To optimize SQL spend in the long term, organizations may consider utilizing the cloud. While the guidance outlined in the previous section is an excellent way to practice basic database hygiene and gain short-term financial benefits, businesses that are serious about optimizing SQL licensing spend may consider migrating their servers to Azure SQL. Azure SQL is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) that helps right-size database setups while lowering licensing spending. It also has the added benefit of making SQL easier and faster to use. This is because while the underlying infrastructure is maintained by Microsoft, all cloud resources on your Azure SQL server instance are controlled by you.
Using cloud platforms like Azure, organizations were able to slash their data center costs by 36 percent in 2018. This is likely partially due to Azure’s pay-as-you-go model, which helps organizations save time managing their licensing spending. Azure also saves labor hours by decreasing the need for coding, since features such as directories and security come pre-coded into Azure SQL. By using Azure SQL, your organization’s data center will require far less direct maintenance and management, resulting in significant savings.
How significant are the savings? According to Forrester, migrating to Azure SQL could provide up to a 466 percent return on investment, a 505 percent reduction in time-to-deploy, and an 80 percent reduction in IT admin time. If your organization would like to improve their time-to-market, or believes they could stand to save a considerable amount on database management, Azure SQL must be considered.