Windows Azure to get SQL Data Services

So far, Windows Azure only had useful, but still quite difficult-to-program data storage and query support—many more developers are familiar with for example SQL Server data access standards than the Azure ones. No, I'm not saying that Azure's previous data support was bad, it was just different.

Luckily, times are changing as Microsoft has just announced that they are planning, more or less, to host SQL Server on the cloud. Well, it's not SQL Server on Azure 100%, but still you get really close: the aim is to have SQL Server's TDS network protocol to access Azure databases seamlessly on the cloud. Whohoo!

In fact, they are planning to support Visual Studio and ADO.NET compatibility (I wonder what the server addresses will be like), and the most important features there like tables, views, stored procedures, triggers and indexes. Sounds like a plan to me.