Unveil the data platform of the future with SQL Server 2025—guided by one of its key architects . With built-in AI for application development and advanced analytics powered by Microsoft Fabric, SQL Server 2025 empowers you to innovate—securely and confidently. This book shows you how. Author Bob Ward, Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data team, shares exclusive insights drawn from over three decades at Microsoft. Having worked on every version of SQL Server since OS/2 1.1, Ward brings unmatched expertise and practical guidance to help you navigate this transformative release. Ward covers everything from setup and upgrades to advanced features in performance, high availability, and security. He also highlights what makes this the most developer-friendly release in a decade: support for JSON, RegEx, REST APIs, and event streaming. Most critically, Ward explores SQL Server 2025’s advanced, scalable AI integrations, showing you how to build AI-powered applications deeply integrated with the SQL engine—and elevate your analytics to the next level. But innovation doesn’t come at the cost of safety: this release is built on a foundation of enterprise-grade security, helping you adopt AI safely and responsibly. You control which models to use, how they interact with your data, and where they run—from ground to cloud, or integrated with Microsoft Fabric. With built-in features like Row-Level Security (RLS), Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), Dynamic Data Masking, and SQL Server Auditing, your data remains protected at every layer. The AI age is here. Make sure your SQL Server databases are ready—and built for secure, scalable innovation . What You Will Learn [if !supportLists] · [endif]Grasp the fundamentals of AI to leverage AI with your data, using the industry-proven security and scale of SQL Server [if !supportLists] · [endif]Utilize AI models of your choice, services, and frameworks to build new AI applications [if !supportLists] · [endif]Explore new developer features such as JSON, Regular Expressions, REST API, and Change Event Streaming [if !supportLists] · [endif]Discover SQL Server 2025's powerful new engine capabilities to increase application concurrency [if !supportLists] · [endif]Examine new high availability features to enhance uptime and diagnose complex HADR configurations [if !supportLists] · Use new query processing capabilities to extend the performance of your application [if !supportLists] · [endif]Connect SQL Server to Azure with Arc for advanced management and security capabilities [if !supportLists] · [endif]Secure and govern your data using Microsoft Entra [if !supportLists] · [endif]Achieve near-real-time analytics with the unified data platform Microsoft Fabric [if !supportLists] · [endif]Integrate AI capabilities with SQL Server for enterprise AI [if !supportLists] · [endif]Leverage new tools such as SQL Server Management Studio and Copilot experiences to assist your SQL Server journey Who This Book Is For The SQL Server community, including DBAs, architects, and developers eager to stay ahead with the latest advancements in SQL Server 2025, and those interested in the intersection of AI and data, particularly how artificial intelligence (AI) can be seamlessly integrated with SQL Server to unlock deeper insights and smarter solutions

Join this session to see how Microsoft and Elastic are partnering to deliver secure, AI-powered solutions for regulated industries. You’ll learn how to combine Elastic’s new Serverless offering on Azure with Microsoft’s Agent Framework to build intelligent, conversational experiences over embedded document data. We’ll walk through a real-world-inspired demo that shows how to ingest and semantically search sensitive documents using Elastic’s vector search and OneChat capabilities—then expose that functionality through Microsoft Teams using a custom-built Agent. The solution is enhanced with Microsoft’s Trustworthy AI capabilities to ensure responses are safe, secure, and compliant—all within a fully Azure-native environment.

Avec les solutions Azure de Microsoft et Snowflake, Oney Bank construit une plateforme Data unifiée, agile et sécurisée. Découvrez comment Fabric OneLake, Copilot Studio et Cortex s'intègrent au Snowflake Data Cloud pour accélérer l'innovation, déployer l'IA à grande échelle et générer de la valeur tout en répondant aux exigences réglementaires les plus strictes.

Le groupe Egis conçoit et exploite des infrastructures complexes à l’échelle mondiale : autoroutes, aéroports, ferroviaire, bâtiments, services de mobilité, énergie, aménagement urbain et environnement. La diversité et le volume des données générées posent des défis majeurs en matière de gouvernance, d’industrialisation et de scalabilité.

