We’re happy to announce that the update policy SQL Server 2025 for Azure SQL Managed Instance is now generally available (GA). SQL Server 2025 update policy contains all the latest SQL engine innovation while retaining database portability to the recent major release of SQL Server.

Update policy is an instance configuration option that provides flexibility and allows you to choose between instant access to the latest SQL engine features and fixed SQL engine feature set corresponding to 2022 and 2025 major releases of SQL Server. Regardless of the update policy chosen, you continue to benefit from Azure SQL platform innovation. New features and capabilities not related to the SQL engine – everything that makes Azure SQL Managed Instance a true PaaS service – are successively delivered to your Azure SQL Managed Instance resources.

What’s new in SQL Server 2025 update policy

In short, instances with update policy SQL Server 2025 benefit from all the SQL engine features that were gradually added to the Always-up-to-date policy over the past few years and are not available in the SQL Server 2022 update policy. Let’s name few most notable features, with complete list available in the update policy documentation:

• Optimized locking
• Mirroring in Fabric
• Regular expression functions
• Vector data type and functions
• JSON data type and aggregate functions
• Invoking HTTP REST endpoints
• Manual (copy-only) backup to immutable Azure Blob Storage
• Change Event Streaming (private preview)

Update policy for each modernization strategy

Always-up-to-date is a “perpetual” update policy. It has no end of lifetime and brings new SQL engine features to instances as soon as they are available in Azure. It enables you to always be at the forefront - to quickly adopt new yet production-ready SQL engine features, benefit from them in everyday operations and keep a competitive edge without waiting for the next major release of SQL Server.

In contrast, update policies SQL Server 2025 and SQL Server 2022 contain fixed sets of SQL engine features corresponding to the respective releases of SQL Server. They’re optimized to fulfill regulatory compliance, contractual, or other requirements for database/workload portability from managed instance to SQL Server. Over time, they get security patches, fixes, and incremental functional improvements in form of Cumulative Updates, but not new SQL engine features. They also have limited lifetime, aligned with the period of mainstream support of SQL Server releases. As the end of mainstream support for the update policy approaches, you should upgrade instances to a newer policy. Instances will be automatically upgraded to the next more recent update policy at the end of mainstream support of their existing update policy.

Best practices with the Update policy feature

• Plan for the end of lifetime of SQL Server 2022 update policy if you’re using it today, and upgrade to a newer policy on your terms before automatic upgrade kicks in. Choose between Always-up-to-date and SQL Server 2025 update policy.
• Make sure to add update policy configuration to your deployment templates and scripts, so that you don’t rely on service defaults that may change in the future.
• Be aware that using some of the newly introduced features may require changing the database compatibility level. Consult feature documentation for details.

What’s coming next

SQL Server 2025 will become the default update policy in Azure portal during March 2026.

Future versions of REST API, PowerShell and CLI will also have the default value changed to SQL Server 2025 for the „database format“ parameter which corresponds to the instance’s update policy.

SQL Server 2022 policy will reach end of lifetime on January 11, 2028 when the mainstream support for SQL Server 2022 ends. Plan timely and change the update policy of your instances before that date.

Summary

Update policy SQL Server 2025 for Azure SQL Managed Instance is now generally available. It brings the same set of SQL engine features that exist in the new SQL Server 2025. Consider it if you have regulatory compliance, contractual, or other reasons for database/workload portability from Azure SQL Managed Instance to SQL Server 2025. Otherwise, use the Always-up-to-date policy which always provides the latest features and benefits available to Azure SQL Managed Instance.

If your instances are currently configured with SQL Server 2022 update policy, update them to a newer policy before the end of mainstream support.

For more details visit Update policy documentation. To stay up to date with the latest feature additions to Azure SQL Managed Instance, subscribe to the Azure SQL video channel, subscribe to the Azure SQL Blog feed, or bookmark What’s new in Azure SQL Managed Instance article with regular updates.

Welcome to the February 2026 edition of Windows news you can use. Today marks the start of Microsoft Technical Takeoff—four Mondays of demos, deep dives, and live Q&A for the IT pro community. If you're not tuning in live, all sessions will be recorded, so definitely bookmark any topics of interest and catch up on demand.

Speaking of events, we're hosting another Secure Boot AMA on March 12. Post your questions in advance or during the live event. New and updated resources and tools help you monitor the status of Secure Boot certificate updates across your estate. Look for more details on those below.

