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Nutanix Database Service vs Quest Spotlight comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

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

Nutanix Database Service
Ranking in Database Development and Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Quest Spotlight
Ranking in Database Development and Management
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of Nutanix Database Service is 3.3%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest Spotlight is 6.5%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

Prasad Pimple - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing database management with operational efficiency but needs better compatibility
Era should be compatible with various environments, such as VMware and Red Hat, to be hypervisor agnostic. Due to increasing adoption among enterprise clients, integration with Kubernetes platforms is also needed. Furthermore, the product can benefit from improving its understanding of architectural setup and communicating its limitations to users and partners.
Seha R - PeerSpot reviewer
Good tool for the design and development of public APIs
The software does not support webhooks. It doesn't support advanced versions of APIs. The tool also doesn't support advanced versions of specifications. The change that we do in one part of the model is not reflected throughout the specification. There are also some mutations in the clones. I am not able to do a local source control with the product as well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I appreciate the most about Nutanix Database Service is the standardization and ease of deployment. It makes it easier for the database administrators to deploy without either the database administrator or the business needing all their staff and waiting a long period of time to have their request fulfilled."
"It saves operation time and day-to-day tasks."
"Management and provision are the most important features of Nutanix Database Service."
"The Time Machine feature in Nutanix Database Service has definitely reduced turnaround time for when we need clones or other environments spun up off of our existing environment, such as for corruption."
"The most valuable feature is its robust infrastructure management tools."
"It is also a single platform, all in one place, and that is a reason we went for this solution. Earlier, we had multiple platforms, the database and the OS, but this is a single platform that helps us with what we are doing."
"The patching is the most valuable feature. We spent a lot of time and effort on the patching of our SQL instances after hours. With Nutanix Era, you can schedule and automate them during your normal operational hours (during the day). You schedule all the patching, then everything happens automatically with minor tickets from the engineer. So, our patching, which took four hours, went down to an hour for the engineer. This is much better for us from a return on investment perspective."
"With the cloning technology in Nutanix Database Service, the time reduces to less than an hour, which is very useful."
"Its dashboards are most valuable. The drill-down of the dashboards is useful."
"I consider the solution very scalable."
"Spotlight provides valuable features such as the ability to get alerted and drill down to a very granular level to find out where actual problems are coming from."
"Spotlight provides valuable features such as the ability to get alerted and drill down to a very granular level to find out where actual problems are coming from."
"The tool is a SaaS product where I just need to type a URL and start with the design process. I can integrate all elements of source control like GitHub, GitLab, etc. The tool also supports authentication-related provisions like SSH."
 

Cons

"There will always be room for improvement, there is nothing perfect from day one. There are some technical challenges that we have with NDS. I believe with time it will be sorted out."
"We have a regular license program because it's really expensive."
"The patching should be a one-button function. Also, it works about 80 percent of the time, but 20 percent of the time it requires manual intervention. And sometimes, until you understand the technical underpinnings of that process, you can't fix it. I thought we would move past that. In the last version, they broke a big chunk of that for me, and that's why I'm waiting for the new release because they promised me it would fix the problem."
"In the past, there were built-in templates, and now, for some particular databases, I have to create my own templates and push them to NDB, so bringing back those templates would save more time."
"The solution can increase its database compatibility and backup options."
"Patch management is an issue as it regularly causes stability problems."
"The graphical user interfaces could be much more user-friendly. They are already user-friendly, but they could be simpler so that we do not need L3 staff to handle them. If they were simpler, we could also have some command center or L1/L1.5 associates do some housekeeping activities on it."
"It would be helpful if Nutanix added a billing system for databases. We need to automate this with a separate solution. We are service providers, so it would be easier for our customers if there were a built-in system that we could use for billing."
"Some customizations of the dashboard, such as having backup reports, would be useful."
"There's no reporting with this tool, and there really should be. They should add that into future releases."
"The software does not support webhooks. It doesn't support advanced versions of APIs. The tool also doesn't support advanced versions of specifications. The change that we do in one part of the model is not reflected throughout the specification. There are also some mutations in the clones. I am not able to do a local source control with the product as well."
"One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer."
"One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Not everyone can afford it. It's a bit expensive, so the price has to be improved."
"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The pricing is competitive."
"Pricing wasn't a surprise. It was what we were expecting it to be."
"The licensed-based pricing is confusing and too high."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"It is amazing. The pricing compared to the time saved is nothing. It's worth the cost."
"Licensing costs will be the main scalability problem."
"The tool is cloud-based. It is priced well."
"Its cost was somewhere in the middle."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Transportation Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Healthcare Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Nutanix Database Service?
The most valuable feature is its robust infrastructure management tools.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nutanix Database Service?
It is amazing. The pricing compared to the time saved is nothing. It's worth the cost.
What needs improvement with Nutanix Database Service?
It has already saved me a lot of time, but it can still improve. In the past, there were built-in templates, and now, for some particular databases, I have to create my own templates and push them ...
What needs improvement with Quest Spotlight?
One improvement could be the inclusion of suggestions for missing indexes or better analysis of how indexes are utilized and how execution plans are used, similar to what other products offer.
What is your primary use case for Quest Spotlight?
I primarily use Spotlight for on-the-spot troubleshooting and alerting to see if there are any issues. The drill-down features allow me to pinpoint problems, whether they are indexing, long-running...
What advice do you have for others considering Quest Spotlight?
I would rate Spotlight probably an nine out of ten. My advice would be to consider its cost-effectiveness and ease of use in smaller environments.
 

Also Known As

Nutanix Era
Dell Spotlight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, SAIC Volkswagen
Jenkon
Find out what your peers are saying about Nutanix Database Service vs. Quest Spotlight and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.