PostgreSQL Conference Europe 2026

Microsoft offers two managed services for PostgreSQL: Azure Database for PostgreSQL and Azure HorizonDB.

Azure Database for PostgreSQL is a fully-managed database service that serves as a reliable and cost-effective workhorse for many production workloads. Includes:

• Resiliency across 65+ regions with built-in multi-zone high availability, cross-region replication, and Chaos Studio integration;
• Security and compliance features for protecting data and meeting enterprise requirements;
• Generative AI capabilities with in-database LLM integrations;
• Elastic clusters for horizontal scale, powered by the open-source Citus extension.

Azure HorizonDB—now in public preview—is a new Postgres-compatible service built around an elastic scale-out architecture and optimized shared storage for demanding, data-intensive workloads. Key features include:

• Decoupled compute & storage—enabling you to scale your database resources independently;
• Reliability and security, including built-in multi-availability zone replication, plus native integration with Microsoft Entra ID;
• Generative AI features with built-in AI model management and AI pipelines—using SQL as the interface.

Microsoft has been investing in the PostgreSQL project and ecosystem since 2019. Here are 9 ways we contribute:

• Upstream Contributions to Postgres: Microsoft employs Postgres committers & contributors working directly on upstream Postgres—plus a team working on extensions.
• Supporting Postgres Events: Microsoft sponsors and helps organize Postgres community conferences & user groups worldwide.
• Talking Postgres Podcast: A monthly podcast about the people who work on Postgres & why they do what they do.
• POSETTE: An Event for Postgres: Free & virtual developer event with expert speakers from across Postgres.
• Visual Studio Code Extension: VS Code extension for PostgreSQL with ~750K installs. Works with any Postgres.
• Azure Database for PostgreSQL: Fully managed, AI-ready database as a service for PostgreSQL.
• Azure HorizonDB: New PostgreSQL-compatible database service to build & scale mission-critical applications.
• Microsoft Blog for PostgreSQL: Our blog about Postgres, Azure, and the community.
• Official sponsor of the PostgreSQL project: Microsoft is a Benefactor sponsor of the PostgreSQL Community Association (PGCA), which protects PostgreSQL trademarks and brand assets.

PGConf.EU is the largest in-person PostgreSQL conference in the world, bringing together a global audience from across the PostgreSQL ecosystem.

There will be over 15 people from the Microsoft team at PGConf.EU. While we work in different areas and each have different goals, some of our common goals include:

• Answer questions about Microsoft’s Postgres offerings for current and future customers of Azure HorizonDB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and the VS Code extension for PostgreSQL.
• Talk to (and learn from) Postgres users and community members from around the world.
• Collaborate with other Postgres contributors in-person, comparing notes on Postgres 19 and discussing what’s coming next in Postgres 20.
• Contribute to the PGConf.EU experience. For many attendees and sponsors, PGConf.EU is a much-anticipated annual reunion of community members, friends, collaborators, and colleagues. Many of us are looking forward to reconnecting with people we may only see once a year.

Microsoft speakers at PGConf.EU 2026:

• Adam Wolk & Nacho Alonso Portillo – Scaling Beyond Traditional Postgres Architectures with Azure HorizonDB (Sponsored)
• Alexander Kukushkin – What is Patroni, really? with Polina Bungina
• Andres Freund – Identifying bottlenecks in Postgres workloads
• Ashutosh Bapat – Rethinking Shared Memory in PostgreSQL
• Claire Giordano – PostgreSQL at Microsoft: Open Source, AI, and Cloud (Sponsored Keynote)
• Cornelia Biacsics – New PostgreSQL Community Members Summit with Andreas Scherbaum
• Daniel Gustafsson – The current state of JIT in PostgreSQL
• Ebru Aydin Gol – Safe Upgrades for PostgreSQL Extensions: Managing Backward Compatibility
• Franck Pachot – Postgres 19, 20, & Beyond: Live Demos of New Features & Tools (Sponsored)
• Melanie Plageman – Exercising PostgreSQL Performance Enhancing Patches & Acknowledging PostgreSQL Contributors: The Contributor Badges Project with Christoph Berg
• Silvano Coriani – What 25+ Years of SQL Server Taught Me When I Switched to PostgreSQL
• Paula Berenguel – The PostgreSQL translation guide I wish somebody wrote
• Tomas Vondra – AIO performance - now and in the future
• Thomas Munro – Where next for parallel query execution

Of course, we'll be bringing our famous Microsoft database socks in a new design. Come say hello at our booth and add the latest edition to your collection.

But there’s more than socks waiting for you. Stop by to talk Postgres with us: tell us how you’re using Postgres, what’s on your wishlist; what you think about PostgreSQL 19; or how you’d like to get more involved with the community. We’d also love to hear your feedback on the VS Code extension to PostgreSQL.

And if you’re an Azure customer—we’d be glad to answer questions about Azure HorizonDB or Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and learn more about how you’re using them. There may even be a surprise or two waiting for you at the Microsoft booth.

At Microsoft, we encourage team members to participate in the PostgreSQL community in ways that match their interests and expertise. Our growing PostgreSQL open source contributor team works directly on upstream PostgreSQL, contributing across many areas of the project as part of their day-to-day work.

Participation goes beyond code. Our team members also organize Postgres conferences (e.g. PGConf.dev, Nordic PGDay, P2D2); organize meetups & user groups; serve on talk selection teams, mentor new contributors; serve on the Postgres Core Team & the PGCA Board; and share technical knowledge through conference talks and blogs.

For returning attendees, PGConf.EU feels a bit like a class reunion. For new attendees, there is so much to learn about PostgreSQL and so many Postgres people to meet. For everyone, it’s a chance to learn from each other, meet new people, and get ideas from people struggling with similar database challenges.

So make the most of it. Talk to people. Ask questions. Get curious. The Postgres ecosystem is rich with opportunities, from the core to extensions to tooling to advocacy—learn what other people are doing with Postgres. Many contributors are happy to help you find your own way to get involved.

And don’t miss Community Events Day at PGConf.EU on Friday. In past years, this was a Training Day—this is the second year the PGConf.EU organizers are experimenting with a community day offering deep-dive sessions and summits. The schedule for the Community Events Day is also online—maybe something will spark your interest? We hope to see you there.