Simplifying SQL Management with Azure Arc and Bytes

Wednesday 17th September 2025

Ant Arrand

Cloud Solutions Architect

Author

In today’s IT landscape, businesses are juggling increasingly complex infrastructures — on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments all at once. Managing databases across these environments can be a challenge, both from a technical and a commercial perspective. That’s where Azure Arc, and Bytes’ expertise, comes in.

Recently, Chris Gath, Customer Success Manager at Microsoft, and Martin Simon, Microsoft Commercial Executive Manager, sat down to discuss how Azure Arc is transforming SQL database management and why it matters to organisations right now.

What is Azure Arc?

Azure Arc brings the “single pane of glass” approach to database management. Whether your SQL databases are deployed on-premises, in Azure, or with a third-party cloud provider, Arc provides a unified view and control mechanism.

This simplifies governance and ensures consistency across environments, helping organisations avoid silos between procurement teams, database administrators, and developers.

Key Challenges Azure Arc Addresses

1. Compliance and Licensing Transparency
Often, procurement teams purchase licences without full visibility into what’s actually deployed by database administrators. This mismatch can lead to compliance risks, inefficiencies, and unexpected costs. Azure Arc provides a clear, centralised view of all SQL instances, aligning procurement with actual usage.

2. Agility and Scalability
Traditional procurement models often tie organisations into lengthy contracts, limiting flexibility. With Azure Arc, businesses can scale quickly when demand spikes — whether for Black Friday retail surges or seasonal business peaks — without waiting for new licences or infrastructure.

3. Cloud Benefits, Anywhere
Even for workloads that remain on-premises, Arc brings the cloud look and feel to database management. Teams can adopt new technology and approaches more quickly, without being slowed down by traditional procurement or deployment models.

4. Extended Support for Legacy Systems

Not all workloads can be upgraded due to legacy dependencies or regulatory constraints. Azure Arc enables centralised management, monitoring, and policy enforcement for older SQL Server and OS environments — helping organisations maintain security and compliance without needing immediate upgrades.

How is Azure Arc Licensed?

There are two main licensing paths for SQL Azure Arc:

Software Assurance Customers
If you already have SQL licences with active Software Assurance, you can connect them to Azure Arc at no extra cost. This works whether your instances are in Azure (via SQL Azure Hybrid Benefit), on-premises, or in a third-party data centre.

Pay-as-you-go
Alternatively, you can deploy and manage instances through Azure Arc using a pay-as-you-go model, giving you ultimate flexibility without long-term contracts.

Either way, all licensing and procurement details are visible through Arc’s single pane of glass.

Getting Started with Azure Arc

The good news is that getting started is straightforward. Microsoft provides comprehensive online documentation, and many setups only require running a few scripts.

If in-house skills are limited, Bytes can step in to support. Whether through your Bytes Account Manager or by contacting [email protected], you can connect with the right experts to help design, deploy, and manage your SQL Azure Arc environment.

Why Partner with Bytes?

At Bytes, we help organisations navigate the balance of technical innovation and commercial clarity. With Azure Arc, that means ensuring your SQL databases are:

Compliant with licensing rules

Scalable to meet business demand

Future-ready, no matter where your infrastructure resides

If you’re ready to explore Azure Arc for your organisation, reach out today and let’s simplify SQL management together, contact the team at [email protected]

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