Updated: July 15, 2024 (July 15, 2024)

Database Offerings 2024: Understanding SQL-Based Options

Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Rob worked at Microsoft for 14 years where he designed technologies for Microsoft products and... more

SQL Server remains Microsoft’s preferred structured database management technology for on-premises and Azure deployments, making it a safe choice for many customers.
Open-source SQL language services (PostgreSQL and MySQL) provide lower-cost options and access most Azure services.
On-premises deployment options enable Azure services to work in customer datacenters for workloads that must remain on-premises.
Customers should understand the limits of the open-source options before committing to Azure.

The database management landscape for SQL language-based offerings includes Microsoft proprietary technology and several popular open-source products. These offerings provide structured data storage and query options to support traditional transactional database workloads, and most include NoSQL document query functionality to combine semi-structured data with hosted transactional data. Some Azure services can be deployed on-premises for customers who are unable to move to Azure or have workloads that must remain on-premises.

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