Microsoft MDS vs Reltio Cloud comparison

The compared Microsoft and Reltio solutions aren't in the same category. Microsoft is ranked #4 in MDM , with an average rating of 7.0, and holds a 8.2% mindshare in the category. Reltio is ranked #2 in CMDM , with an average rating of 8.4, and holds a 10.3% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Reltio users who would recommend it.

Microsoft MDS

Read 23 Microsoft MDS reviews

2,663 Views
1,758 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Reltio Cloud

Read 16 Reltio Cloud reviews

3,172 Views
2,030 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft MDS

Reltio Cloud

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft MDS and Reltio Cloud based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about TIBCO, SAP, Qlik and others in Master Data Management (MDM) Software.

To learn more, read our detailed Master Data Management (MDM) Software Report (Updated: May 2026).

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Master Data Management (MDM) Software

May 2026

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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 MDS

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Master Data Management (MDM) Software (4th)

Reltio Cloud

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) (2nd), AI Data Analysis (4th), AI Customer Experience Personalization (8th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Data Integration and Access solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft MDS is designed for Master Data Management (MDM) Software and holds a mindshare of 8.2%, down 11.3% compared to last year.
Reltio Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud Master Data Management (MDM), holds 10.3% mindshare, down 16.9% since last year.

Master Data Management (MDM) Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft MDS	8.2%
Semarchy xDM	11.5%
TIBCO EBX	9.5%
Other	70.8%

Master Data Management (MDM) Software

Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Reltio Cloud	10.3%
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)	18.6%
Semarchy xDM	14.3%
Other	56.8%

Cloud Master Data Management (MDM)

Featured Reviews

reviewer1524357

Solution Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Has supported endpoint management while revealing areas where usability and latency can improve

The couple of times we found issues with technical support from Microsoft for Microsoft MDS, they resolved them. The response time and understanding were adequate, though there was always a language barrier between the teams. The teams we worked with were in Korea, and it was sometimes a language issue.

Read full review

reviewer2826747

Data Domain Lead at a government with 10,001+ employees

Unified data has created trusted golden records but complex AI matching still needs clearer control

Reltio Cloud has greatly enhanced our data management, and I acknowledge there are areas where our team continues to face challenges. Specifically, the AI-based matching feature operates like a black box, making it difficult to understand why certain records are matched or not matched accurately. If there could be better visual debugging and clarity regarding why records are matched, it would significantly aid our decision-making process. The technical configuration, particularly regarding data models and rule matching, can be overly complex for business users, hence a more user-friendly approach, with simplified guidelines, would be incredibly beneficial. Additionally, data stewardship can present complexities, and clearer actions can facilitate addressing these challenges. Performance issues can arise with larger data models and numerous data sources impacting system use, hence enhancements in optimization and ready-to-use features for complex configurations are essential. Pricing can also be convoluted; therefore, a clearer cost model would aid users in comprehending the structure. While data lineage has its merits, it is complex to interpret; thus, improved visualization would greatly benefit users. Ultimately, technical complexity emerges as the primary challenge we face, revealing opportunities for improvement.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has been 200% useful in our organization."

"The most valuable feature is the administration console."

"The ease of use is valuable."

"More generic related things can be included in the services."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft MDS is its management."

"It's Microsoft, so it's not always perfect, however, is a good step to start with."

"The advantage of Microsoft MDS is that it's so handy, so customizable, and easy to use."

"What I like about Microsoft, is that it has a huge database with many users."

More Microsoft MDS pros

"We can store the data and enrich it from multiple sources."

"The survivorship feature is great because we can define it, prioritize the sources, and only allow those sources to survive when making the golden record."

"Reltio Cloud has positively impacted my organization by reducing the amount of manual effort needed and making it easy to manage downstream systems."

"There are default limitations and considerations. For instance, Reltio can store a maximum of 200 values for a single attribute. If your data exceeds this limit, you can request Reltio support to increase the limit. However, be aware that increasing this limit may impact performance, potentially slowing down data loading times."

"Reltio Cloud has positively impacted my organization because we were able to promote our data and sell data to our customers."

"The solution saves 30% to 40% of our time."

"Its user interface is different from that of other MDM solutions like Informatica"

"The most valuable feature of Reltio Cloud is the customization we can make in its functionality."

More Reltio Cloud pros

Cons

"In my 30+ years in IT I've never experienced a tool that only allows you to create reactive rules that identify bad data but never prevent it from getting saved. In a large enterprise I would rule this as a show stopper."

"Microsoft MDS isn't getting strong support because Microsoft is focusing more on cloud solutions."

"I do not like using Silverlight and Internet Explorer. The new 2019 version gets rid of that, which is one of the reasons why we are looking to switch."

"The Microsoft license cost could be lower."

"I would like to separate the website from the database side. By default, you have the webserver running on the same server as it is the database."

"The program's navigation tools could be improved."

"The solution could be better integrated into Microsoft's other products."

"The only drawback is that it does not have the matching, merging, and all true MDM components. For these, you have to use another competent called Data Quality Services (DQS). You need to plug it in and use it along with MDS for true MDM. Both of these are integrated together, but you have to do them separately, whereas, in Profisee, there are a couple of screens where you can configure the matching process, create matching rules, and other things, and everything is in one product, which is not the case with MDS. In order to implement a true MDM, you need MDS, DQS, and SSIS. You have to use MDS to store your golden records, DQS to configure and standardize all your rules and matching percentages, and SSIS to load the data to DQS and MDS. At the same time, you also need Melissa Data to clean up your addresses to validate and standardize the addresses. That's the main component of true MDM. It would be good if they can create a true matching component inside MDS and merge MDS and DQS."

