At least for the server size, entity framework partially solves this with code first migrations. Using the code first model you can define your data types in code then have entity framework generate the appropriate sql code. If you change your data structure down the road you can autogenerate a migration that changes the database from one version to another. If you deploy a version that is a few migrations ahead then it will execute the proper migrations one after the other.

For the client side it's usually a good idea to specify a versioning relationship between server and client. AWS, for example, you request the API version you want to use: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonSimpleDB/latest/DeveloperGu...