New in Windows update and device management

• [BACKUP] [RESTORE] – The first sign-in restore experience is now part of Windows Backup for Organizations. Empower people to restore their settings and Microsoft Store app list automatically at first sign-in, including those using Microsoft Entra hybrid joined devices, Cloud PCs, and multi‑user devices. For the first time, users who sign in with a Microsoft Entra ID on eligible devices will be able to restore their environment if they missed the option during first sign-in.
• [START MENU] – The new Start menu will be available to organizations in the second quarter of this calendar year. Two policies allow IT admins to further customize the Start menu: HideCategoryView and ConfigureStartPins. For more details, see the Start Policy CSP and Start policy settings.
• [WINDOWS 365] – By pairing Windows 365 Reserve with Windows 365 Boot, you can keep Windows 11 devices preconfigured with Windows 365 Boot. When users need access, simply assign a Windows 365 Reserve license in Microsoft Intune and hand the device to a user. No additional setup required.
• [WINDOWS 365] – Windows 365 is now supported in New Zealand North. This supports organizations who need to keep data within national borders, meet industry or government compliance expectations, or simply provide your workforce with a faster, more consistent Cloud PC experience.
• [26H1] – Windows 11, version 26H1 is a targeted release designed to support the next generation of silicon. Find out what you need to know about version 26H1 and why Windows 11, versions 25H2 and 24H2 remain the recommended releases for enterprise deployment.
• [ADMIN] – Learn how to filter and focus Message center in the Microsoft 365 admin center to prioritize Windows information with a new step-by-step guide.
• [WINDOWS] [5G] – Windows enterprise managed cellular connectivity is in private preview. This native Windows capability provides organizations with centralized management and customization of 5G cellular connectivity on Windows 11 PCs. This solution is integrated with Intune and validated on Surface 5G-enabled devices (available now).

New in Windows security

[SECURE BOOT] – New tools and guidance are available to help you actively monitor and manage the update of Secure Boot certificates across your device fleet.

• Explore the latest OEM pages for Secure Boot.
• Find out what happens when Secure Boot certificates expire on Windows devices.
• Quickly get a device-level view of Secure Boot across your Windows Autopatch-managed devices with the Secure Boot status report.
• For devices not enrolled in Windows Autopatch, learn how to monitor Secure Boot certificate status with Microsoft Intune remediations.
• Access tailored guidance for managing Secure Boot certificate updates for Windows Server, Windows 365, and Azure Virtual Desktop.
• Review updated FAQs about the Secure Boot update process.
• Stay updated as new resources become available by bookmarking the new Updates and announcements section of https://aka.ms/GetSecureBoot.
• Tune in live—and post your questions in advance—for the March 12 Secure Boot Ask Microsoft Anything session on the Microsoft Tech Community. Want a primer before the AMA? Tune in March 9 to Secure Boot certificates explained at Tech Takeoff.

New in AI

• [MECHANICS] – For those seeking to better understand Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI experiences on Windows 11 PCs, check out the new episode of Microsoft Mechanics. See how to access Copilot and agents from the taskbar. Find answers across files, email, and meetings, and turn ideas into polished content using voice or text.

To learn about latest capabilities for Copilot+ PCs, visit the Windows Roadmap and filter Platform by “Copilot+ PC Exclusives.”

New in productivity and collaboration

Install the February 2026 security update for Windows 11, versions 25H2 and 24H2 to get these and other capabilities.

• [SECURITY] – You can now set how often Data Protection Application Programming Interface (DPAPI) domain backup keys rotate automatically. This strengthens cryptographic security and reduces reliance on older encryption algorithms.
• [MOBILE] – Cross‑Device Resume now includes the ability to continue activities from your Android phone on your PC based on the apps and services you use. Resume Spotify playback, work in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, or continue a browsing session.
• [ACCESSIBILITY] – Narrator now gives you more control over how it announces on‑screen controls. You can choose which details are spoken and adjust their order to match how you navigate apps.

New features and improvements are coming in the March 2026 security update. You can preview them by installing the February 2026 optional non-security update for Windows 11, versions 25H2 and 24H2. This update includes the gradual rollout of: 

• [RECOVERY] – Quick Machine Recovery now turns on automatically for Windows Professional devices that are not domain‑joined and not enrolled in enterprise endpoint management. These devices receive the same recovery features available to Windows Home users. For domain‑joined or enterprise managed devices, Quick Machine Recovery stays off unless you enable it for your organization.
• [NETWORK] – A built‑in network speed test is now available from the taskbar. The speed test opens in the default browser and measures Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, and cellular connections.
• [CAMERA] – Control pan and tilt for supported cameras in the Settings app.
• [SYSMON] – System Monitor (Sysmon) functionality is now natively available in Windows. Capture system events for threat detection and use custom configuration files to filter the events you want to monitor. Windows writes captured events to Windows Event Log, which allows security tools and other applications to use them.
• [SEARCH] – When using search on the taskbar, preview search results by hovering and quickly seeing when more results are available with group headers.
• [RSAT] – This update adds support for Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on Windows 11 Arm64 devices.

