Automating Star Schemas in Microsoft Fabric: A Webinar Recap

From Data Discovery to Deployment—All in One Workflow

According to Gartner, data professionals dedicate more than half of their time, 56%, to operational tasks, leaving only 22% for strategic work that drives innovation. This imbalance is especially apparent when managing data models like star schemas, reinforcing the need for automation in modern data environments.

During this hands-on webinar, Matt Daigger, Senior Account Executive at WhereScape, introduced a technical walkthrough led by Solutions Architect Brad Kloth. Together, they demonstrated how WhereScape’s automation tools streamline the end-to-end process of building, documenting, and deploying a star schema model in Microsoft Fabric using OneLake and Microsoft Purview.

Here’s a breakdown of what the demo covered and how it can help modern data teams work smarter.

Why It Matters: Automating the Star Schema Workflow

WhereScape’s automation capabilities are informed by over 25 years of technical expertise in Microsoft data platforms, with proven success across production-grade implementations in enterprise environments.

Manually scripting pipelines for Microsoft Fabric can be time-consuming and error-prone—especially when building and maintaining star schemas with diverse data sources, governance requirements, and evolving data models.

This session demonstrated how WhereScape 3D and WhereScape RED automate the development of star schemas with:

• Discovery and profiling of file-based sources in OneLake and ADLS
• Metadata-driven star schema modeling, from conceptual to physical layers
• Integration with Microsoft Purview for PII tagging and lineage tracking
• Deployment into Microsoft Fabric via shortcut-based lakehouse integration

This streamlined approach accelerates time-to-insight while improving documentation, compliance, and agility.

Step-by-Step: How to Automate Star Schemas in Microsoft Fabric

1. Source Discovery in OneLake

Brad started by profiling file-based data in OneLake using WhereScape 3D’s discovery tools. This step allowed him to explore metadata and identify useful business views automatically.

2. Building the Conceptual Model

Next, he created a conceptual layer by selecting only the necessary tables and identifying primary keys, focusing the model design on actionable data elements.

3. Inheriting and Modeling Metadata

Using metadata inheritance, WhereScape automatically created staging tables and mapped fields across layers. No manual scripting was required—everything was guided through the interface.

Brad explains, “By leveraging metadata inheritance, we can automatically generate both logical and physical models, significantly reducing manual intervention.” 

4. Embedding Data Governance with Purview

Brad demonstrated how PII rules from Microsoft Purview were brought into the design. Sensitive data was isolated into a dedicated “PII dimension” to support privacy and compliance requirements.

“Integrating with Microsoft Purview allows us to seamlessly apply PII tagging and maintain data lineage, ensuring compliance and traceability.” – Brad Kloth

5. Star Schema Design in RED

In WhereScape RED, dimensions and facts were connected using drag-and-drop modeling. Brad showed how to configure surrogate keys, enforce naming conventions, and visualize data lineage—all with built-in tooling.

6. Instant Documentation

With a single action, the platform generated detailed documentation for both technical and business audiences, covering data lineage, load logic, and column definitions.

7. Deployment into Microsoft Fabric

Finally, the model was deployed into Microsoft Fabric using shortcuts and stage files. The integration was seamless, allowing data to flow through the lakehouse model while staying fully governed and queryable.

Brad continues to mention, “With WhereScape RED, deploying to Microsoft Fabric becomes a streamlined process, utilizing integrations to fit within existing lakehouse architectures.”

Where Automation Adds Value

WhereScape customers report reducing manual coding by up to 95%, accelerating development timelines, and lowering operational costs—without sacrificing governance or flexibility.

From profiling to deployment, the entire star schema process in the webinar was handled using automation. Key advantages included:

• Rapid development cycles
  
• Metadata lineage and compliance
  
• Dynamic updates with no manual rewrites
  
• Built-in scheduling and monitoring

“Automation isn’t just about speed; it’s about creating repeatable, governed pipelines that adapt to evolving data landscapes.” – Brad Kloth

From profiling to deployment, the entire star schema process was handled using automation. Automating star schemas enables teams to maintain consistent structure and logic across evolving datasets.

Webinar Q&A Highlights

Q: Can I use Fabric notebooks or Spark jobs instead of SQL?
A: Absolutely. Brad shared that WhereScape supports Python, SQL, Spark, and native orchestration via Fabric shortcuts. Teams can choose whichever execution method aligns with their architecture.

