SQL Server 2019 leverages PolyBase for full-on data virtualization and combines its Linux/container compatibility with Kubernetes (K8s) to deliver a new technology called Big Data Clusters (BDC).

And SQL Server 2019's enhanced PolyBase technology will allow the engine to connect to high-volume data and blend it with SQL Server-based transactional data and data marts.

What's new with SQL Server 2019 is that Microsoft added additional connectors for PolyBase that extended this querying power. Microsoft also added UTF-8 support in the new server.

SQL Server 2019 builds on intelligent query processing features that were implemented in SQL Server 2017, and expands them to new areas of the database engine.