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Imply Enterprise vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Imply Enterprise
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Imply Enterprise is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 14.7%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

DB
Provides cost efficiency and flexible control over clusters
The managed offering has two models: Polaris and Hybrid. We explored both during the PoC phase. The Hybrid model gives you the flexibility to keep your data safe on your own site but still have a managed service to control your infrastructure. The Polaris model, on the other hand, does not give you an insight into what kind of AWS box you are using. Based on your capacity planning, you can just choose the correct size of the box. It also gives you a dashboard. I would like Imply to include more flexible billing models with added options for superior infrastructure control, flexibility in scaling, and cost-effectiveness, such as choosing the number of CPUs required. We should have more flexibility and control over the infrastructure in terms of upscaling and downscaling. Currently, there are only certain tightly bound options. With more flexible options, more customers will adopt the solution.
Charley Hanania - PeerSpot reviewer
It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We have not faced any downtime."
"One of the best parts of the solution is the Hybrid model that allows flexibility to keep control over the clusters."
"The solution has become easier to use over time and it's also reasonably priced."
"The solution is efficient and easy to use."
"The solution is quite straightforward to set up."
"Some of the best features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database are its scalability, pricing, and ease of setup."
"SQL is a simpler database. We use it more than other databases."
"I rate Microsoft Azure SQL Database 10 out of 10."
"Microsoft is at the forefront of databases, and everyone uses SQL."
"Its technical support team is good."
 

Cons

"I would like Imply to include more flexible billing models with added options for superior infrastructure control, flexibility in scaling, and cost-effectiveness, such as choosing the number of CPUs required."
"I would like Imply to include more flexible billing models with added options for superior infrastructure control, flexibility in scaling, and cost-effectiveness, such as choosing the number of CPUs required. We should have more flexibility and control over the infrastructure in terms of upscaling and downscaling. Currently, there are only certain tightly bound options."
"The solution’s pricing needs improvement because it is too high."
"Scalability is an issue because we can't upgrade to new versions due to hardware limitations."
"Microsoft Azure SQL Database would benefit from enhanced documentation, along with ongoing improvements to scalability and cost-effectiveness."
"Lacking in technical documentation."
"One area for improvement could be expanding the search queries using vectors or AI inside the database. After seeing its potential in a workshop, I realized the usefulness of more advanced search queries with AI."
"We've noticed an unexpected increase in the cost of running the server over the past few months."
"It is a little bit expensive for us. They can improve the price. It would also be very helpful if they can offer some free trial."
"The solution could improve by supporting more operating systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Imply pricing is in the middle range. Understanding the data model can help reduce overall system costs."
"It only has a subscription-based license."
"It is beneficial in terms of cost because you are charged per data unit instead of licensing."
"It is reasonable."
"I find that they are relatively expensive, especially when compared to AWS, where the prices are notably lower."
"The solution is more cost-effective than Google BigQuery. Compared to Google BigQuery, downloading data can be more expensive."
"We have had some issues with the licensing of the solution."
"Its price can definitely be lower. It is pretty pricey."
"When you go with SQL Azure Database, you can create a small database, which is around $4 to $5 per month for development purposes."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Imply?
Imply pricing is in the middle range. Understanding the data model can help reduce overall system costs. If you understand the data model clearly and go in-depth while doing your capacity planning,...
What needs improvement with Imply?
The managed offering has two models: Polaris and Hybrid. We explored both during the PoC phase. The Hybrid model gives you the flexibility to keep your data safe on your own site but still have a m...
What is your primary use case for Imply?
We are serving the Ads business for one of the biggest startups in India. Our use case involves capturing events or impressions generated on our app and performing aggregations of the users. If som...
What do you like most about SQL Azure?
The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
The pricing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap, affecting user uptake. A gradual reduction in price could improve accessibility and user numbers, making it easier for users to adopt the s...
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have used the Microsoft Azure SQL Database for two years now, and I don't find it satisfactory. It's slow and expensive. The Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not the latest version of Microsoft SQ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, MongoDB and others in Database as a Service (DBaaS). Updated: August 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.