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.

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.
- At Microsoft Build, Microsoft’s Bob Ward and Muazma Zahid covered everything database developers need to know in their session SQL Server 2025: The Database Developer Reimagined, and Raj Pochiraju launched his deep dive blog into all things SQL Server 2025.
- Bob Ward was interviewed by theCube at Dell Technologies World, where he and Rob Sonders from Dell discussed how data fuels AI and the key AI features in SQL Server 2025.
- Joey D’Antoni from Redmond Magazine interviewed Shireesh Thota and shared his thoughts on the most exciting features in Microsoft Build: SQL Server 2025 Is (Almost) Here and Why Microsoft Is Still Betting Big on SQL Server in a Cloud-First World, both on Redmondmag.com.
- Microsoft’s Anna Hoffman and Bob Ward have launched a new series on Data Exposed that will cover all the highlights.
- Looking for a quick overview? The Microsoft Mechanics video, What’s New in SQL Server 2025 breaks it all down in just 15 minutes.
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.
- Dive into the SQL Server 2025 AI enhancements in Microsoft’s Davide Mauri’s blog on SQL Server 2025 AI Capabilities.
- For those who are in a hurry, check out this great SQL in 5: New AI features in SQL Server 2025 from Brian Spendolini, Microsoft SQL Engineering PM.
- Dhananjay Mahajan, Microsoft SQL Engineering PM, hosted a webinar with Pure Storage to help you get ready for SQL Server 2025: Accelerating AI, Performance, and Resilience—From Query to Infrastructure.
- Follow MVPs Anthony Nocentino and Ben Weissman in their video series “Anthony and Ben talk about SQL Server 2025”, starting with Vector Search and Ollama.
- Get started with vectors with MVP, Deb Melkin’s Getting Started with Vector Searches in SQL Server 2025.
“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.
- SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 21 is now generally available. Read about the new SSMS release in the Microsoft Community Hub.
- Copilot is available in SSMS, learn how Copilot in SSMS preview can help make you more efficient – answering your questions and helping you write, edit, and fix T-SQL.
- JSON Enhancements are covered by MVP Daniel Hutmacher who shares hands-on insights in JSON indexes in SQL Server: First impressions, while Microsoft SQL Engineering PM Umachandar Jayachandran explores JSON data types and aggregates in his blog.
- SQL Server 2025 introduces native support for regex functions, making it easier to perform complex text operations directly within SQL queries. Read Microsoft SQL Engineering PM Abhiman Tiwari’s blog to Unlock the Power of Regex in SQL Server.
“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
- Bookmark the SQL Server 2025 Learn page.
- Follow the SQL Server 2025 Blogging Series.
- Get SQL Server 2025 and start using it today.

SQL Server 2025
An AI-ready enterprise database with best-in-class security, performance and availability.