An organization is migrating a mission-critical database from on-premises SQL Server to Azure. The solution must support near-zero downtime migration and immediate consistency between source and target. What approach is optimal?

Correct answer: Use Azure Database Migration Service with continuous sync and cutover

Option D is correct because Azure Database Migration Service with continuous sync mode replicates ongoing changes from the source SQL Server to the target in near real time, enabling a controlled cutover with minimal downtime once the target is caught up. Option A is incorrect because SQL Managed Instance with Always On Availability Groups is a high-availability feature for Azure, not a migration mechanism for on-premises-to-cloud transitions. Option B is incorrect because a manual backup-restore followed by manually syncing changes is error-prone, cannot guarantee immediate consistency, and typically results in significant downtime during the sync gap. Option C is incorrect because exporting to CSV and using bulk insert loses SQL-specific constructs such as stored procedures and constraints, is not transactionally consistent, and produces substantial downtime.