22-25 April 2026
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Questioning My SQL Server Faith… So You Don’t Have To

Proposed session for SQLBits 2026

TL; DR

With PostgreSQL rising and even SQL Server veterans backing alternatives, is SQL Server still the right choice? This session revisits its strengths—performance, scale, tooling—and compares them to open source to guide your next project.

Session Details

SQL Server is facing fierce competition from open-source databases like PostgreSQL, and even long-time advocates, including former MVPs and SQL Server celebrities, are recommending alternatives. Even I, under this mounting pressure, find myself questioning my long-established SQL Server faith. So if you’re starting a new project, is SQL Server still the right choice?

In this session, we’ll explore the features that set SQL Server apart, from performance and scalability to its top-notch tooling. We’ll compare these strengths against what open-source platforms have to offer, so you’ll walk away with the insights you need to confidently choose SQL Server for your next application.

3 things you'll get out of this session

Evaluate whether SQL Server is still a strong choice for new projects amid growing open-source competition Highlight SQL Server’s key strengths, including performance, scalability, and tooling Compare SQL Server capabilities with open-source alternatives to support informed decisions

Speakers

Gianluca Sartori

spaghettidba.com

Gianluca Sartori's other proposed sessions for 2026

Babelfish: The SQL Server Killer? - 2026

Gianluca Sartori's previous sessions

Time Series with SQL Server 2022
SQL Server 2022 introduces new time series capabilities, that will allow us to to work with time series data in the same database that we use for all the rest of the data. Join me to see what SQL Server 2022 brings to the table for time series data, how to use the new features and what are the opportunities and the limitations.