From code to community: The collective effort behind SQL Server 2025

At Build 2025, SQL Server 2025 officially entered public preview. As one of the world’s most popular databases, this release continues a decades-long history of innovation with features made for developers, AI, analytics, and cloud connectivity. SQL Server 2025 is the most significant release for SQL developers in the last decade and will help streamline application development and greatly reduce complexity. With built-in vector support, you can now boost search intelligence by combining semantic search alongside full text search and filtering. This will allow you to run the generative AI models of your choice with your own data. SQL Server 2025 enables zero-ETL (extract, transform, and load), real-time analytics through mirroring in Microsoft Fabric and provides cloud agility through Azure Arc.

Overview of SQL Server 2025 key innovations including best-in-class security and performance; AI built-in; Made for developers; and Cloud agility through Azure

A thriving community at the heart of SQL Server 2025

As we look back at the creation of SQL Server 2025, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to the community leaders, MVPs, partners, and Microsoft engineers who have shared their insights, expertise, and enthusiasm about this exciting release. Their passion for SQL Server and commitment to knowledge-sharing continue to inspire us.

In the resources below we showcase the expertise of our community as well as Microsoft, with blogs and videos that will help you make the most of everything SQL Server 2025 has to offer. These resources dive into key innovations that set SQL Server 2025 apart, including best-in-class security, built-in AI, developer enhancements, and Fabric mirroring.

Insights from Microsoft engineering, MVPs, and partners

SQL Server 2025 overview

We’ll get started with resources that provide an overview of key SQL Server innovations and then dive into each of the core pillars of best-in-class performance and security, AI-built in, made for developer, and cloud agility through Azure.

Best-in-class security and performance

SQL Server remains as the most secure database in the last decade, with best-in-class performance and availability. This latest release harnesses the latest innovation from Microsoft Entra and brings over 50 enhancements to the database engine.

  • Explore how to save time and reduce risk with Microsoft SQL Engineering PM Dimitri Furman’s blog on tempdb space resource governance.
  • Dimitri also shared how SQL Server 2025 has optimized Halloween protection by redesigning the way the database engine solves the Halloween problem and improves query performance.
  • HPE spotlighted SQL Server 2025 in a recent blog, underscoring its exceptional performance and availability—further validating the platform’s enterprise-grade capabilities.
  • Learn how to streamline T-SQL Snapshot backups using T-SQL REST API and  Pure Storage in the blog by MVP and partner, Anthony Nocentino: Streamlining T-SQL Snapshot Backups.

“SQL Server 2025 is an important release, delivering significant improvements in performance, reliability, security, and the developer experience for our trading platform.”

Ola Hallengren, Chief Data Platforms Engineer at Saxo Bank and a Data Platform MVP

AI built-in   

Learn how to accelerate AI apps closer to your own data using extensible tools with built-in vector capabilities.

“We are excited about the AI features in SQL Server 2025, especially the potential for text processing that can benefit companies of all sizes. AI brings new ways to process and extract insights from data, and with SQL Server being the core repository for many businesses, native AI features like embeddings, REST API support, and vector indexes are game changers.”

—Rodrigo Ribeiro Gomes, Head of Innovation, Power Tuning

Made for developers

SQL Server 2025 is the most significant release for SQL developers in the last decade. With features including native JSON support, built-in REST APIs and RegEx enablement, change event streaming plus a new Standard Developer edition and new SSMS release, SQL Server 2025 helps streamline application development and greatly reduce code complexity.

“Our initial tests have shown great results with fuzzy string matching and regex, significantly reducing the need for external coding to clean data. This improvement in development time and data quality stability is a huge benefit for our end-users. Additionally, we are exploring vector indexes, which have the potential to be a game-changer for our data management.”

—Paw Jershauge, Senior DBA and SQL Specialist, Orifarm Group A/S

Cloud agility through Azure

Powered by Azure, SQL Server 2025 enables real-time analytics with Fabric database mirroring and brings seamless cloud agility to any environment through Azure Arc.

  • Explore how Mirroring in Microsoft Fabric enables you to drive enhanced analytics and insights for your on-premise data in Microsoft SQL Engineering PM Ajay Jagannathan’s blog on Mirroring in SQL Server.
  • And for our Spanish speakers, Javier Villegas, Microsoft MVP, has created a wealth of in-depth content including his video on Mirroring in Microsoft Fabric – SQL Server.

“Change Event Streaming and Fabric Mirroring for SQL Server 2025 help MSC to build the bridge to bring our operational data into Microsoft Fabric.”

—Javier Villegas, IT Director—DBA and BI Services, MSC Technology (North America)

Keep learning about SQL Server 2025

A developer working from home on a computer

SQL Server 2025

An AI-ready enterprise database with best-in-class security, performance and availability.