Entity Framework is Microsoft's recommended data access technology for new applications in .NET.

Entity Framework 7 (EF7) provides a familiar developer experience to previous versions of EF, including LINQ, POCO, and Code First support. EF7 also enables access to data across relational and non-relational stores. EF7 is much more lightweight than previous versions and is built from the ground up to work great in the cloud (using ASP.NET vNext) on devices (i.e. in universal Windows apps) as well as in traditional .NET scenarios.

To get started with EF7, see the Entity Framework Wiki.