CosmosDB has been a great data platform in the Azure cloud that helps companies deal with disparate types of data. The CosmosDB APIs include those for MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Cassandra, and Gremlin. These wire-level protocols let you work in a way that is compatible with those systems for storing data.

That's coming to SQL Server.

For the last few years the engineers at Microsoft have been working to separate query processing from storage, and they've used this to build products like Hyperscale. That work is being added to SQL Server 2024, so that you'll be able to add a separate storage engine that doesn't use the same RDBMS/extent/page structure, but instead is optimized to let you store documents, JSON, and other structures. In addition, there will be new query processors that can run queries from your MongoDB, Cassandra, and Gremlin graph clients.

Like CosmosDB, however, you can't have relational data and say, MongoDB data in the same database. You'll need a separate database, and at least initially, you won't be able to make cross-database queries. However, you will be able to store your relational and NoSQL data inside the same instance. This will make life easier for developers, who will be able to use one server for all their data.

Of course, this is an April Fools joke and there are no NoSQL enhancements coming to SQL Server. Not for now. I'm not even sure if SQL Server 2024 is a thing.

Hopefully, you're dreaming and smiling. Maybe the engineers at Microsoft are as well.