Azure SQL Database Addresses Enterprise Concerns

The latest Azure SQL Database service introduces enterprise features that could enable more critical applications to take advantage of the service. Azure SQL Database is a multitenant, Microsoft-hosted relational database service. The new service tiers offer larger storage options, higher performance, and enhanced disaster recovery compared to previous versions, and they introduce auditing capabilities. New packaging will enable customers to minimize costs while meeting business requirements. However, overall database size limits and the multitenant nature of the service may not be suitable for some applications, and the actual database cost depends on more than the service price.

SQL Server as a Database Service

Azure SQL Database provides a hosted database service that could prove useful for a range of scenarios, including mission-critical applications with variable capacity requirements, Web applications, and databases that serve external clients.

Azure SQL Database Overview

The Azure SQL Database service allows customers to quickly deploy SQL Server databases in a hosted environment. Microsoft currently claims that more than one million databases are hosted in the service. (Azure SQL Database was formerly called SQL Azure Database and Windows Azure SQL Database.)