Accelerating Innovation with a Metadata-Driven Framework on Microsoft Fabric

In today’s fast-moving data landscape, agility and efficiency are paramount. At Trident Group of Companies Pty Ltd, we recently collaborated with a client to architect a game-changing metadata framework on Microsoft Fabric—drawing on a hybrid model combining the insights from Microsoft’s “Playbook for Metadata-Driven Lakehouse” and the “Metadata-Driven Pipelines for Microsoft Fabric” approach (1).

Challenge

The client faced escalating project costs and prolonged development cycles due to repetitive pipeline construction and manual configuration management. Each time a new data pipeline was required, developers manually replicated workflows, leading to duplication, higher maintenance, and slower delivery—especially when scaling across numerous data sources and environments.

Solution & Results

We developed a metadata-driven framework inspired by both referenced methodologies, which allowed us to parameterize pipeline configurations and centralize control. The system uses configuration tables to define source-to-destination mappings (like schema, table, load type, and timestamps), effectively enabling a single, reusable pipeline template across multiple data loads (2). This allowed us to avoid hardcoding and streamline operations.

By combining Microsoft Fabric’s medallion architecture (Bronze, Silver, Gold layers) with dynamic lookup mechanisms and parameterized pipelines, we drastically reduced build effort and improved performance. The result? Development costs plummeted, timelines accelerated, and the platform shifted from rigid, repetitive builds to flexible, easy-to-govern operations—all delivering significant value to our client.

References

1. [Playbook for Metadata-Driven Lakehouse Implementation in Microsoft Fabric] blog.fabric.microsoft.com

2. [Metadata-Driven Pipelines for Microsoft Fabric] TECHCOMMUNITY.MICROSOFT.COM