There are a few flavours of Azure SQL, so we thought it could be helpful to go into each in more detail. Today, we focus on the Azure SQL Database and some advantages of using this exciting database technology.
Firstly, Azure SQL Database is part of the Azure SQL family of managed, secure, and intelligent products that use the SQL Server database engine in the Azure cloud.
Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service (DBaaS) hosted in Azure that falls into the industry category of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).
Azure SQL Database is fully managed and always on the latest version of SQL. You will have the ability to deliver modern, intelligent apps rapidly. You can hyper-scale your most demanding workloads. You can also optimise costs with computing that scales automatically.
Let’s take a look at the features in more detail:
Fully managed and always on the latest version of SQL
As this is a PaaS offering, the fully managed database engine removes the need for manual updates, provisioning and backups so that the focus can be purely placed on application development.
Hyperscale your most demanding workloads
Azure SQL Database also boasts flexible and responsive serverless computing and hyperscale storage to rapidly adapt to your changing requirements.
Security
Security should always be a top concern, and Azure SQL Database has layers of protection plus built-in controls and intelligent threat detection to help keep your data secure.
Save with a lower total cost of ownership
You can use Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server to maximise the value of your current licensing investments. You can also save when you commit upfront to a three-year term using reservation pricing and combine it with Azure Hybrid Benefit.
AI and Durability
Azure SQL Database has built-in AI and high availability to maintain peak performance and durability with an SLA of up to 99.995 per cent. This is also known as ‘four and a half nines’ and equates to only 2.19 minutes of monthly downtime.
Coming soon, we’ll look deeper into the other Azure SQL family members: Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server on Azure VMs.
Digital Samurai
Digital Samurai lives and breathe SQL Server, and now Azure SQL – is built on SQL Server. We would love to hear your plans for your Data Platforms, whether you are working on-premises with SQL Server, considering migrating to the cloud or have even been ‘born in the cloud’!
With our team of SQL Server and Azure SQL experts, we offer help in all areas (upgrades, migrations, management, analytics, security, etc) and are a friendly bunch, so please feel free to get in touch!