Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Reporting

Azure SQL Database (formerly called SQL Azure Database and Windows Azure SQL Database), a part of the Azure platform (formerly known as Windows Azure), provides a cloud-based relational database service hosted in Microsoft’s data centers. Azure SQL Database offers many of the features of the on-premises SQL Server database management system, including support for the T-SQL query language, which will help organizations leverage existing developer skills when migrating on-premises applications to the cloud or creating hybrid applications that are deployed in both places. The current offerings, referred to as Web and Business, will be retired on Apr. 24, 2015.

Three new tiers of service (Basic, Standard, and Premium) are currently in preview and are expected to be generally available in 2014. The new tiers offer a higher service level, geo-replication (for Standard and Premium), and larger storage options than the current offerings, which should enable better performance for business applications. The new tiers may make the service more appealing to ISVs and organizations that may have investigated building high-performance applications on Azure but require guaranteed processor and RAM resources to deliver high-performance applications.