Azure SQL Managed Instance Roadmap 2021

• Azure SQL Managed Instance provides a PaaS offering with features and management options similar to SQL Server on-premises.
• The service offers scalability, global reach, and many of the most common features and APIs available from its on-premises parent.
• Performance and security updates and the addition of more enterprise features from SQL Server 2019 help remove barriers to using the service.
• Planned hosting options could help reduce cost and provide access to Azure security services, but some require Kubernetes clusters.

Azure SQL Managed Instance is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) database management offering, based on SQL Server’s latest database engine, that closely resembles a traditional on-premises SQL Server instance. Microsoft continues to invest in Managed Instance, adding more enterprise controls in an effort to encourage customers to migrate on-premises deployments to their cloud. Microsoft has also conceded that not all database applications can reside in the cloud and are therefore introducing an on-premises deployment option, using customer hardware, that offers PaaS benefits like scaling and simplified management. (For a detailed discussion, see the sidebar “Azure SQL Managed Instance Overview.”)