Is ODBC worth updating?

Question

Hi guys. I am new to the community. SQL DBA in Townsville, Australia.

We've moved mostly away from ODBC connections and over to PowerQuery, via DirectAccess or Import on our reports and Sharepoint lists. However, we are still updating ODBC drivers and I am wondering, what for? We used to have a staffer here love MS Query and always using predefined ODBC connections to our SQL databases, but we've finally convinced her to move into PowerQuery, and she's loving it.

So can we leave ODBC alone now? Is there a good reason, other than legacy connecting to SQL server, to keep it? Or did I misunderstand the entire methodology, whereas PowerQuery is still using ODBC under the hood?

Thanks

anatolid · Answer

The last is correct - PowerQuery is using ODBC.
PowerQuery can use ODBC, OLEDB, ODATA, etc

ODBC driver is being updated mostly for interaction with Azure services:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/windows/release-notes-odbc-sql-server-windows?view=sql-server-ver15

Unless you have a specific problem - you don't really need to update it.

fernandotropico · Answer

AnatoliD&nbsp;Awesome! Thanks for the clarification.

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Is ODBC worth updating?

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