Q: Does WhereScape support deploying into a lakehouse format?
A: Yes. The deployed objects and files integrate into Microsoft Fabric’s lakehouse model, making the data accessible in both native and Fabric-friendly formats.

Q: What’s the advantage of isolating PII into a separate dimension?
A: It simplifies compliance by tagging and centralizing sensitive data, making it easier to manage permissions and ensure privacy across use cases.

Q: Can I customize the naming conventions in the auto-generated schema?
A: Yes. Brad demonstrated how WhereScape lets you define and apply custom naming standards across objects to maintain consistency with your organization’s design rules.

Q: What if my metadata source is outside of Purview?
A: You can ingest metadata into WhereScape from multiple sources. The integration with Purview is optional but helps tie governance into the data modeling process.

Q: How are you tracking deletes in source data?
A: If the source data includes delete indicators, WhereScape ingests that directly. If not, it compares existing records with the current full load to identify deletes, this process can run nightly or on a custom schedule.

Q: How will you manage SCD and incremental loads?
A: WhereScape looks for update timestamps or similar fields in the source to detect new or changed records and performs incremental loads accordingly.

Q: How do you support or replace the medallion architecture?
A: WhereScape supports medallion architecture but doesn’t require it. You can use a Bronze-Silver-Gold model or not—WhereScape facilitates your architecture without enforcing structure.

Q: How does schema inference happen?
A: WhereScape uses Python scripts or native database functionality to infer the schema from JSON, Parquet, XML, and other file types.

Q: How is auditing and logging handled for tables?
A: For data transactions, WhereScape leverages the target database’s logging. For table/script changes, it uses its own logging features and database-native tracking tools.

Q: Can you pull comments from source metadata?
A: Yes. If the source database includes comments on tables or columns, WhereScape captures and includes them in the data warehouse metadata.

Q: How does this work with unstructured data?
A: WhereScape defers to your target platform’s capabilities for storing and processing unstructured data, working within those constraints.

Final Takeaway: One Platform. Full Workflow. Fabric-Ready.

This webinar made one thing clear: automation isn’t just about speed—it’s about building smarter pipelines that scale with your data needs. By combining WhereScape’s automation with Microsoft Fabric’s modern architecture, you eliminate inefficiencies, strengthen governance, and free up your team to focus on what matters—delivering insights that drive impact.

Whether you’re starting fresh or modernizing an existing warehouse, WhereScape helps automate every stage of your data journey—from discovery to documentation—making it easier to deliver governed, production-ready star schemas faster.

Ready to see it in action?

Watch the full technical walkthrough on demand to explore how metadata-driven automation makes Fabric deployment faster and more sustainable. Watch Now!

A personalized demo is the best place to start if you’re ready to eliminate manual coding, reduce deployment risk, and accelerate your Fabric initiatives. See how WhereScape fits your unique environment and goals. Schedule a demo here.

Up Next: Discover More in Our Upcoming Live Webinar

Introducing: Microsoft Fabric with WhereScape
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 | 10:00 am CDT | 4:00 pm BST

Join Endika Pascual, Principal Solutions Architect at WhereScape, for a live session exploring how to integrate Microsoft Fabric’s core components—OneLake, Purview, Azure Data Factory, and Fabric Warehouse—into a unified, automated workflow with WhereScape.

You’ll learn how to:

• Explore: Understand the building blocks of Microsoft Fabric and how they unify your data ecosystem
  
• Understand: See how drag-and-drop modeling and built-in governance eliminate 95% of manual coding
  
• Witness: Watch real-world demos showcasing automated data lineage, rapid deployment, and seamless Fabric integration
  

With over 25 years of Microsoft integration expertise, WhereScape is ready to help you unlock the full potential of Fabric.

Turn complexity into clarity—reserve your spot today.

About the Authors

Brad Kloth is a Senior Solutions Architect at WhereScape. With decades of experience in data engineering and enterprise architecture, he specializes in helping organizations design and deploy automated, scalable data warehouses using Microsoft technologies.

Kortney Phillips is the Marketing Manager at WhereScape, specializing in data automation strategies and technical content. She collaborates closely with data architects and engineers to translate complex data processes into accessible, actionable insights.

FAQ: Automating Star Schema Modeling with WhereScape