Pour y répondre, Egis a déployé une infrastructure Data Mesh sur Azure, mise en place et opérée par une équipe dédiée. Cette équipe assure la conception, la gouvernance et la mise à disposition de l’architecture pour l’ensemble des Business Lines. L’infrastructure s’appuie sur :

• Stockage distribué avec ADLS Gen2,

• ETL et traitements big data avec Azure Data Factory et Databricks,

• Visualisation et partage sécurisé via Power BI Service et Delta Sharing,

• Des mécanismes de gouvernance avancés pour garantir interopérabilité et fiabilité.

Cette session présentera :

• Les choix d’architecture et patterns techniques pour mettre en place un Data Mesh distribué à l’échelle d’un grand groupe international

• Le rôle et l’organisation de l’équipe dédiée dans la mise à disposition et l’accompagnement des projets métiers

• Les enseignements pratiques tirés de cas d’usage concrets déjà en production

Une immersion au cœur de la mise en œuvre réelle du Data Mesh, pensée pour transformer la donnée en un actif accessible, fiable et exploitable à grande échelle par les équipes métiers et techniques.

Découvrez comment Scor a déployé l’IA sur Azure pour transformer ses processus métier, avec des cas concrets d’assistants en production et une vision sur l’automatisation agent pour 2026. La session couvrira stratégie, gouvernance et retours d’usage à grande échelle.

Ace the DP-300 Exam with this essential study companion, chock-full of insights and tips you cannot find online. This book will help you build a comprehensive understanding of Azure SQL systems and their role in supporting business solutions, and it will equip you with the mental models and technical knowledge needed to confidently answer exam questions. Structured to align with Microsoft’s published study guide, the book spans five major sections that correspond to the skills measured by the exam, covering topics vital to modern cloud operations and including HA/DR, security, compliance, performance, and scalability. [if !supportAnnotations]You’ll also learn about the ways cloud operations have changed the focus of operating database systems from task execution to platform configuration—and how to configure your data platforms to meet this new reality. [if !supportAnnotations] By the end of this book, you’ll be prepared to navigate exam scenarios with finesse, pass the exam with confidence, and advance in your career with a solid foundation of knowledge. What You Will Learn Maximize your ability to benefit from the online learning tools for Exam DP-300 Gain depth and context for Azure SQL technical solutions relevant to Exam DP-300 Boost your confidence in Azure SQL Database skills Extend your on-premises SQL Server skill set into the Azure SQL cloud Enhance your overall understanding of Azure SQL administration and operations Develop your Azure SQL skill set to increase your value as an employee or contractor Adopt a new mindset for cloud-based solutions versus on-premises solutions Who This Book Is For Anyone planning to take the DP-300: Administering Microsoft Azure SQL Solutions exam, and those who wish to understand Azure SQL and how to successfully migrate and manage SQL solutions using all Azure SQL Technologies

Maximize the value of your SAP investments by harnessing the power of Data and AI on Azure. In this session, you’ll learn proven strategies to leverage SAP landscapes, unify data across SAP and non-SAP systems, and unlock advanced analytics with Azure’s Agentic AI capabilities. We’ll showcase industry-ready accelerators that accelerate transformation, enable governed data access, and turn insights into action to fuel innovation, agility, and measurable business outcomes.

Send us a text In this episode, we're joined by Sam Debruyn and Dorian Van den Heede who reflect on their talks at SQL Bits 2025 and dive into the technical content they presented. Sam walks through how dbt integrates with Microsoft Fabric, explaining how it improves lakehouse and warehouse workflows by adding modularity, testing, and documentation to SQL development. He also touches on Fusion’s SQL optimization features and how it compares to tools like SQLMesh. Dorian shares his MLOps demo, which simulates beating football bookmakers using historical data,nshowing how to build a full pipeline with Azure ML, from feature engineering to model deployment. They discuss the role of Python modeling in dbt, orchestration with Azure ML, and the practical challenges of implementing MLOps in real-world scenarios. Toward the end, they explore how AI tools like Copilot are changing the way engineers learn and debug code, raising questions about explainability, skill development, and the future of junior roles in tech. It’s rich conversation covering dbt, MLOps, Python, Azure ML, and the evolving role of AI in engineering.

