That’s right. There’s been a divorce. SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) has been divorced from the server product. In fact, Microsoft is inviting you to the new SSMS coming out party.

I’m pretty excited about this. While I’m very comfortable in SSMS, to a large degree, it’s like that old pair of jeans that you’ve worn for the last 10 years. They’re comfortable too. Well, maybe a little tight when you pull them on out of the wash. One of the knees is gone. The legs are frayed so much it almost looks intentional. You just noticed a hole in the bottom. The zipper is acting up… Yeah, OK. These jeans have had it. So has SSMS.

The plan from Microsoft is to upgrade SSMS independently from the boxed product. In fact, since one of the goals is to coordinate functionality within SSMS with releases of Azure SQL Database, I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’ll be seeing very regular and frequent updates. While this is a good thing for SSMS and it’s a good thing for Azure SQL Database. This level of frequent updates might not be a good thing for individual data pros if you’re not used to actively pursuing new knowledge and new tooling all the time. Or, it can act as an incentive to help keep your knowledge levels up to date because you’re more employable if you’re maintaining your skill set.

Let this act as a prod to go out and learn some new functionality. Oh, and buy a new pair of jeans.

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