Microsoft MDS vs SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL] comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Microsoft and SAP are both solutions in the Master Data Management (MDM) Software category. Additionally, 92% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 20% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Microsoft MDS

Read 24 Microsoft MDS reviews

3,629 Views
2,722 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL]

Read 7 SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL] reviews

20% willing to recommend

Microsoft MDS

SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL]

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft MDS and SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL] 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: September 2026).

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Master Data Management (MDM) Software

September 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)

SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL]

Average Rating

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Negha Agarwal

Data Management Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Centralized master data has improved data quality but now requires a clearer future roadmap

An area where Microsoft MDS can be improved is that Microsoft has announced Microsoft MDS is being removed from SQL Server two thousand twenty-five. The future of the product is genuinely uncertain, and that's something any organization evaluating it needs to factor in seriously. Microsoft MDS is still supported on SQL Server two thousand twenty-two and earlier, but the trajectory is clear that Microsoft is not investing in Microsoft MDS going forward. I would also say that the cloud story is a gap because there's no native cloud version of Microsoft MDS. For clients who are moving workloads to Azure, that's an increasingly awkward conversation. Microsoft's direction for MDM in the cloud is through other capabilities like Azure Purview and Dataverse, but those are different products with different feature sets.

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RaviVerma

Senior Consultant at a tech consulting company with 1,001-5,000 employees

SAP MDM provides flexible data modeling , efficient data deduplication and capable data harmonization capabilities.Together with SAP BPM it provides an efficient solution.

* Match and merge performance and features - with more data volume the performance level goes severely down. Also the transformations cannot be mass downloaded or mass uploaded, as this leads to painfully pasting them one by one. No de-merge feature is also a point which will help going back to previous state after a wrong merge is done. * Change tracking - This is one tool which lacks and ease of use details which SAP ECC users are really used to.It is not user friendly,performance really goes down sharply as data growth happens. I would like to see improvement in the match and merge performance and I would also appreciate it if SAP can suggest certain ready to use usage and maintenance guides on change tracking. Currently there's only SAP notes and other documents are available but they are suggestive and leave plenty to be said.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would recommend Microsoft MDS to companies that need a simple solution at no cost."

"It is very easy to deploy and provision a machine."

"The backup and restore functionality are the solution's most valuable aspects."

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

"The most valuable feature is the administration console."

"Technical support is very good."

"It has a very good feature called Excel plug-in. You just have to install the plug-in, and then it directly connects to the MDS instance where you can maintain and manage your data and publish it right through Excel. You don't need to go to the front end to make any changes. It has easy integration with SQL Server, and you can use SSIS to do the ETLs. It is a part of the Microsoft stack. It works with most of the Microsoft stuff."

"It's very easy to use."

More Microsoft MDS pros

"The company that used it was an industrial distributor with over three million parts requiring rich data, and the system was the driving force behind the online product catalog, with its ability to update frequently while not disturbing live information listed on the ordering website making for seamless customer satisfaction."

"Flexibility in data modeling is one of the most valuable feature of this product as it gives numerous options to design customized data models."

"We have used this for management of SAP master data with enterprise wide workflows for objects material, such as banks, customers, and vendor, and for the creation and maintenance of product catalogs which are distributed to both SAP and non-SAP systems."

"It has helped standardise processes, enforcing strict workflow and audit control, as well as controlling data input, and reducing duplicates."

"Maintaining the majority of the product master data in one single system, creating the golden record, and reducing the manual work in the receiving systems to a minimum."

"I have seen organizations realizing benefits of this product in terms of operational benefit as well as process improvement, data standards, and quality."

"With the ability to deploy cross-client front ends to allow visibility and data maintenance across multiple offices and clients, this has allowed the data accuracy to excel and produce much better results instead of bottleneck execution of updates."

Cons

"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 future of the product is genuinely uncertain, and that's something any organization evaluating it needs to factor in seriously."

"The Microsoft license cost could be lower."

"Microsoft MDS' language should be simple so everyone can use it easily."

"The version that I work with is on-premises and it required an additional virtual machine on the cloud. It would be a better option to have an on-cloud version."

"JMD repositories have records that come in thousands and millions, which takes a long time to process."

"The price of the program has gone up, so I would like to see better pricing."

"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

"Match and merge performance and features - with more data volume the performance level goes severely down."

"The core stability of NetWeaver MDM has been in question over the last 12 to 16 months with releases containing fatal flaws that should not have passed simple quality testing, or the introduction of old errors that had been fixed in prior releases."

"It's obsolete, and not generally available."

"I would like to see future enhancements to the presentation layout as it looks dull, and should be easier on the eyes."

"Having said this, the product still has some room for improvement in areas like matching/merging capability, data export operations, data import operations, and more integrated process for import (e.g. there is no concept of landing area, staging area etc)."

"It's in a maintenance phase with no further development. You should consider a move away from SAP MDM"

"During go-live the system crashed several times due to many concurrent end-users."

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."

"SAP is more expensive than Microsoft."

"I would like to see better pricing."

"Microsoft MDS is an expensive solution."

"The pricing of this solution is good."

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

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

"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

11%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

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

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that the licensing is one of Microsoft MDS's genuine advantages, as it's included in SQL Server Enterprise Edition at no additional cost....

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What needs improvement with Microsoft MDS?

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What is your primary use case for Microsoft MDS?

My main use case for Microsoft MDS is as a central master data repository for clients running SQL Server-based data environments. The typical scenario is a mid-sized organization that has product d...

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Compared 29% of the time

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Compared 27% of the time

Profisee vs SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL]

Compared 22% of the time

More SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft MDS

September 2026

Download Microsoft MDS product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL]

August 2026

Download SAP NetWeaver MDM [EOL] product report

Also Known As

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

NetWeaver MDM

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

The SAP NetWeaver technology platform enables the composition, provisioning, and management of SAP and non-SAP applications across a heterogeneous software environment.

SAP

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

State of Indiana, Automotive Resources International (ARI), Alliander N.V., Chemion Logistik GmbH, Charit_ University Hospital Berlin, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH)

Buyer's Guide

Master Data Management (MDM) Software

September 2026

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