Disaster recovery became simpler. SQL Server 2016 supports up to 8 secondary replicas (increased from 4 in 2014). It introduced Automatic Seeding (automatically initial replicas over the network without restoring backups) and Basic Availability Groups for Standard Edition, democratizing high availability for smaller businesses.
Note: These prices are historical indicative retail; modern Microsoft pricing varies based on SA (Software Assurance) and volume agreements. Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Full Version
The "Full Version" generally refers to the licensed Standard or Enterprise editions. Unlike the free Express edition—which has limitations on database size (10GB) and RAM usage (1GB)—the full commercial releases unlock the true power of the SQL engine. They allow for massive scalability, advanced analytics, and the high-availability features required by mission-critical applications. Disaster recovery became simpler