Azure Synapse Analytics Serverless SQL Pool Guidelines

With the introduction of the serverless SQL pool as a part of Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft has provided a very cost-efficient and convenient way to drive value from data residing in lakes using simple T-SQL statements. It enables you to easily build logical analytical models by querying and joining data across heterogeneous sources making the development of complex data integration pipelines obsolete in many cases. To use it, you don't even need to explicitly provision it beforehand due to its serverless nature, it is per default part of an Azure Synapse Analytics workspace. All you have to do is query data in an on-demand fashion in which you get charged according to the amount of data your queries need to process. Yet, the flexibility provided in terms of how data can be stored and queried require you to stick to some conventions for properly applying all its features and functionalities. Otherwise, the once promising serverless query engine can end up causing lots of costs together with a poor performance.