No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 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 Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
140
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Cus...
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 9.0%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is 3.1%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database9.0%
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer3.1%
Other87.9%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Matthew Parker - PeerSpot reviewer
Ai Team Lead at Phoenix Software
Integrates with familiar tools and supports reliable data storage for AI applications
Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be improved overall by being able to compete with some of the features that come from things such as PostgreSQL. From my team's perspective in terms of building AI applications, more native integrations with some of the newer AI data types, such as vectors for storing embeddings, would be beneficial. I think all of that is coming. It is just a big product, so I think it is naturally a little bit behind the curve. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing because a lot of customers, because it has been around for so long, they trust it and they are willing to wait until those features become available.
WB
Oracle DBS at Bpifrance
Positive experience with virtual cloud network creation and database migration highlights patching challenges
The best feature of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that it can be managed without needing only DBAs. We have many features, including the observability feature that helps check performance and generates numerous reports about performance. We have also implemented APIs, enabling us to create and perform many operations. This means we need DBAs who can work with APIs. We are autonomous in the patching process and don't need Oracle for patching. If you configure the process of patching, it will be executed automatically. We are using dynamic scaling which is implemented on an external virtual machine, helping us to downscale or upscale the CPU. Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer has supported our organization's compliance and data sovereignty without problems. I have observed some limitations. For example, regarding encryption, though it is mandatory for Exadata Cloud at Customer, we cannot encrypt the database with external keys. Currently, with Exadata Cloud at Customer, using external keys is not possible.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability of the solution is very good."
"The feature I like the most about Microsoft Azure SQL Database is the scaling part."
"We've saved time setting up the databases. While I'm not involved in the maintenance, I'm sure that's also a big factor. It's hosted in the cloud, so we don't have to maintain the servers."
"Coding does not require much effort."
"The main advantage of it is that there is no infrastructure cost; we don't have to host it here, and we can grow it or shrink it depending on the demand with no restraint on capacity."
"We're a Microsoft customer, so it fits in with everything else we work with."
"It integrates well on the back end with our functions and logic apps."
"We like the collaborative nature of the solution."
"Exporting and importing is easy because of its cleanliness, making the process easier. However, setting up the Data Guard was more difficult. Despite this, the client experienced lower downtime."
"The best feature of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that it can be managed without needing only DBAs, with observability features to check performance, generate reports, and implement APIs for creating and performing many operations."
"I like that Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is a stable, well-positioned product in the market today, and it's very scalable."
"I am particularly fond of the intelligent capabilities that enhance the backend, utilizing technology to analyze SQL queries."
"Performance has significantly improved."
"We have migrated mission-critical databases to Exadata and gained significant performance in our OLTP and Batch jobs."
"The most valuable feature is that it is based on Exadata infrastructure, which is Oracle 's leading engineered system that is trusted, fault-tolerant, and has unique performance features."
"The operation model is the most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"It's a little bit limited in terms of functionality."
"Microsoft doesn't provide technical support, the support structure is not good."
"What would make SQL Azure better is users having the capability of managing the database solution from the cloud, instead of having to do it from an actual machine because currently, database management via SQL Azure is done on a virtual machine or a PC. The solution should have the data functionality of managing SQL databases inside the cloud."
"They could improve Azure SQL by adding some of the features available on-prem, such as cross-database queries and the ability to run particular jobs. We need to migrate those to something else, like a function or logic app."
"The product has many features that might not be explored by many end users because there isn't much technical guidance available."
"This solution would be improved with the inclusion of better self-service tools."
"There are some limitations for cross-database queries and features."
"I would like to see integration with Snowflake."
"Today their support no longer lives up to my expectation."
"Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is stable, but the only problem occurs during OS patching. If you encounter issues, the VMC (virtual machine cluster) becomes unusable."
"A room for improvement in Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that they need to train more partners to gain more knowledge because currently, they are keeping a lot to themselves. For example, they are still keeping a lot of information on their campus, so information sharing is limited."
"As a customer, you can't see the boot messages of your virtualized guest machines."
"Scalability is not straightforward."
"We had some problems in the developer's environment. We had some problems with the initial installation environment."
"The solution is expensive."
"For the data migration, we used ZDM. It was not integrated with the databases, and the documentation lacks clarity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would like it to be cheaper, but comparatively, it is reasonably priced."
"It's reasonably priced and when you compare it with other products in the cloud environment, it's cheaper."
"The licensing for this solution is based on subscription."
"I find that they are relatively expensive, especially when compared to AWS, where the prices are notably lower."
"I recommend considering a pay-as-you-go pricing model initially."
"It only has a subscription-based license."
"I'm not sure what the exact price is, but it's a moderate amount. It's not too expensive."
"When looking at the long-term expenses associated with running software on an on-premises server, the costs are almost equivalent but when we include insurance for devices, onsite fees for servers, and other related costs, we may find that this is a cost-effective solution."
"The machine and the cloud model itself already have licensing advantages."
"The price is too much."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Database as a Service (DBaaS) solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business64
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise66
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
I think Microsoft Azure SQL Database is affordable, not expensive. Regarding migration, I am just keeping a professional service charge for that.
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
The automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database impacts database performance sometimes. What happens with Microsoft Azure SQL Database's automatic tuning is that when SQL queries are e...
What is your primary use case for SQL Azure?
I am a system integrator using Microsoft Azure SQL Database for my customers. The major use case for Microsoft Azure SQL Database is that most of my clients have a lot of applications, so they are ...
What needs improvement with Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?
In future updates for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer, I would like to see another feature for the different costs for the non-CDB models, because if you are not using the non-CDB models, you have...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?
The use cases for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer are based on our actual solution. We have the Exadata, but it has reached its end of life. The X5 has attained the end of life, so we discussed mi...
What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?
My client is using Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer, not AWS Cloud or Amazon. For impact assessment of automated routine tasks, we are using our internal solution for backup, which is based on Comm...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
IBVI, illycaffe, Scottish Water, trueblue, AirAsia, droptank
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.