SQL Database Roadmap

Azure SQL Database is a multitenant relational database management cloud service based on SQL Server’s latest database engine for individual database deployments. SQL Database is part of the Azure SQL brand of services that also includes Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL Edge, Azure Arc-enabled SQL Managed Instance, and Azure SQL Server VMs.

Product: SQL Database

Recent Updates and Near Term Roadmap (2025-2026)

Azure SQL Database continues to remain in synch with the base SQL Server database engine, sometimes receiving new features before they reach on-premises, but more often seeing new features arrive at the same time. For example, Vector search capabilities are an important feature in the upcoming SQL Server 2025 that arrived in SQL Database the same month they went into preview for SQL Server 2025.

A variant of the service is also being used by Fabric, a data and analytics platform. SQL Database in Fabric is based on the same backend as Azure SQL Database, providing a subset of features. However, the two services remain separate and must be managed and accessed through their respective services.