Inflecto | Bespoke Software Development

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) used to store, manage, and query structured data using Transact‑SQL (T‑SQL). It offers a powerful database engine, integration and reporting services, machine learning capabilities, and strong enterprise features for performance, availability, and security. SQL Server runs on Windows, Linux, containers, and cloud environments.

Azure SQL is the cloud‑based family of fully managed SQL Server offerings, including Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance. These services run the latest SQL Server engine but add automatic patching, high availability, scalability, backups, and performance tuning, making them ideal for cloud workloads. Azure SQL typically receives new SQL features before on‑premises releases, offering cloud‑first innovation.

Benefits of SQL Server & Azure SQL

Mature relational engine: Provides robust transaction processing, indexing, and query optimization, suitable for mission‑critical applications.
Rich feature set: Includes SQL Server Database Engine, Integration Services (SSIS), Analysis Services (SSAS), Reporting Services (SSRS), and Machine Learning Services with Python/R.
Cross‑platform deployment: SQL Server runs on Windows, Linux, containers, and Azure, giving deployment flexibility.
Automatic management in Azure: Azure SQL handles patching, backups, OS updates, monitoring, and availability (99.99% SLA) with zero user maintenance.
Cloud scalability: Azure SQL supports dynamic scaling across compute, memory, and storage using vCore or DTU models.
Consistent T‑SQL experience: Azure SQL shares the SQL Server engine and T‑SQL surface, ensuring compatibility for apps and migration.
Built‑in intelligence: Azure SQL includes automated tuning, performance insights, threat detection, and intelligent query processing.

Typical Use Cases

Transactional business systems: ERP, CRM, finance, retail, and operational applications requiring strong ACID guarantees.
Cloud‑first applications: Applications that need elastic scaling, high availability, and automated management benefit from Azure SQL Database.
Data warehousing and analytics: SQL Server’s SSAS, columnstore indexes, and integration services support analytics and BI scenarios.
Hybrid or migration scenarios: Azure SQL Managed Instance offers near‑full SQL Server compatibility for lift‑and‑shift migrations.
IoT, JSON, and multi‑model workloads: Azure SQL supports relational data plus JSON, graph, spatial, XML, and more for modern app architectures.
High‑availability applications: Azure SQL and SQL Server offer built‑in HA, failover groups, and disaster recovery options.