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Azure Synapse proof of concept playbook

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Whether it's an enterprise data warehouse migration, a big data re-platforming, or a greenfield implementation, each project traditionally starts with a proof of concept (POC).

The Synapse proof of concept playbook is a series of related articles that provide a high-level methodology for planning, preparing, and running an effective Azure Synapse Analytics POC project. The overall objective of a POC is to validate potential solutions to technical problems, such as how to integrate systems or how to achieve certain results through a specific configuration. As emphasized by this series, an effective POC validates that certain concepts have the potential for real-world production application.

Tip

If you're new to Azure Synapse, we recommend you work through the Introduction to Azure Synapse Analytics module.

Playbook audiences

The playbook helps you to evaluate the use of Azure Synapse when migrating from an existing workload. We designed it for the following audiences:

  • Technical experts who are planning their own in-house Azure Synapse POC project.
  • Business owners who will be part of the execution or evaluation of an Azure Synapse POC project.
  • Anyone looking to learn more about data warehousing POC projects.

Playbook content

The playbook delivers the following content:

  • Guidance on what makes an effective POC.
  • Guidance on how to make valid comparisons between systems.
  • Guidance on the technical aspects of running an Azure Synapse POC.
  • A road map to relevant technical content from Azure Synapse.
  • Guidance on how to evaluate POC results to support business decisions.
  • Guidance on how and where to find additional help.

The playbook includes three subjects:

Next steps

Data warehousing with dedicated SQL pool in Azure Synapse Analytics

Data lake exploration with serverless SQL pool in Azure Synapse Analytics

Big data analytics with Apache Spark pool in Azure Synapse Analytics

Azure Synapse Analytics frequently asked questions