Databricks Data + AI Summit 2026 – Recap & Update

It’s been a couple of weeks since the announcements at DAIS 2026, and I wanted to give a recap of the most exciting new Databricks features, and give an update on what has changed since the Summit wrapped.

Auto Loader vs COPY INTO in Databricks: A Decision Guide for Data Engineers

In modern lakehouse pipelines, one of the first ingestion decisions data engineers face is whether to use Auto Loader or COPY INTO. Both can load files incrementally into Delta tables, but they solve very different operational problems. Choosing the wrong one can impact scalability, cost, reliability, and maintenance overhead.

A Field Study: Databricks Genie vs Microsoft Fabric

Recently I have been leading an assessment for a global industrial manufacturer comparing Databricks Genie against an already mature Microsoft Power BI/Fabric environment. Genie feels like an up-and-coming platform gaining significant momentum alongside more established incumbents.

Building a Scalable Geospatial Heatmap App on Databricks

A client came to us with thousands of services spread across every ZIP code in the United States. They wanted to see what areas had plenty of coverage and what areas were underserved. Static tables and dashboards weren’t good enough. They wanted something fast, interactive, and geographic that would allow them to explore where their […]