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Microsoft Analytics Platform System vs Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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

Microsoft Analytics Platfor...
Ranking in Data Warehouse
18th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Parallel Data War...
Ranking in Data Warehouse
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of Microsoft Analytics Platform System is 2.3%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is 3.5%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Warehouse Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse3.5%
Microsoft Analytics Platform System2.3%
Other94.2%
Data Warehouse
 

Featured Reviews

MahmoudMohamed1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data Engineer at Tatweer Educational Technologies Company - TETCO
Offers smooth data integration between systems, but requires better real-time analytics capabilities
We leverage its capabilities for many applications. We can integrate with our databases, like Oracle, MySQL, or any other, using Microsoft Integration Services. This lets us continue using private databases without paying additional licensing fees. Additionally, the license includes Analytics services and Power BI, which work on-premises, unlike most other technologies that require cloud solutions.
reviewer2254953 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Desk Administrator at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Virtual machines have handled large data and supported growth but pricing still needs improvement
I believe the product is pretty fast. When I have used it, it is handy. The integration with other Azure products is good and integrates well. Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse's security measures help ensure our sensitive data protection during analysis through measures such as encryption. Its scalability is impressive as it scales up and down really well. We go from a couple of users to tons of users all the time, and it scales and handles things really well. One of the major benefits with this product is that it's Microsoft, which is one of the best ones, and it's just plug and play.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution will connect to any database, you can combine databases, and you can create a cube or tabular model."
"I think Microsoft Stack offers the end-to-end solution I need."
"It is closely integrated with other products in the MS portfolio."
"We leverage its capabilities for many applications. We can integrate with our databases, like Oracle, MySQL, or any other, using Microsoft Integration Services."
"We help customers in many ways from customized analysis for detection of anomalies in tax, operations, customer relationship, and marketing campaigns, and we also use mining and ML to help them discover trends, which provides useful information based on their business."
"I like that it's integrated with other Azure products."
"This is a well-integrated solution and that integration empowers results."
"Microsoft Analytics Platform System's most valuable feature is its ecosystems and seamless integration with other Microsoft reporting platforms and databases."
"In our economic situation, the price is really the most important consideration, and it is not a pricey product compared to other data warehouse solutions like Oracle and similar products, as it is less expensive but still achieves our goals and fulfills all our needs, so it is a comfortable solution for us and we can afford the price."
"It is a very stable database."
"The interface is very user-friendly."
"Its scalability is impressive as it scales up and down really well, we go from a couple of users to tons of users all the time, and it scales and handles things really well."
"The solution has been reliable."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Everything about the solution is great."
"The stability of the solution is good."
 

Cons

"The trouble is Microsoft has changed their licensing. It's an extremely expensive product now."
"We need better real-time analytics capabilities. It's a bit challenging for us."
"​Hybrid environments are complex to manage."
"I think the biggest problem with the product is that it does a data ingest model, which is very expensive."
"In general, I am not really very satisfied with the tutorials that are out there."
"On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate this product overall as a five. This is probably because there is still a lot of room for improvement, features that other products have that are missing, and a lot of open-source technology nowadays that are very good and people can use instead."
"The pricing model needs to be improved."
"However, centralized EDW tends to be extremely expensive and very inflexible."
"The product scalability needs improvement."
"Unlike other MPPs, such as Netezza, this requires excellent expertise in SQL to reap the benefits of using it."
"We have to take the time and resources to build our own business intelligence when other products already incorporate such solutions."
"This solution would be improved with an option for in-memory data analysis."
"If the database is large with a lot of columns then it is difficult to clean the data."
"The only issue with the product is that the process is very slow when we have a huge amount of data."
"It requires significant infrastructure expertise to implement."
"It is expensive. SQL Data Warehouse is not supported by all versions of SQL Server such as the Express version and therefore becomes unavailable to many limiting its acquisition and use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate Microsoft Analytics Platform System a seven out of ten for pricing."
"The initial price is lower than Oracle, but extensive use of SQL may lead to a higher total cost of ownership."
"We are currently paying $200,000 a year for all the different parts of the suite during an ingest model Microsoft now charges us $700,000 a year."
"Users have to pay extra for premium-level technical support."
"The solution's pricing is fairly decent for organizations with huge data sizes."
"They offer an annual subscription. The pricing depends on the size of the environments."
"I think the program is well-priced compared to the other offerings that are out in the market."
"All the features that we use do not require any additional subscription or yearly fees."
"Microsoft has an agreement with the government in our country, so our customers get their licensing costs from the Ministry. Whenever we work with any government, company, or government institute, which is mainly what we are doing, that license comes directly from the Ministry of Technology and Information."
"Technical support is an additional fee and is expensive."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"The tool could be expensive if we need to manage a lot of data."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse?
The pricing could be better; I think it actually just went up.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse?
The basic use case for us is virtual machines. In real estate, we use it for our operations. They handle large data sets well, and the performance is good during those times.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft APS, MS Analytics Platform System
Microsoft PDW, SQL Server Data Warehouse, Microsoft SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse, MS Parallel Data Warehouse
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Transport for London, E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co. KG, Prometeia, Tangerine, SSM Health Care, Service Corporation International
Auckland Transport, Erste Bank Group, Urban Software Institute, NJVC, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Analytics Platform System vs. Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
918,169 professionals have used our research since 2012.