Microsoft Corp. has unveiled a series of updates to its database offerings, coinciding with the general availability announcements for Azure DocumentDB and SQL Server 2025 during the Ignite conference in San Francisco. Additionally, the company is initiating a private preview of Azure HorizonDB, a cloud database solution based on PostgreSQL, alongside the launch of Microsoft Fabric, which integrates both relational and NoSQL functionalities into a unified platform.
Azure DocumentDB
Azure DocumentDB is now officially available as the first managed service derived from the open-source DocumentDB project. Previously recognized as Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore), this MongoDB-compatible engine operates seamlessly across Azure, third-party clouds, and on-premises environments. Microsoft aims to empower organizations by providing them with “freedom from proprietary lock-in,” enabling a standardized approach to open-source solutions while maintaining global operational capabilities. The Linux Foundation oversees the governance of this project.
This managed service boasts features such as vector and hybrid search, instant autoscaling, and independent scaling of computing and storage resources. Enhanced security measures include authentication via Microsoft’s Entra cloud-based identity and access management system, customer-managed encryption keys, and a service-level agreement promising up to 99.995% availability. Additionally, users benefit from 35-day backups at no extra cost.
DocumentDB has established itself as a viable alternative to proprietary NoSQL engines, allowing organizations to run MongoDB-compatible applications without the constraints of commercial licensing agreements.
SQL Server 2025
In tandem with DocumentDB, Microsoft has announced the general availability of SQL Server 2025, which introduces innovative features that blend traditional relational workloads with integrated artificial intelligence capabilities. This platform supports both local and cloud hosting and utilizes the Transact-SQL language, which is Microsoft’s proprietary extension of SQL.
Noteworthy enhancements in this release include native JavaScript Object Notation support, built-in Representational State Transfer (REST) application programming interfaces, change event streaming, and analytics facilitated through database mirroring to Microsoft’s OneLake data lake. Other improvements encompass enhanced query optimization, increased failover reliability, and Entra ID authentication via Microsoft’s Azure Arc hybrid cloud manager. Developers will also appreciate the updated GitHub Copilot integration and a new Python driver compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Expanded PostgreSQL Support
Microsoft is broadening its support for the open-source PostgreSQL database management system with the introduction of Azure HorizonDB, a cloud database service tailored for enterprise application modernization. Currently in private preview, HorizonDB integrates with the Microsoft Foundry development platform, Microsoft Fabric analytics platform, and Visual Studio Code. According to Microsoft’s internal testing, HorizonDB supports transactions and vector search capabilities that are up to three times faster than those of open-source PostgreSQL.
This service is designed to scale efficiently, accommodating up to 15 replicas with 192 virtual cores each and offering 128 terabytes of automatically scaled storage. It also features vector indexing for artificial intelligence workloads, utilizing DiskANN, a graph-based vector search algorithm developed by Microsoft. Since its inception in 1996, PostgreSQL has gained a reputation among enterprise developers for its robustness, reliability, and extensive memory capabilities, symbolized by its iconic elephant logo. With HorizonDB, Microsoft aims to address the needs of high-end mission-critical deployments, complementing its existing Azure Database for PostgreSQL service.
Furthermore, Microsoft announced that Fabric databases, which merge SQL database and Azure Cosmos DB functionalities into a single service, are now available. This offering supports vector data and retrieval-augmented generation patterns, catering to various artificial intelligence use cases.
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