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Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse vs Oracle Database Appliance 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
4.9
Users find Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse effective in managing data, integrating tools, with ROI potential despite indirect tracking.
Sentiment score
5.4
Oracle Database Appliance offers a strong ROI, superior support, and ease of deployment, though business impact varies by organization.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse support is generally positive with responsive service, though some suggest enhancements in speed and Azure expertise.
Sentiment score
6.1
Oracle Database Appliance support is knowledgeable, but users experience mixed response times and varying first-level support quality.
They are responsive and get back to us.
Service Desk Administrator at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would rate my experience with technical support around six on a scale of 1 to 10 because I have not had a particular experience with technical support.
CEO at Smart Data-Driven Solutions
I would rate Oracle support nine or ten out of ten because you can always open a ticket and describe any problems, and the feedback is very quick.
Data & Solution Archtect at Enkel
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is scalable with SQL benefits, but may lag behind Snowflake in large data handling.
Sentiment score
6.5
Oracle Database Appliance is scalable, best for SMEs, but has limits, especially on-premises, with higher costs for scaling.
We go from a couple of users to tons of users all the time, and it scales and handles things really well.
Service Desk Administrator at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I give the scalability an eight out of ten, indicating it scales well for our needs.
Architecture at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
As a consultant, we hire additional programmers when we need to scale up certain major projects.
Associate Director at Sequentis
All enterprise-grade analytics tools allow rapid scaling, making our business more competitive.
Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is stable, reliable, handles large volumes well, with occasional speed issues on vast datasets.
Sentiment score
7.6
Oracle Database Appliance is highly stable and reliable, with minor setup glitches easily resolved and excellent user ratings.
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is stable for us because it is built on SQL Server.
Architecture at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Oracle Database Appliance is stable and scalable.
ETL Developer at DiLytics Technologies Private Limited
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse needs better tool integration, scalability, compatibility, frequent updates, competitive pricing, and enhanced error messaging.
Oracle Database Appliance needs enhancements in scalability, support, cost, integration, automation, user interface, performance, and virtualization features.
Addressing the cost would be the number one area for improvement.
CEO at Smart Data-Driven Solutions
It would be better to release patches less frequently, maybe once a month or once every two months.
Associate Director at Sequentis
When there are many users or many expensive queries, it can be very slow.
Computer engineer at a engineering company with 5,001-10,000 employees
There is room for improvement in better integration with third-party tools, such as Power BI or Redshift.
Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Currently, Oracle Database Appliance is good with no room for improvement.
ETL Developer at DiLytics Technologies Private Limited
For the cloud version, there could be better storage options or more storage for lower prices.
Data & Solution Archtect at Enkel
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse offers competitive pricing, suitable for large enterprises, but can be costly for high-performance needs.
Oracle Database Appliance pricing is divisive, viewed as either reasonable for features or expensive, especially long-term.
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is very expensive.
Architecture at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
I am satisfied with the price for Oracle Database Appliance.
ETL Developer at DiLytics Technologies Private Limited
Oracle is on the higher end of the pricing spectrum, along with SAP.
Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse boosts data loads, integrates with Power BI, and offers scalable BI with minimal costs.
Oracle Database Appliance offers quick deployment, high scalability, simplified management, virtualization, pay-as-you-grow licensing, and enhanced performance for users.
The columnstore index enhances data query performance by using less space and achieving faster performance than general indexing.
BI/Data Warehouse Analyst at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
There's a feature that allows users to set alerts on triggers within reports, enabling timely actions on pending applications and effectively reducing waiting time.
Associate Director at Sequentis
Its scalability is impressive as it scales up and down really well.
Service Desk Administrator at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable feature is the ease of dashboarding and ease of reporting.
Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
The automated provisioning feature helps speed up the database deployment process because you can use one command or option to resize all the disks or increase memory, depending on the occasion.
Data & Solution Archtect at Enkel
The flexibility of deploying Oracle Database Appliance both on-premises and on cloud may help me address my organization's evolving business needs.
ETL Developer at DiLytics Technologies Private Limited
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Parallel Data War...
Ranking in Data Warehouse
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Database Appliance
Ranking in Data Warehouse
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is 2.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database Appliance is 4.2%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Warehouse Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Database Appliance4.2%
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse2.4%
Other93.4%
Data Warehouse
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Rubens Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewer
Data & Solution Archtect at Enkel
Automated provisioning simplifies deployment and integration
The Oracle Database Appliance is customizable and has excellent features.I don't have any problems with Oracle Database Appliance because this product is very automated, with scheduler and automatic processes throughout. You can make small inferences and changes for creating all the specific modifications. The automated provisioning feature helps speed up the database deployment process because you can use one command or option to resize all the disks or increase memory, depending on the occasion. The Oracle Database Appliance has integration in OCI Cloud. The same services simplify all the manager work regarding backups, configuration, resizing disks, and other services. Deploying the Oracle Database Appliance both on-premises and in the cloud offers the same simplification. You simply input your database name and specify memory quantity, CPU quantity, and database size. The process is identical for both on-premises and cloud deployments. The flexibility of Oracle Database Appliance has helped grow business needs for many customers. Using the Oracle Database Appliance has positively impacted my organization because I can deliver it much more comfortably. Creating a database involves many processes, but with this solution, you just input the name and configure the network and other parameters. It is very similar to RDS in AWS services, where you specify the name, choose the engine, indicate parameter groups, VPC, subnet groups, and proceed. Both Oracle Database Appliance and RDS have greatly simplified the work.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Performing Arts
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about Oracle Database Appliance?
Oracle Database Appliance provides high stability.
What needs improvement with Oracle Database Appliance?
Currently, Oracle Database Appliance is good with no room for improvement.In future updates of Oracle Database Appliance, I would like to see AI implemented since AI is getting more attention.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft PDW, SQL Server Data Warehouse, Microsoft SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse, MS Parallel Data Warehouse
X5-2
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Auckland Transport, Erste Bank Group, Urban Software Institute, NJVC, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe
LifeLock, Incarlopsa, Al Yusur Industrial Contracting
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse vs. Oracle Database Appliance and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,012 professionals have used our research since 2012.