Those eager to get their hands on a new version of Microsoft's relational database management system will be pleased to know that SQL Server 2022 is now available in preview. The company is touting this as its "most cloud-connected release" yet owing to deeper integrations with Azure Purview and Synapse Link, offering more insights and governance capabilities. Microsoft has boasted that SQL Server 2022 handles scalability and performance with built-in intelligence modules and database admins don't need to worry about data estates and connections to cloud analytics. The company also offers flexibility across languages and platforms, namely Windows, Linux, and Kubernetes.
Meanwhile, organizations more interested in native cloud capabilities will be happy to see that Apache Cassandra data can now be easily migrated to Azure Cosmos DB. Cost control and productivity enhancements are in tow too, while Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra is now generally available. Azure Synapse Analytics is getting new features in the form of industry-specific database templates, real-time analytics for telemetry, and general availability of Event Hubs Premium. Flexible Server deployment will be made generally available for Azure Database for MySQL and Azure Database for PostgreSQL this month as well. Next-generation hardware powered by Intel Ice Lake is being made available for Azure SQL Managed Instance is in preview, and so is Link, which connects SQL servers to Azure SQL Managed Instance regardless of where the former is hosted.
That's not all for Azure customers though. Azure Cognitive Search now supports more languages and offers a preview of Azure OpenAI Service, providing access to OpenAI's GPT-3 language models. However, this is currently an invite-only preview. Microsoft is also offering a commitment tier pricing model for customers who heavily utilize Azure Cognitive Services.
Furthermore, short codes for SMS in Azure Communication Services will preview later this month while interoperability with Teams will become generally available next month. Azure Container Apps have hit preview while Azure Service Bus large message support, Web PubSub, Open Service Mesh add-on for Azure Kubernetes Service are generally available. Azure Logic Apps has received new features in preview too, and you can find out more about them here. Meanwhile, customers who run Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) applications on Azure containers can leverage from new solutions present in the Azure Marketplace.
Azure DevOps has been enhanced through OpenID Connect integration between Azure Active Directory (AAD) and GitHub Actions and a new DevOps Workflow Generator tool to visualize the DevOps toolchain is now generally available as well. Azure API Management has been improved through integration with Event Grid (generally available), GraphQL passthrough support (GA), and native support for WebSocket APIs.
Customers can also simulate real-world outages in Azure using Chaos Studio, which will enable them to plan and monitor mitigation strategies. This capability is currently in preview. Finally, the Azure Migration and Modernization Program (AMMP) is being expanded to cover additional security, Azure Arc, app modernization, and SAP environments too. You can find out more details about these enhancements here.
