How One Engineer Chose Azure SQL Managed Instance Over Azure SQL Database in Production

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A software engineer documented the real-world reasoning behind choosing Azure SQL Managed Instance (SQL MI) over Azure SQL Database when migrating two enterprise applications from on-premises SQL Server to Azure. The production database was approximately 200 GB and supported three backend services while running over 25 SQL Server Agent jobs for scheduled batch and housekeeping tasks. A key requirement mandated that the database remain inaccessible from the public internet, accessible only via a private network on port 1433. The migration path proved decisive: SQL MI supports native .bak backup restores directly from Azure Blob Storage, whereas Azure SQL Database does not accept .bak files, requiring more complex alternatives like BACPAC imports. The engineer acknowledged formally defending the SQL MI choice during architecture review, citing compatibility, migration fidelity, and operational constraints as the primary factors over cost or familiarity.

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