Azure SQL Database

Azure SQL Database (formerly called SQL Azure Database and Windows Azure SQL Database) provides a cloud-based relational database service hosted in Microsoft’s data centers.

Azure SQL Database offers many of the most common features and APIs of on-premises SQL Server database management systems, including support for the T-SQL query language and popular development tools. Because of the commonalities, organizations can leverage existing developer skills and migrate on-premises applications to the cloud or create hybrid applications that are deployed in both places. Administrators can manage databases in Azure SQL Database with some of the same tools used for SQL Server on-premises, although the service also provides its own tools.

The service has some advantages over SQL Server deployed on-premises, especially for organizations that want to limit administration and upfront deployment investments. Microsoft manages and updates the underlying servers, OSs, and SQL Server software so that customer database administrators (DBAs) can concentrate on data administration and application development-specific tasks. New databases can be provisioned within minutes without the upfront costs and delay of deploying hardware. Azure SQL Database is based on SQL Server 2014. However, the service lacks some SQL Server 2014 features, including the new in-memory table feature and business intelligence (BI) components. The service also has lower database size limits than the full SQL Server 2014 product.