Your day-by-day guide to Microsoft SQL at Ignite 2026
Microsoft Ignite returns to San Francisco November 17–20, bringing together developers, data professionals, and technology leaders. Whether you’re modernizing an existing SQL estate or building your next AI application, our sessions offer a practical path through the week—from architecture and migration decisions to hands-on development. Here’s what to add to your agenda. Tuesday, November 17: Bring AI and agents closer to your data Start with No Cloud Required: Build AI apps with SQL Server on Azure Local (BRK450). Join Bob Ward as he explores how to bring SQL and local AI to sovereign, regulated, edge, and disconnected environments while keeping sensitive data within trusted boundaries. Then join Less Hunting, More Building: Database Agents in a Unified Estate (BRK363). See how Database Hub and database agents can help teams surface issues, understand likely causes, and act with human approval using familiar SQL tools. Onsite? Make sure you join us in the Hub and look for the AMD booth during the evening recaption for an exclusive book signing for Bob Ward’s latest book “SQL Hyperscale Unveiled” Wednesday, November 18: Build the foundation—and go deeper Start your day with Data foundations for modern apps, AI, and agents (BRK362). Join Shireesh Thota together with leaders across Azure Databases as they share how operational, analytical, relational, and NoSQL platforms work together to support modern applications and agents. Follow that up by going deeper into SQL’s cloud-native offering Hyperscale in Humans to agents: Mission-critical starts with Azure SQL Hyperscale with Bob Ward and Anna Hoffman. This session is designed to explore the architecture, scale, resilience, and AI capabilities behind production-ready applications. Short on time? Catch Data modernization decision tree for growing businesses* a 15min lightning talk with Bob Ward, for a practical guide at SQL Server migration choices, Learn how to Ship database changes faster with agents in Database Hub or bring your questions and join the conversation with VP of SQL Priya Sathy at our table talk, spots are limited, so make sure you add it to you schedule and get there early. Thursday, November 19: Choose your architecture and build what’s next Not all applications are created equal, which makes choosing the right database critical. But how do you cut through the noise and pick the right solution for your application workloads? Database SOS: Choosing the right engine for your job will help teams weigh the options across Azure’s database portfolio. Or maybe SaaS deployments are more your speed? Join Anna as she shares how to ground your agents on operational data and connect your agentic applications to analytics in one platform in: Where agents meet analytics: Build with SQL Database in Fabric. Why run SQL on Azure? Priya Sathy, VP of SQL, shows you in a demo-heavy session on what sets Azure apart as your data platform for modern, AI-ready apps: Why Azure is the best cloud for SQL. Close out your day with Bob and Anna as they pull back the curtains and share the SQL roadmap, see what’s next in Sneak peek: What's next in SQL. Friday, November 20: Simplify your DevOps Close the week with BRK373, Build AI-ready apps on Azure SQL with GitHub Copilot in VS Code. Follow an application from local prototype through database design, retrieval-augmented generation, API creation, and cloud deployment. All week: Go one step further with technical skilling Lab Building search for AI apps and agents with Azure SQL Database, is planned across multiple days, including Friday. Check the schedule builder for its available lab times and to confirm your final agenda. From SQL Server and Azure Local to Azure SQL Database, Hyperscale, and SQL database in Fabric, there’s a session for wherever you are in your data journey. Explore the full Ignite schedule and we’ll see you there!Microsoft at PASS Data Community Summit 2026:
Microsoft is excited to be back as Sapphire Sponsor and bring that spirit to life through a mix of technical deep dives, community-led conversations, and opportunities to engage directly with Microsoft product leaders and experts. This year, we’ll go deep across the Azure Data portfolio to cover the subjects we’ve been asked about the most, from SQL, PostgreSQL, to Fabric. Whether you’re talking SQL over breakfast, asking your toughest questions during our Azure Data AMA, diving deep with the engineers building the products you use every day, or catching a live Data Exposed session, there are plenty of ways to participate beyond the breakout room. PASS Data Community Summit is more than a place to hear what’s new. It’s a place to be part of what’s next. Microsoft together with our co-sponsor AMD will be there with sessions and experiences that will hopefully leave you inspired by what you can build next. Here’s a look at the Microsoft sessions happening across the week: But PASS Data Community Summit has always been more than just sessions. So, we’re bringing back some of the most popular experiences to the community: We hope to see you there! Register now and use code AZURE150 for a discount off your registration!
