Name: PBIMCR presents ' A Murder Mystery Built on Microsoft Fabric'
Start: 2026-08-27T17:45:00+01:00
End: 2026-08-27T20:15:00+01:00
Location: Matillion

Join us for August's PBIMCR meet-up

When: **Thursday 27th of** **August 2026**
Time: arrive for 530pm with talks starting from **6pm start** prompt
Location: **Matillion, Two New Bailey, Stanley Street, Salford, England, M3 5GS**
Complimentary drinks & pizza provided by our hosts **Slalom** & sponsors [Robert Walters](https://www.linkedin.com/company/robert-walters/)

Talk 1:
**Ghost in the Aether: A Murder Mystery Built on Microsoft Fabric**
Ghost in the Aether is an interactive murder mystery built entirely on Microsoft Fabric, showcasing how batch and real-time data, Direct Lake semantic modelling, Power BI and AI can be combined into a single solution. Through a live investigation, attendees will explore reports, analyse streaming clues, interact with a grounded Data Agent, and vote on the culprit before uncovering the end-to-end Fabric architecture behind the experience. The session demonstrates how the same patterns can be applied to real-world scenarios such as IoT, operational monitoring and support analytics.

Our speakers:
**David Mitchell i**s a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft specialising in Microsoft Fabric, Power BI and Azure data platforms. With over 20 years' experience in data and analytics, he helps organisations design and deliver modern analytics solutions, and enjoys sharing practical insights from real customer projects with the wider community.

**Adrian Critchley** is a Sr. Technical Support Engineer at Microsoft with a background in data analytics and business intelligence. Prior to joining Microsoft, he worked as a Power BI Consultant, helping organisations design and deliver data-driven solutions. Today, he specialises in supporting organisations to solve complex technical challenges and get the most from their Fabric data platform.

**Talk 2: TBC by Craig Porteous**

**Topics Covered:** Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, Azure Analysis Services, Azure AI, OneLake, Real-Time Data

**1st time attendees what to expect:**
Engaging tech talks/demos/presentations and an opportunity to network in a friendly community environment with complimentary drinks and pizza served.

Alex Taylor

Jon Baylis

Rebekah Livsey

Johnny Winter

Fabric & Power BI Manchester User Group

Microsoft Fabric User Group Network

Robert Walters is a leading global recruitment company

Robert Walters Group

Technology

Artificial Intelligence

Machine Learning

New Technology

Power BI

Technology Professionals

Business Intelligence

Data Management

Business Analytics

Business Intelligence & Data Warehousing

Data Analytics

Data Visualization

Business Intelligence Tools

Microsoft

Microsoft Azure

DAX Power BI

Ian Pike

Nick Latocha

Rick Garner

rahul ramesh


**Duncan Boyne – Power BI Consultant, Data & Applications Specialist**
Duncan is a Business Intelligence and Power Platform specialist focused on turning fragmented business data into clear, actionable insight. Working across Power BI, Power Automate, SQL, ERP systems, and the wider Microsoft ecosystem, he helps organisations build reporting and automation solutions that people actually use.

Known for combining technical depth with straight-talking consultancy, Duncan specialises in simplifying complex operational problems, improving reporting maturity, and helping businesses make faster, more confident decisions with data.

Outside of consultancy, he is the founder of the Norfolk Power Platform User Group and the East of England Power Platform Summit, a regular speaker at Microsoft community events, and a recognised LinkedIn content creator sharing practical insights on Power BI, data strategy, and digital transformation. When he’s not building dashboards, he’s usually writing slightly sarcastic LinkedIn posts or convincing himself one more visual tweak will finally fix the alignment.



Duncan Boyne