New research shows AWS is the cloud provider of choice for SQL Server

A 2024 IDC Infobrief – Running SQL Server Workloads in the Cloud – reports that a clear majority of Microsoft SQL Server users chose AWS as their primary cloud provider when polled. In fact, data shows AWS is the top cloud provider of choice (52%) – more than the next six cloud providers combined.

Figure 1. IDC Infobrief – Running SQL Server in the cloud

As organizations continue to embrace cloud computing, the need to migrate and run mission-critical workloads, such as SQL Server, in the cloud has become increasingly prevalent. SQL Server users are looking to migrate to the cloud to enjoy better scalability, performance, and availability at a lower overall cost. As SQL Server users migrate their operations to the cloud, they have a choice of cloud providers and how to deploy SQL Server using those providers.

When it comes to finding the right cloud provider to host and transform your SQL Server workloads, Amazon Web Services (AWS) stands out as the clear leader. Since 2008 and longer than anyone else, AWS has helped hundreds of thousands of customers rehost, replatform, and refactor their SQL Server workloads. Customers continue to choose AWS to migrate, optimize, and modernize their SQL Server workloads for a number of reasons, including:

1. Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). From licensing to infrastructure, AWS is focused on driving down the costs for running SQL Server workloads. For example, customers save an average of 45% on SQL Server license costs through the free AWS Optimization and Licensing Assessment (AWS OLA). With AWS Compute Optimizer, customers save up to 25% on infrastructure through rightsizing, and up to 73% on licenses through SQL Server edition downgrading recommendations. Customers also achieves 34% lower annual database cost via managed service like Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS).
2. Flexible licensing options. The bottom line is – AWS is not in the business of selling software licenses. We try to reduce customers’ licensing needs by providing flexible licensing options. Customers can either choose to bring your own licenses (BYOL) to maximize existing investments, or use the pay-as-you-go, license-included (LI) option to let AWS take care of managing license compliance while you continue to focus on your business.
3. Unlock innovation with database modernization. For customers seeking to break free from Microsoft’s punitive licensing models, AWS offers a wide range of purpose-built databases that enable you to reimagine your application architecture. Services like Amazon Aurora provides commercial-grade performance and availability at 1/10th the cost of traditional databases.
4. Easy-to-use experience. AWS champions a simpler, integrated end-to-end experiences to run and manage SQL Server workloads. For example, with services like AWS Launch Wizard for SQL Server, you are guided through sizing, configuration, and deployment, streamlining your SQL Server experience in the cloud. For customers who want to spend less time self-managing databases, AWS offers Amazon RDS for SQL Server to offload undifferentiated database tasks. Simply put, we’ve always been innovating on behalf of our customers to enhance their experience. In the year of 2023 alone, we launched 108 product features to help our customers assess, migrate, manage, and modernize their SQL Server and Windows Server workloads on AWS.
5. Most performant infrastructure. AWS offers the most secure, extensive, and reliable Global Cloud Infrastructure for you to run, optimize, and modernize SQL Server workloads. The AWS Cloud spans 105 Availability Zones within 33 geographic regions, with announced plans for 21 more Availability Zones and seven more AWS Regions. With a 16-year track record of supporting Microsoft applications in the cloud, AWS is the proven cloud provider for you to run SQL Server workloads.
6. Enhanced security. AWS is architected to be the most secure global cloud infrastructure on which to build, migrate, and manage applications and workloads. This is backed by our deep set of 300 security services and features and the trust of our millions of customers, including the most security sensitive organizations like government, healthcare, and financial services. Learn more about how the unique culture of security at AWS makes a difference.

Self-managed or managed model

At AWS, we are customer obsessed and always working backwards from customers’ specific needs. For SQL Server deployment options, we offer a self-managed model for SQL Server on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), and a managed model for Amazon RDS for SQL Server.

Self-managed SQL Server on Amazon EC2. Running SQL Server on Amazon EC2 allows you to migrate your existing SQL Server workloads to AWS without any application changes. In the report, users of SQL Server on Amazon EC2 indicated strong satisfaction due to the ease of migration from on premises, the ability to move the software license, and the ability to self-manage with operating system (OS) access.

Salesforce deployed its data tier on AWS by rehosting its on-premises SQL Server databases on Amazon EC2. The most critical piece of Salesforce’s solution is its massive SQL Server deployment, which comprises the heart of the data tier for Marketing Cloud. Salesforce found Availability Zones to be robust and highly available, and by deploying SQL Server using AWS, it can quickly reach new geographies that have data residency regulations. Instead of spending 1 year setting up a new data center locally, Salesforce can deploy in 4–6 weeks using AWS. Salesforce is now better equipped to meet the changing demands of the digital marketplace and is able to continue to innovate rapidly—without spending a lot of time and resources on infrastructure.

Managed Amazon RDS for SQL Server. Amazon RDS for SQL Server allows you to offload undifferentiated heavy-lifting of database administration tasks, such as provisioning, configuration, patching, backups, and high-availability deployment. This frees up resources for your team to focus more on innovation and less on infrastructure. For applications that require operating system and database customization, we offer Amazon RDS Custom, which gives you more control to customize the database and lets you Bring Your Own Media (BYOM) to save on license costs. In the report, Amazon RDS users reported very high satisfaction: 99% said it met or exceeded their expectations in high performance, high availability, and high scalability. Lower total cost of ownership with Amazon RDS is another key benefit reported by users after migrating from on premises.

NN Investment Partners transitioned from their self-managed SQL Server database to Amazon RDS for SQL Server to address scalability issues and rising costs. This has led to a 50% reduction in database costs and freed up engineering teams to focus on innovation rather than database management. Additionally, migration to Amazon RDS has improved flexibility, allowed for better cost distribution, and enhanced security, ultimately positioning NN Investment Partners for future growth and competitiveness.

Modernize beyond SQL Server with purpose-built databases

Modernizing from Microsoft SQL Server to purpose-built databases like Amazon Aurora enables you to eliminate expensive Microsoft SQL Server licensing costs and punitive licensing terms, achieve performance and availability of commercial-grade databases at 1/10th the cost, innovate faster, increase agility, and never have to worry about SQL Server End of Support (EOS).

BMC Software modernized its databases by migrating from Microsoft SQL Server to Amazon Aurora, achieving significant cost savings and improved productivity. The shift reduced AWS infrastructure costs by 42%, eliminated SQL Server licensing fees, and boosted database team productivity by 60-70%. Using Amazon Aurora, BMC’s engineering teams now spend less time on maintenance, benefiting from improved stability, performance, and scalability. These changes have enhanced customer adoption and increased revenue for BMC’s Helix platform, with substantial growth anticipated.

Get started with running SQL Server in the cloud

Learn more in this IDC InfoBrief on running SQL Server workloads in the cloud, and get started with a free Migration Assessment today.

AWS has significantly more services, and more features within those services, than any other cloud provider, making it faster, easier, and more cost effective to move your existing applications to the cloud and build nearly anything you can imagine. Give your Microsoft applications the infrastructure they need to drive the business outcomes you want. Visit our .NET on AWS and AWS Database blogs for additional guidance and options for your Microsoft workloads. Contact us to start your migration and modernization journey today.