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Microsoft Analytics Platform System vs Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse comparison

 

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
11th
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 July 2026, in the Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of Microsoft Analytics Platform System is 2.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is 3.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Warehouse Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse3.2%
Microsoft Analytics Platform System2.2%
Other94.6%
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.
HassanFatemi - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Smart Data-Driven Solutions
Has handled large volumes of data effectively but still needs cost flexibility
There could be improvements on the cost side of Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse because it is still considered to be quite expensive by a lot of users, and many companies are not interested in solutions with parallel data warehousing due to this expense. Addressing the cost would be the number one area for improvement. Additionally, I have not worked recently with it, so I don't know if this feature already exists, but if it doesn't, having an elastic feature that adjusts the service's power dynamically based on the workload would be beneficial instead of fixing the power at a specific level.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Helps our customers to discover trends, which provides useful information based on their business."
"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."
"This is a well-integrated solution and that integration empowers results."
"The most valuable part of the product is that it is a system, with different tools for different services for different kinds of scenarios, making it a very rich, integrated, technology-rich platform whose total integration with the rest of Microsoft products creates flexibility and compatibility and makes the tool a very useful one."
"I like that it's integrated with other Azure products."
"Microsoft Analytics Platform System's most valuable feature is its ecosystems and seamless integration with other Microsoft reporting platforms and databases."
"The result is a highly flexible, affordable, and scalable platform that makes large-scale Hub and Spoke EDW architectures a practical reality."
"This is a great product for big data analytics as it can challenge other MPPs quite well."
"The stability of the solution is good."
"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."
"I'm very pro Microsoft because I think Microsoft products are highly intuitive and are widely used."
"​It has allowed fast daily loads and analysis of millions of rows of data, which eventually moved to near real-time.​"
"Overall, I rate Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse a nine out of ten."
"We have complete control over our data."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
 

Cons

"The pricing model needs to be improved."
"​Hybrid environments are complex to manage."
"The flexibility of this solution needs to be improved because you cannot make changes at every one of the different steps."
"Releases of new products and functionality is never accompanied by associated documentation, training and resources that adequately explain the release."
"In general, I am not really very satisfied with the tutorials that are out there."
"Microsoft Analytics Platform System could have better support."
"We need better real-time analytics capabilities. It's a bit challenging for us."
"I think the biggest problem with the product is that it does a data ingest model, which is very expensive."
"The feature updates on the on-premise solution come very slowly, and it would be great if they came faster."
"Scalability can be improved because there are other tools that perform better with very large datasets."
"I would like to see better visualization features."
"Sometimes, the product requires rolling back to its previous version during a software update. This particular area could be enhanced."
"I would like the ability to do more real-time type updates instead of batch-oriented updates."
"If the database is large with a lot of columns then it is difficult to clean the data."
"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."
"We find the cost of the solution to be a little high."
 

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."
"Technical support is an additional fee and is expensive."
"The solution's pricing is fairly decent for organizations with huge data sizes."
"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."
"They offer an annual subscription. The pricing depends on the size of the environments."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"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."
"The tool could be expensive if we need to manage a lot of data."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

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: June 2026.
904,748 professionals have used our research since 2012.