If you still have SQL 2012 servers, you are probably aware that support for it ended July 2022. This means there will be no more patches or security updates.
Of course, the obvious solution is to upgrade to a supported version of SQL Server, a long time ago! But that's not always an option, even if you can no longer get any support from the vendor. In that case often there are steps you can take to mitigate or minimize the risks.
Whatever maybe your reasons not to upgrade yet, Microsoft has been offering an option to extend the support for SQL 2012 further, with a condition that you migrate the SQL server to Azure cloud. It doesn't matter what deployment model you choose or bring your own SQL Server licenses. As of this point Microsoft is even offering a free migration service to not only help you move your servers to Azure, it will even do the work for you, provided you are comfortable giving them access they would need.
Recently I came to know of another option that Microsoft is going to offer that doesn't require moving your SQL databases to the Azure cloud. That means you can keep your SQL Servers on premise and still keep getting the security updates. The program is being referred to as
Extended Security Updates enabled by Azure Arc
Here is the blog article that discusses it:
While that article is about the Windows Server 2012/R2, there is a line in it that says "This capability will also be available for SQL Server 2012
". Is this official? I am told by my Microsoft contact that it is so I am going to get few SQL 2012 servers I have that cannot be moved into Azure Cloud yet, have Azure Arc enabled. For those are looking for option to get extended support, as I am, I hope this helps.
https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2023/07/18/new-options-for-windows-server-2012-r2-end-of-support-from-azure/