SQL Server Adds App-Level Features Increasing Costs

Steve Jones argues that SQL Server 2025's new features, including REST endpoints and built-in vector/LLM capabilities, enable application-style tasks such as sending emails and generating embeddings. He warns that triggers and in-database LLM calls can overload expensive database cores—given Standard Edition limits (24/32 cores) and high per-core Enterprise pricing—and recommends offloading such workloads to app servers.