A migration from on-premises SQL Server to Azure SQL offers many customers a number of advantages. It can enable scalability, reduce costs, enhance security, ensure high availability, and simplifies maintenance. Many organizations are looking to equivalent cloud services to move on-prem workloads such as SQL databases to the cloud, freeing themselves from the overheads of purchasing, configuring and maintaining physical hardware and infrastructure.

Shadow IT is a term used to describe IT systems, applications, or services that are used within an organization without the explicit approval, knowledge, or oversight of the IT department or the organization’s management. It typically arises when employees or departments adopt and use software, hardware, or cloud services for their specific needs without going through the official IT procurement or security processes.