I’m delighted to announce that I’m in Utrecht, speaking at Techorama Netherlands 2026! This year’s theme is Medieval, so it’s time to polish the armor, saddle the horse, and prepare to do battle with something truly terrifying: your Microsoft Fabric bill.
The funny thing is, I wasn’t actually supposed to be there.
October has turned into something of a whirlwind, and Techorama wasn’t originally part of my plans. But when a speaking slot unexpectedly opened up, I didn’t need much convincing. I jumped at the opportunity, even if it means I’ll only be there for a single day.
This will be my third time speaking at Techorama, and it’s an invitation I don’t take for granted.
From development to data #
Techorama has traditionally been a conference with a strong focus on software development. If you’re working with .NET, Azure, architecture, DevOps, or modern application development, it’s probably already on your radar.
But something interesting has been happening over the years. Data has been claiming an increasingly prominent place in the programme, alongside AI and the technologies connecting applications to information.
I think that’s a very positive development. After all, applications and data platforms are becoming increasingly intertwined. The boundaries between building applications, managing data, and delivering business value aren’t nearly as clear as they once were.
The competition for speaking slots in the data track is fierce, which makes being selected for a third time a tremendous honor. There are many excellent speakers with interesting stories to tell, and I’m genuinely grateful to the organisers for giving me another opportunity, particularly at such short notice!
Fabric FinOps – getting more from what you’re already spending #
My session this year is called Fabric FinOps – Cost Optimization for Fabric.
Microsoft Fabric is an incredibly capable platform, but understanding how it consumes capacity isn’t always straightforward. Different workloads behave differently, consumption metrics can be confusing, and it’s surprisingly easy to spend money on things that aren’t delivering the value you expect.
The good news? Optimising Fabric doesn’t necessarily mean buying more capacity or sacrificing performance.
Quite often, it’s about understanding what you’re already paying for and making better decisions.
During the session, we’ll look at how to:
- Understand where your Fabric capacity is actually going.
- Identify workloads that consume more resources than necessary.
- Make informed decisions about architecture, scheduling, and workload optimisation.
- Understand when scaling your capacity makes sense—and when it doesn’t.
- Get more value from the capacity you’ve already purchased.
The objective isn’t simply to make Fabric cheaper. It’s to make sure the money you’re spending is producing something useful.
Or, to borrow from this year’s medieval theme: you don’t always need a bigger kingdom. Sometimes you just need to manage the treasury better.
Making the most of one day #
One thing I particularly appreciate about Techorama is the effort that goes into the conference experience.
Every year has a different theme, and the organisers really commit to it. It’s not simply a banner on a website; the theme carries through the venue, the stages, the speaker gift, and the atmosphere.
But what makes conferences like this worth attending is ultimately the people. The conversations between sessions, the unexpected ideas, the opportunity to meet people working on completely different challenges—and discovering how much we can learn from one another.
This year, I’ll have to squeeze all of that into one day. Not ideal, perhaps, but I’ll take one day at Techorama over no Techorama at all.
Techorama Netherlands takes place October 26–28, 2026, in Utrecht, with workshops on Monday and conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
If you’re attending, come and say hello! And if you’re interested in getting more from your Microsoft Fabric investment, I hope to see you at my session.
Find out more about Techorama Netherlands 2026.
Photo by Mitchel Lensink on Unsplash