More Microsoft MDS cons

"Reltio Cloud can be improved by providing the possibility to connect with other connectors and databases such as Snowflake, Databricks, and eventually with Azure Data Factory."

"The support team is slow to respond when we need assistance with workflow deployments. We must rely on their availability and contact them to receive the required JAR files."

"The download process can be quite slow"

"Reltio Cloud could be improved in two specific areas. Firstly, the API capability needs to be enhanced, as when utilizing the REST API and posting a significant amount of data, there are multiple rejections from the MDM side. This can be due to the MDM server not responding or being unable to process the request. Therefore, I suggest that the API capacity should be increased to handle larger amounts of data. Additionally, I have noticed that the response time from the servers can take up to a minute or a few seconds, which can be improved for a faster response time."

"Sometimes, the service goes down for maintenance or when we run a lot of jobs so things get pushed to the queue and results don't get delivered on time."

"Initially, the UI was limited in features."

"The deployment is difficult."

"Ultimately, technical complexity emerges as the primary challenge we face, revealing opportunities for improvement."

More Reltio Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Product licensing is very complicated. It would be helpful to have an online calculator to estimate the cost of a license."

"The pricing of this solution is good."

"MDS is a part of the SQL Server enterprise license. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"I would like to see better pricing."

"The solution does require a license and we have enterprise licenses."

"Microsoft MDS is an expensive solution."

"SAP is more expensive than Microsoft."

"With Microsoft, we buy everything though an agreement, so we purchase volume licensing every year."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Media Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	13

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft MDS?

More generic related things can be included in the services.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft MDS?

Microsoft MDS was pretty affordable. We implemented the solution without a problem.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft MDS?

I cannot really give specifics about disadvantages. From what we have seen, speaking to customers, Microsoft MDS was sometimes a bit slow. The frustration they had was just around usability and use...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Reltio Cloud?

In future updates of Reltio Cloud, I would like to see features such as AI for match and merge, which can create predefined AI address doctors and match and merge for customer data, easily integrat...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Reltio Cloud?

I use Reltio Cloud for customer data management, specifically for C-MDM purposes.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Reltio Cloud?

Reltio Cloud was not purchased through AWS Marketplace or directly from the vendor. It was already available in my company at that time, so I used the system to showcase its capabilities. What coul...

See all answers

Comparisons

Qlik Talend Cloud vs Microsoft MDS

Compared 9% of the time

TIBCO EBX vs Microsoft MDS

Compared 9% of the time

Profisee vs Microsoft MDS

Compared 7% of the time

Pimcore vs Microsoft MDS

Compared 7% of the time

Enterworks Enable vs Microsoft MDS

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft MDS Competitors

Semarchy xDM vs Reltio Cloud

Compared 28% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Reltio Cloud

Compared 18% of the time

TIBCO EBX vs Reltio Cloud

Compared 12% of the time

Stibo STEP MDM vs Reltio Cloud

Compared 8% of the time

Stibo Systems Customer Master Data Management vs Reltio Cloud

Compared 3% of the time

More Reltio Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft MDS

May 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Reltio Cloud

May 2026

Download Reltio Cloud product report

Also Known As

Microsoft Master Data Services, Microsoft MDM, Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services, MS MDS

No data available

Overview

Microsoft MDS is valued for its seamless integration with SQL Server and Azure Active Directory, dynamic data masking, and row-level security. It offers flexibility for data stewardship, supports data quality business rules, and features Excel integration while maintaining cost-effectiveness with SQL Server Enterprise Edition.

Microsoft MDS is primarily utilized for master data management, enabling the integration of data from multiple sources for analytics and ensuring data consistency across operations. It is suitable for maintaining customer databases and standardizing data variations. MDS supports data cataloging and harmonization, making it essential for process inventories and enterprise reference data management. Users leverage its capabilities for data stewardship and validation, facilitating the management of multiple identifiers and ETL process sourcing. Its flexibility allows for seamless data modeling and management without extensive manual intervention.

What are the key features?

Dynamic Data Masking: Ensures sensitive data protection during use and access.
Row-Level Security: Provides granular access control to database rows.
Data Quality Business Rules: Ensures data accuracy and consistency.
Excel Integration: Simplifies data interaction via a familiar tool.
Azure Active Directory Compatibility: Enhances secure user authentication.
SQL Server Integration: Offers seamless connectivity with database systems.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Cost-Effectiveness: Offers comprehensive features within SQL Server Enterprise Edition.
Ease of Installation: Quick setup reduces implementation time.
Strong Access Control: Enhances data security and compliance.
Data-Sharing Capabilities: Promotes collaboration across departments.
Workflow Support: Streamlines business processes for efficiency.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Microsoft MDS plays a critical role in managing large volumes of data while ensuring data accuracy and compliance with regulations. Organizations implement MDS to standardize customer data, track vital changes, and maintain reliable data inventories. The flexibility of MDS allows it to adapt to specific industry requirements, supporting the automation of data processes and enhancing overall data quality without significant manual efforts.

Microsoft

Reltio Cloud excels in Master Data Management (MDM), offering real-time data synchronization and a unified data view across diverse sources. Praised for its scalable architecture and user-friendly interface, it enhances operational efficiency and compliance management, making it ideal for handling large volumes of data and improving organizational productivity.

Reltio

Sample Customers

ETA a.s., Apeejay Surrendra Group, Blue Star Infotech, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation, The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, New Belgium Brewing

iMiDiA, Slalom, MeritDirect, Cognizant

Buyer's Guide

Master Data Management (MDM) Software

May 2026

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