SQL Server 2025....in 2026

Microsoft finally released SQL Server 2025 for general availability last November, billing it as "the most significant, AI-ready, developer focused release in a decade". We'll take a look at the key features, including but not limited to:

Built-in AI capabilities
Vector data type and search capabilities
Native model management in T-SQL
Isolated AI model execution
Support for vector embeddings, DiskANN indexing and text chunking

Developer enhancements
Binary optimized JSON data type, indexes and improved functions
RegEx support with new T-SQL functions
REST API support inside SQL Server
Change Event Streaming
VS Code/SSMS/CoPilot improvements

Performance & Scalability Improvements
Optimized locking
TempDB resource governance
Parameter Plan Optimization
Improved AlwaysOn

Cloud, Hybrid, and Fabric Integration
Fabric mirroring
Azure Arc improvements
"Change feed" mirroring

Licensing & Edition Changes
Standard Edition upgraded
New Standard Developer Edition mirrors Standard for testing

With only an hour and half, we'll likely hit the high notes on most of the new features and spend a good amount of time on the new AI capabilities, with demos and group interaction driving our conversation.

Come join for a look at Microsoft's latest RDBMS offering.