To the point on MS-SQL, tbh, if you need MS-SQL, Azure for SQL proper, or Azure SQL will both be far less expensive than on any other cloud platform, offsetting any pricing difference for your application VMs even.
I'll be testing some latency between DO and Azure just so I can use some of Azure's services while keeping my applications on DO. Also considering Database Labs (databaselabs.io) for PostgreSQL on DO. Though I do like some of Azure's other offerings... Azure Tables are pretty nice if your needs fit the paradigm, even wrote some node.js wrappers to make access a lot easier a couple years ago, if I go with Azure will likely update them.
I'll be testing some latency between DO and Azure just so I can use some of Azure's services while keeping my applications on DO. Also considering Database Labs (databaselabs.io) for PostgreSQL on DO. Though I do like some of Azure's other offerings... Azure Tables are pretty nice if your needs fit the paradigm, even wrote some node.js wrappers to make access a lot easier a couple years ago, if I go with Azure will likely update them.