As Jeff probably hinted before, tune some code. Add indexes, get some consulting help if you don't know how to do this.

Also, if management is worried, get faster...

To repeat the answers, same size space for fixed size fields, 0 for variable fields. There's a null bitmap

Are things working well? If so, ask for 32GB RAM, and similar CPU. Of course, better storage than you have now.

If things aren't working well, ask for 128GB...

There isn't a security risk here. I'd just pass this to the auditor and let them find a hole: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/security/encryption/extensible-key-management-ekm?view=sql-server-2017

Those tables for joins are so small they're always going to be in memory and the effort to add them in is trivial. Since you could grow beyond three states,...

I've heard good things with Cloudberry, but haven't used it.

This might help: https://johnmccormack.it/2017/12/ec2-sql-server-backups-to-amazon-s3/

Can I ask why Copyonly is something you don't want to do?

I don't know we're getting a holistic solution. I like what MS has done, but it's very vague and incomplete, really providing a structure, but leaving this up to individuals....

Ugh, apparently my copy of other answers from RStudio didn't take, so the paste just continued.

Lucky everyone so far. I'll update some "wrong" answers now.

If you're using...