Microsoft’s Newest: SQL Server 2017 Advantages to Upgrade
Author: Eric Russo | 3 min read | August 31, 2017
Microsoft has recently released SQL Server 2017, and it offers many compelling reasons to upgrade. While you may worry that going through this process could result in downtime and disruption to your business operations, the advantages in areas such as cross-platform compatibility and open source statistical analysis provide you with potential competitive advantages.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
The biggest news from this update is that Microsoft has finally chosen to support more than Windows operating systems on SQL servers. Linux, Mac OS and Docker containers get the support that many companies have waited on for years. You have the flexibility to choose the platform that you want to use on your SQL server rather than being locked into Windows.
Reduction of Total Cost of Ownership
Microsoft has paid a lot of attention to the benefits of hybrid cloud models, which help organizations reduce their TCO for their databases. You have an easier time accessing your cloud-based data alongside your on-premises servers, with features such as Stretch Database giving you much-needed flexibility.
Better Statistical and Data Science Analysis Services
Another exciting development is the addition of Python. Microsoft also put Enhanced R-Open in place in SQL Server 2017. They recognize the need for real-time data access and better analytic tools for organizations’ databases. The in-database Advanced Analytics gives you the insights you need to improve everything from database performance to your company’s inventory management.
The business intelligence features can process approximately 1 million predictions per second, giving you a powerful tool for your business growth.
Better Performance
You’ll see significant improvements in performance, as SQL Server 2017 can speed up queries by up to 100x faster. Transaction speed also gets a boost of up to 30x. Your organization’s data processing needs are only going to increase in the future, so maximizing performance in this area is critical.
Best-in-Class Security
No one wants to think about the security problems plaguing organizations of all sizes, but Microsoft is doing its part in SQL Server 2017 to try to stem the tide of cyber crime. Encryption at rest and in motion cuts down on the possibility that an intruder could get usable data from a breach. Dynamic data masking increases the difficulty level further.
Cross-Platform Visual Studio
Your developers can finally use Visual Studio code on Linux and Mac OS. You can connect to different operating systems without running into any disruption in operations.
Linux Support
SQL Server 2017 natively supports many Linux operations now. Packages-based installation is possible for Ubuntu, Docker, SUSE and RHEL to streamline the upgrade and installation process. You’re not going to encounter more administrative overhead simply because you want to use something other than Windows.
You can deploy on popular container platforms such as Docker Swarm. Pacemaker offers another way to manage your risk through failover clustering, and all backup and restore features are covered.
SQL Server 2017 is more than a quality-of-life upgrade for your databases. The ability to work with cross-platform compatibility is a game-changer, and it is worth the upgrade on its own. When you add in better support for business intelligence, decreased ownership cost, seamless hybrid configuration and all of the other improvements, the only thing that should be holding you back is how busy the IT department is. For additional information download the white paper: SQL Server 2017
