling Item Recovery by default in Microsoft Fabric (Yulia Turchin) - Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To (James Serra) - Rayfin Data App — The Future of Power BI Reporting (Reza Rad) - Optimising DAX: The Formula Engine and Storage Engine (Carmel Eve) To read the full issue, subscribe to the email newsletter or RSS feed, see the link in the comments 👇
Experience & Education
Licenses & Certifications
Volunteer Experience
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Soccer Coach
Various soccer clubs
I have been a soccer coach for rec, club, and middle school for 20+ years. All ages for both male and female. Also has been a soccer referee during this time.
Publications
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Deciphering Data Architectures: Choosing Between a Modern Data Warehouse, Data Fabric, Data Lakehouse, and Data Mesh
O'Reilly
See publicationData fabric, data lakehouse, and data mesh have recently appeared as viable alternatives to the modern data warehouse. These new architectures have solid benefits, but they’re also surrounded by a lot of hyperbole and confusion. This practical book provides a guided tour of these architectures to help data professionals understand the pros and cons of each.
James Serra, big data and data warehousing solution architect at Microsoft, examines common data architecture concepts, including…Data fabric, data lakehouse, and data mesh have recently appeared as viable alternatives to the modern data warehouse. These new architectures have solid benefits, but they’re also surrounded by a lot of hyperbole and confusion. This practical book provides a guided tour of these architectures to help data professionals understand the pros and cons of each.
James Serra, big data and data warehousing solution architect at Microsoft, examines common data architecture concepts, including how data warehouses have had to evolve to work with data lake features. You’ll learn what data lakehouses can help you achieve, and how to distinguish data mesh hype from reality. Best of all, you’ll be able to determine the most appropriate data architecture for your needs. With this book, you’ll:
- Gain a working understanding of several data architectures
- Learn the strengths and weaknesses of each approach
- Distinguish data architecture theory from the reality
- Pick the best architecture for your use case
- Understand the differences between data warehouses and data lakes
- Learn common data architecture concepts to help you build better solutions
- Explore the historical evolution and characteristics of data architectures.
- Learn essentials of running an architecture design session, team organization, and project success factors -
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Business Intelligence Development
Packt Publishing
See publicationTechnical reviewer: This book will give you a competitive advantage by helping you to quickly learn how to design and build BI system with Microsoft BI tools.
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Reporting with Microsoft SQL Server 2012
Packt Publishing
Reporting with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 covers all the features of SSRS and Power View and will provide a step-by-step lab activity to help you develop reports very quickly.
Starting with the difference between standard and self- service reporting, this book covers the main features and functionality offered in SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 including a breakdown of the report components, development experience, extensibility, and security. You will also learn to set up and use…Reporting with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 covers all the features of SSRS and Power View and will provide a step-by-step lab activity to help you develop reports very quickly.
Starting with the difference between standard and self- service reporting, this book covers the main features and functionality offered in SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 including a breakdown of the report components, development experience, extensibility, and security. You will also learn to set up and use Power View within Excel and SharePoint and connect to a tabular model as well as a multidimensional model. The book provides real-life reporting scenarios that help to clarify when those scenarios are discussing standard reporting, in which case SSRS is the best choice, and when they are discussing self-service reporting, in which case Power View is the best choice.
This book will have you creating reports in SSRS and Power View in no time!Other authorsSee publication -
Expert Cube Development with SSAS Multidimensional Models
Packt Publishing
See publicationTechnical reviewer: Expert tips and tricks for designing Analysis Services Multidimensional Models.
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SQL Server 2012 Business Intelligence Enhancements
SQL Server Pro magazine
See publicationThe top Business Intelligence Enhancements in SQL Server 2012.
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Big Data and Data Warehousing Blog
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See publicationFrequent blogs about big data, data warehousing, business intelligence, Azure, and more.
Honors & Awards
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Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Microsoft
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Additional Honors & Awards
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Presenter PASS Business Analytics Conference 2013 and 2014, Presenter PASS Summit 2013
Recommendations received
6 people have recommended James
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Vinay G.
Vinay G.
Vinay has over 15 years of experience in IT, data modeling, ETL development, BI architecture, and analytics/insights development. He recently graduated from Quantic School of Business and Technology with an Executive MBA, enhancing his organizational leadership and strategic thinking skills.<br><br>As a Senior Integrations Developer at Kansas State University, Vinay is responsible for designing and developing data integration solutions in Snowflake. He leverages his technical expertise, business acumen, and leadership skills to deliver efficient reporting and analytics platforms for data-driven decision making. He is passionate about solving complex business problems and staying at the forefront of the industry. His goal is to help organizations unlock the full potential of their data.
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