New for developers

• [STORE] – Explore new features and updates for those developing for the Microsoft Store on Windows. Check out developer analytics, a web installer, and new developer tools.

New in Windows Server

For the latest features and improvements for Windows Server, see the Windows Server 2025 release notes and Windows Server, version 23H2 release notes.

• [SECURE BOOT] – The original Secure Boot certificates introduced in 2011 are approaching the end of their planned lifecycle, with expirations beginning in late June 2026. While many recent platforms include the supported 2023 certificates in firmware, you'll need to manage the process manually for any that require updating. Get started today with the Windows Server Secure Boot playbook for certificates expiring in 2026.
• [ReFS] – Resilient File System (ReFS) boot support is now available for Windows Server Insiders in Insider Preview builds.
• [DNS] – A public preview of DNS over HTTPS (DoH) for Windows DNS Server is now available. DoH support in Windows DNS Server complements broader Zero Trust DNS efforts already introduced on Windows clients to enable organizations to adopt encrypted, authenticated DNS across endpoints and on-premises infrastructure.
• [WS2025] – Looking for help with capacity planning of Remote Desktop Session Host servers running Windows Server 2025? Check out the new guide.

Lifecycle milestones

• Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSB and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB will reach end of support on October 13, 2026. Windows Server 2016 will reach end of support on January 12, 2027. If your organization cannot migrate to newer, supported releases in time, explore the options available to help you keep your devices protected with monthly security updates.

Check out our lifecycle documentation for the latest updates on Deprecated features in the Windows client and Features removed or no longer developed starting with Windows Server 2025.

Additional resources

Looking for the latest news and previews for Windows, Copilot, Copilot+ PCs, the Windows and Windows Server Insider Programs, and more? Check out these resources:

• Windows Roadmap for new Copilot+ PCs and Windows features – filter by platform, version, status, and channel or search by feature name
• Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes for latest features and improvements
• Windows Insider Blog for what's available in the Canary, Dev, Beta, or Release Preview Channels
• Windows Server Insider for feature preview opportunities
• Understanding update history for Windows Insider preview features, fixes, and changes to learn about the types of updates for Windows Insiders

Join the conversation

If you're an IT admin with questions about managing and updating Windows, add our monthly Windows Office Hours to your calendar. We assemble a crew of Windows, Windows 365, security, and Intune experts to help answer your questions and provide tips on tools, best practices, and troubleshooting.

Finally, we're always looking to improve this monthly summary. Drop us a note in the Comments and let us know what we can do to make this more useful for you!

Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community, then follow us @MSWindowsITPro on X and on LinkedIn. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.

If you’ve been paying attention to Claude lately, you’ve probably noticed one thing.

It’s really good at Excel.

Not formulas.
Not basic charts.

I mean understanding structured data. Reasoning across multiple sheets. Spotting correlations. Pulling out insights. The kind of work that usually takes a data analyst or data scientist a lot of time.

Here’s the part most people miss.

You already get that capability inside Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Let me show you what that actually looks like in the real world.

If you want to rebuild it yourself or follow along, I’ve published everything on GitHub:
- The mock Excel data
- All of the analyst and executive prompts
- Step‑by‑step flow used in the demo

Github Resources

The scenario: a very real executive ask

This is how the work showed up for me.

In this example scenario (all data is built using Copilot for demonstration purposes), an executive leader reached out and said:

“My CFO wants a Q2 financial summary of paramedic overtime across multiple counties.”

What I got back was raw data.

Messy.
Unstructured.
No story.

Normally, this turns into hours of work:

• Cleaning data
• Building formulas
• Creating pivot tables
• Designing dashboards
• Writing an executive summary

Instead, I used Copilot in Excel with Agent Mode.

Six prompts.

That’s it.

Why Agent Mode matters

Copilot in Excel with Agent Mode is where Copilot goes from “helpful assistant” to something much closer to a reasoning partner.

Under the hood, it’s doing things like:

• Reasoning across multiple sheets
• Writing and running Python
• Catching its own errors and fixing them
• Structuring data so it can be reused for dashboards and reports

This is also where you might notice model selection.

