As organizations move SQL Server workloads to Azure SQL Managed Instance, Failover Groups are often introduced as a simple checkbox for resiliency. In practice, implementing them correctly requires a clear understanding of what Failover Groups do—and just as importantly, what they do not.

This session provides a practical, architecture-driven walkthrough of implementing Azure SQL Managed Instance Failover Groups as a disaster recovery solution. Attendees will learn how Failover Groups work under the hood, why replication is asynchronous, how failover actually behaves during regional outages, and how to design applications and operations to handle these realities safely.

Topics covered include:

Architectural prerequisites and design decisions for Failover Groups

How replication, DNS listeners, and failover policies work in Azure SQL MI

RPO/RTO expectations and common misconceptions around “high availability”

Operational considerations such as login synchronization, monitoring, and failover testing

Common implementation mistakes and how to avoid them during migrations

This session is intended for DBAs, cloud engineers, and architects responsible for designing resilient SQL platforms in Azure. Attendees will leave with a clear, real-world framework for implementing Failover Groups confidently, aligning them with business continuity requirements, and communicating their limitations effectively to stakeholders.