SQL Server 2025 key features your organization need to know 

SQL Server 2025 is designed as an enterprise-grade and AI-ready database. SQL Server 2025 seamlessly spans from ground to cloud. Powered by an industry-leading engine, it offers users advanced AI integration along with robust security, high performance, and availability.   

SQL Server 2025 comes integrated with Microsoft Fabric. This feature helps with near real-time analytics, and Azure Arc, offering a hybrid data platform. It supports the next level evolution in enterprise databases and combines innovation with reliability to meet the demands of organizations.   

Below are details of SQL Server 2025 features   

  • Artificial Intelligence  

SQL Server 2025 introduces AI capabilities, enabling developers to perform vector searches and implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) patterns directly within the database engine. This innovative approach seamlessly integrates AI with your data, delivering efficiency and power.     

Key AI features of SQL Server 2025 include:     

– Native support for vector data types and indexing, powered by DiskANN.   

– Also integrates with Entity Framework Core, as well as leading AI frameworks like LangChain and Semantic Kernel.   

  • Integration with Fabric     

SQL Server 2025, like Azure SQL, introduces support for Fabric mirroring. This feature enables near real-time analytics with a zero-ETL experience, allowing you to offload analytic workloads to Fabric.   

  • Advanced Security by Default     

Microsoft has enhanced security and authentication capabilities in SQL Server with the integration of Microsoft Entra authentication through Azure Arc in SQL Server 2022. Building on this foundation, SQL Server 2025 introduces managed identity support, enabling seamless authentication for both inbound connections and outbound operations, including tasks like backing up data to Azure Storage.   

  • Performance boost for Mission critical applications   

SQL Server 2025 delivers significant performance boosts for applications without requiring any code changes, thanks to advancements in batch mode processing, column store technology, and query execution. These innovations enhance query efficiency and streamline application performance seamlessly.   

Reliability gets a major upgrade too, with improved Always On Availability Group failover capabilities and new diagnostic tools for enhanced support and troubleshooting.   

  • Hybrid, Intelligent, and Optimized   

SQL Server 2025 takes the hybrid experience to the next level with deep integration into Azure Arc, offering enhanced security and seamless connectivity. It introduces Copilot assistance within SSMS to boost productivity and continues to set new performance standards with cutting-edge benchmarks. Optimized for the latest hardware, SQL Server 2025 is versatile enough to deploy wherever your business needs it—whether in the cloud, on Windows or Linux, in containers, or on Kubernetes.   

How to license and use SQL Server 2025   

Licensing Microsoft products and services in general is complex and can be demanding. To license SQL Server 2025 will require that you understand what requirements you want met in your organization and which users will need access.   

You will need to undertake a thorough internal assessment to know if the latest SQL Server is compatible with already existing Servers in order to avoid a case of investing and not getting value for money.    

Our team of independent licensing experts can support you make the right decisions on the quantity of licenses to purchase and how to explore savings options.   

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