If your IT admin has enabled Anthropic, you’ll see Claude as an option. If you don’t, that’s an admin setting, not a missing feature.

And that matters, because this is exactly the type of work Claude has been getting attention for.

From raw data to executive‑ready in minutes

Here’s what I built using natural language.

Data framing

I asked Copilot to take raw overtime data and turn it into structured tables that could actually support dashboards and reporting.

Dashboard creation

Without telling it which charts to build or how to lay things out, Copilot created a working dashboard and an SBAR‑style report structure.

Storytelling

I prompted it to explain what was happening in the data. It called out overtime spikes in May and flagged operational risk.

Executive brief

I asked for CFO talking points.

Copilot generated:

• Key insights
• Questions a CFO should be asking
• Decisions that needed to be made

What‑if analysis

One prompt created an entirely new sheet to stress‑test scenarios.

All of this happened inside Excel.

No exporting.
No rework.
No separate AI tool.

Real Talk: The part people get wrong about AI and jobs

This is where the conversation usually goes sideways.

“Isn’t this replacing data scientists?”

No.

What it replaced was busy work.

AI is very good at:

• Processing structured data
• Generating insights
• Updating models
• Iterating quickly

Humans are very good at:

• Understanding context
• Knowing when something feels off
• Asking the right questions
• Applying judgment

In this sceanrio, I knew what the CFO cared about.
I knew the story that needed to be told.
I knew what to stress‑test.

Copilot didn’t replace that. It sped it up.

What used to take hours took about half an hour, including review.

That’s not a loss of skill. That’s leverage.

Copilot as a delegation tool

This is the mindset shift.

Stop thinking about Copilot as “AI that answers questions.”

Start thinking about it as delegation.

I delegated:

• Data cleanup
• Analysis
• Visualization
• First‑draft insights

Then I reviewed it, applied judgment, and refined.

When I handed this back to the CFO, I didn’t even use Agent Mode. I switched to standard Copilot and asked:

“Summarize this in one paragraph and give me three bullets a CFO would care about.”

That was it.

Copilot understood the entire workbook and produced executive‑ready talking points.

The real takeaway

Claude’s Excel capabilities are impressive.

What matters more is where you can actually use them.

Copilot brings that level of reasoning into the tools people already work in. Excel.
Teams.
Word.

AI isn’t here to think for you.

It’s here to handle the mechanics so you can focus on judgment, context, and decisions.

That’s the difference.

Go try it.
Have some fun.
And start delegating.

Welcome to this edition of “What’s New in Swift,” where we share interesting projects and updates in the Swift community that deserve visibility to a broader audience.

FOSDEM is the largest open source conference in the world, and this year Swift was featured in talks across multiple tracks and a dedicated pre-conference event. Here’s a report from the Swift community:

Hey there! Karen Chu here. 👋 I help grow and support the Swift open source community, and one of my favorite things has been increasing Swift’s participation in open source events.

As a follow-up to Swift’s presence at FOSDEM last year, this year we expanded our approach by running our own Pre-FOSDEM fringe event, which included 11 talks across multiple platforms, in addition to four Swift talks across various devroom tracks.

Though it was my first year at FOSDEM, it was delightful to meet several people who attended the Swift devroom last year and also came through again this year. With the vast array of attendee backgrounds (I met recent grads, former Swift mentees, Swift workgroup members, folks from the Swift Core Team, and more) and talks covering different platforms (embedded, server, BSD, Android, and more), that weekend showed me just how much momentum Swift has gained as a general purpose language that can benefit everyone.

I wanted to highlight Simon Leeb’s talk, Swift in the Browser with ElementaryUI, as a popular talk from the event which showed how to run Swift applications natively in the browser with WebAssembly.

FOSDEM may be over (for now), but I’m already excited about how the Swift community will show up next year!

To catch up on all the talks at the Pre-FOSDEM event, check out the YouTube playlist.

Now on to other news about Swift:

New package releases

• Originally developed for searching financial databases for strings like stock tickers, FuzzyMatch brings high-performance fuzzy string matching to Swift.
• Now you can expose GraphQL APIs in your applications with new Vapor and Hummingbird packages.
• Using Microsoft SQL Server? SQLClient-Swift is a native client for iOS, macOS, and Linux that’s built using modern Swift concurrency.
• Developers now have more options to create terminal-based Swift applications with TuiKit, a declarative, SwiftUI-like framework for building Terminal User Interfaces. TuiKit joins Noora, which provides themeable components for CLIs.

