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Azure Database Support Blog
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Data Migration - From SQL MI to SQL DB migration

akiohose's avatar
akiohose
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Apr 21, 2026

Perform data migration from Azure SQL Managed Instance to Azure SQL Database using Azure Data Factory

Overview In this post, I’ll show you how to perform a data migration from Azure SQL Managed Instance (SQL MI) to Azure SQL Database (SQL DB) using a combination of schema + security migration steps...
Updated Apr 20, 2026
Version 1.0
akiohose's avatar
akiohose
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Apr 26, 2026

Thanks for reading the article, and great question. Yes—copying between two Managed Instances is absolutely possible. You just need to create two service‑linked connections: one pointing to the source MI and one to the target MI.

In your specific scenario, because the source and target have different collations, you’ll likely need a few extra steps:

  1. Script out all database objects.
  2. Review the generated DDL for any statements that include explicit collation clauses.
  3. Update those collation definitions so they match the target MI’s collation before deployment.
Bruceo's avatar
Bruceo
Tin Contributor
Apr 27, 2026

Thank you for answering. I am trying to work out if it makes sense to go through Azure for two managed instances that can talk to each other directly!

Great article, I learn't a lot. I appreciate your time and sharing your knowledge