SQL Performance Supercharged: Strategies for Azure SQL Performance and Cost Optimization - Part 2

Part 2 of our session is demo-heavy and focuses on making Azure SQL (as well as SQL Server 2025) databases faster and more performant. You’ll see how to use Query Store and DMVs to understand workloads, spot regressions, and validate improvements, then how Intelligent Query Processing (IQP) features can change plan quality and runtime behavior, especially as cardinality estimates, memory grants, and row goals shift across executions. We’ll also cover practical optimization patterns for PaaS: index strategy and tuning workflow, parameter sensitivity approaches, resource governance, and where automatic tuning helps (and where you still need to intervene). You’ll leave with a repeatable troubleshooting flow and a clear mental model for optimizing Azure SQL, without trying to recreate every on prem habit in a managed world.