Lastly, Swift System Metrics 1.0 was announced, making the collection of process-level metrics easy.

Videos to watch

• Interested in writing Swift using agents? At Swift Barcelona, a talk on Building Agentic Apps with MCP in Swift demonstrated several open source tools. And if you’re an Xcode user, check out a recent code-along covering coding intelligence in Xcode 26.
• Introducing the Swift SDK for Android covered the current state of Swift on Android, how to call Java and Kotlin APIs from Swift, UI strategies, and what’s actively being worked on.
• SwiftCrossUI: Swift apps, everywhere presented a UI solution for Swift applications that run on Android, Linux, and Windows, using native UI components on each platform. The project also recently published a development update in video form, covering contributions and recent changes.
• Ever wanted to control microcontrollers in Swift? CoreAVR + ArduinoKit: Swift on the Arduino, the Swift way introduces ArduinoKit, which acts as the Arduino standard library for Swift, and CoreAVR, a hardware abstraction layer for AVR microcontrollers written in Swift.

Community highlights

• Swift is participating in Google Summer of Code 2026! 🎉 A recent forums post announced the process and outlined key dates to learn more. This is a great opportunity if you’re a student interested in contributing to Swift!
• A community member recently blogged about their experience profiling Swift applications on Windows and macOS with Tracy, covering how to visualize and analyze their application performance.

Swift Evolution

The Swift project adds new language features through the Swift Evolution process. These are some of the proposals currently under review or recently accepted for a future Swift release.

Under active review:

• SE-0514 Hashable Conformance for Dictionary.Keys, CollectionOfOne and EmptyCollection - Three standard library collection types can’t currently be used in sets or as dictionary keys. This proposal adds Hashable conformance to all three, for consistency with the rest of the standard library.
• SE-0513 API to get the path to the current executable - There’s currently no portable, reliable way to get the path to the currently running executable in Swift. This proposal adds CommandLine.executablePath, a new property in the standard library that provides a consistent way to get this value across all platforms Swift supports.

Recently accepted:

• SE-0506 Advanced Observation Tracking - @Observable types automatically track when their properties change. However, advanced use cases like developing middleware infrastructure or widget systems require more control and features. This proposal adds options to the existing withObservationTracking to control when/which changes are observed, and a continuous variant that re-observes automatically after coalesced events.
• SE-0502 Exclude private initialized properties from memberwise initializer - When you define a struct in Swift, the compiler automatically generates an initializer that takes each property as an argument. Currently, adding a private property with a default value to a struct forces that auto-generated initializer to become private, which breaks callers outside of the type. This proposal fixes that behavior.

Have any suggestions for a future issue? Drop them in the Community Showcase on the Swift Forums. See you next time!

M.G. Siegler of Spyglass is back for our monthly tech news discussion. Siegler joins us to discuss the latest on the Pentagon’s clash with Anthropic, why OpenAI stepped in to take the deal, and what comes next for Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei. Tune in to hear what the “supply chain risk” label could mean and AI’s growing role in defense work. We also cover Apple’s rumored trio of AI devices, Siri’s latest delays, and the Netflix–Warner Bros. Discovery deal falling apart as Paramount jumps in.

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Adam and Jerod get into the news, Jerod officially retires from the pod (and Changelog), plus a bonus for our Changelog++ subs!

Join the discussion

Changelog++ members get a bonus 16 minutes at the end of this episode and zero ads. Join today!

Sponsors:

• Augment Code – Adam loves “Auggie” – Augment Code’s CLI that brings Augment’s context engine and powerful AI reasoning anywhere your code goes. From building alongside you in the terminal to any part of your development workflow.
• Squarespace – Turn your expertise into a business with the all-in-one platform for websites, services, and getting paid. Use code CHANGELOG to save 10% on your first website purchase.
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Featuring:

• Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
• Jerod Santo – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

• Ladybird adopts Rust, with help from AI - Ladybird
• The JavaScript Oxidation Compiler
• Become an Oxc Sponsor | The JavaScript Oxidation Compiler
• Boshen (@boshen_c) / X
• Am I the only one who genuinely prefers on-prem? : r/devops
• The Software Development Lifecycle Is Dead | Boris Tane
• THE 2028 GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CRISIS
• Anish Acharya on X: “a different way this could go down…”
• The Mythical Agent-Month – Wes McKinney
• NanoClaw - Secure AI Agent for WhatsApp, Telegram & More
• Zed — Agent Client Protocol

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!