Microsoft's premade templates allows for the deployment of SQL databases without having to use complex PowerShell commands.

The only way to get extended support for 2008 versions of Windows and SQL Server is in the cloud. Here's why you should be thinking about 2012 migrations now as well.

For those legacy SQL Server 2008/R2 applications that remain critical, some form of high availability or disaster recovery protection will be required to preserve business continuity.

Azure will default to the Standard pricing tier, but if you want to consider adding a higher-performance server for your SQL database, click the arrow to reveal Figure D.

A comparison of SQL Server's throughput performance on Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) gives the edge to Microsoft's cloud.

Products available under SCE include Windows Server and System Center, SQL Server, SharePoint Server and BizTalk Server, Visual Studio, and Azure.