This hands-on workshop shows you how to define, deploy, and manage real Azure infrastructure using your existing .NET skills. With Pulumi, you’ll use C# to provision Azure resources using tools and patterns you already know. Pulumi brings the full power of C# to Infrastructure as Code. You can build scalable, reliable cloud infrastructure with less effort, reduce duplication, and move faster using familiar development workflows. If you're currently using ARM templates or starting with Azure infrastructure, this workshop introduces a more productive and developer-friendly way to manage it with code. Join us to learn: How to get started with Pulumi and C# for Azure infrastructure; Key concepts of the Pulumi programming model for IaC; How to define, provision, and manage Azure resources using .NET; Why C# is a powerful alternative to JSON-based ARM templates; Examples of reusable and scalable infrastructure written entirely in .NET / C#

Hands-on workshop showing how to define, deploy, and manage real Azure infrastructure using Pulumi and C#. Learn how Pulumi brings the full power of C# to Infrastructure as Code, enabling scalable, reliable cloud infrastructure with familiar development workflows. If you're currently using ARM templates or starting with Azure, this workshop introduces a productive, developer-friendly approach to managing infrastructure with code.

How to move data from thousands of SQL databases to data lake with no impact on OLTP? We'll explore the challenges we faced while migrated legacy batch data flows to event-based architecture. A key challenge for our data engineers was the multi-tenant architecture of our backend, meaning that we had to handle the same SQL schema on over 15k databases. We'll present the journey employing Debezium, Azure Event Hub, Delta Live tables and the extra tooling we had to put in place.

Maximize the value of your SAP investments by harnessing the power of Data and AI on Azure. In this session, you’ll learn proven strategies to leverage SAP landscapes, unify data across SAP and non-SAP systems, and unlock advanced analytics with Azure’s Agentic AI capabilities. We’ll showcase industry-ready accelerators that accelerate transformation, enable governed data access, and turn insights into action to fuel innovation, agility, and measurable business outcomes.

In today’s fragmented data landscape, organisations are under pressure to unify their data estates while maintaining agility, governance, and performance. This session explores how Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, and Azure Databricks come together to deliver a powerful, open, and integrated platform for centralised data orchestration—without compromise. From ingestion to insight, this session will showcase how “no excuses” becomes a reality when your data is truly unified, with a real-time demonstration highlighting the platform’s capabilities in action.

In this episode, I sit down with Wendy Turner-Williams, a distinguished tech leader and executive with a deep history at companies like Microsoft and Salesforce. She's of the original minds behind what became Azure Data Factory, among other foundational tech. In this wide-ranging conversation, Wendy charts the trajectory from the early days of the Internet to the current AI-driven hype cycle and looming crisis. She explains how these tools of innovation are now being turned against the workforce and why this technological revolution is fundamentally more disruptive than anything that has come before. This episode is a candid, unfiltered discussion about the real-world impact of AI on jobs, the economy, and our collective future, and a call for leaders to act before it's too late. Timestamps: 00:22 - Catching up: The tough job market and writing new books. 05:49 - Wendy's impressive career history at Microsoft, Salesforce, and Tableau. 06:17 - The origin story of Azure Data Factory and other foundational projects at Microsoft. 09:18 - A personal story about the challenges of being a woman in Big Tech in the early days. 13:02 - A look back at a favorite early-career project: Digitizing physical maps with nascent GPS technology in 2001. 18:11 - The state of the tech industry: "Tech is cannibalizing itself because of AI." 20:31 - The massive, impending shock to the job market and why AI is different from previous industrial revolutions. 27:26 - Why the "human in the loop" is a temporary and misleading solution. 29:55 - Breaking down the numbers: The staggering quantity of white-collar jobs projected to be eliminated. 36:37 - Why leaders are failing to act and conversations are happening behind closed doors without solutions. 38:25 - Discussing potential solutions: Should companies have quotas for their human workforce? 45:21 - The need for "truth tellers" and leaders who are willing to question the current path and drive human-centric transformation. 53:15 - The grim reality for recent graduates with computer science degrees who can't find jobs. 56:22 - The risk of IP hoarding and engineers deliberately crippling systems to protect their jobs. 01:00:20 - Final thoughts: Are we waiting for a "let them eat cake" moment before we see real change?