PeerSpot user
Owner at AFF Group
Vendor
It works in the cloud and made our back-end service scalable, but its cost efficiency could be improved.

What is most valuable?

  • It works perfectly in the cloud.
  • It made our back-end service scalable.

How has it helped my organization?

In many cases we use Azure as a service platform.

When larger data is collected by continuous business operations and will be processed for further analysis, we use SQL Azure.

What needs improvement?

  • Scalability
  • Cost efficiency
  • Business continuity
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Program Solution Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Stable and easy to use with good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to use in terms of their portal, which is very nicely organized."
  • "Their availability in the Middle East and Asia regions needs to improve."

What is our primary use case?

Azure has multiple use cases. Organizations can use it for hosting infrastructure, for example. There are cloud services that you can utilize. The main purpose of the cloud is that you don't need to set up your own data center, and then you can just use the cloud platforms provided by Azure or AWS, or any other cloud. They all serve the same purpose.

What is most valuable?

The solution is a stable product. It has a lot of out-of-the-box services. It provides a lot of services that we would typically have to provision on-premise. 

It's easy to use in terms of their portal, which is very nicely organized.

It's a good platform all in all.

The solution has proven to be quite scalable.

We've found the solution to be stable. 

Technical support from Microsoft is very good.

What needs improvement?

The solution should start covering more regions in Gulf countries and other regions. This is due to the fact that other cloud providers are not locally available. Yet this is what people require here. Their availability in the Middle East and Asia regions needs to improve.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for a couple of years at this point. It's been a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We've found the solution to be very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is quite scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with relative ease.

I'm from a technology provider. We provision these services and provide them to other clients. One of the infrastructure environments which we are provisioning on Azure would be used by probably approximately 8,000 to 10,000 users.

In terms of if we plan to continue usage or not, we are just building it on Azure right now. So it will be live in a year or two, something like this.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is really good. Microsoft support is pretty knowledgeable and responsive. We are happy with the level of service we receive from them.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is a cloud product. You don't need to install anything. There is no installation process to deal with.  

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

All products are licensed. The cost depends on someone's usage space. The more you use it, the more you pay. Some are billed in terms of fixed cost. For example, if I provision some work with a machine that I pay for it, even if I don't use it. There are multiple ways you could potentially pay.

What other advice do I have?

We are partners.

We are working on the latest version of the solution.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

I would recommend the solution. There are not many cloud providers. Azure and AWS are some of the top providers. These are the two which compete with each other, and both of them have good services. That said, I would recommend Azure for sure.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
SQL Azure
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about SQL Azure. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
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Technical Account Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Scalable and flexible with good pricing
Pros and Cons
  • "Customers can benefit from a lot of cost savings if they go for Azure."
  • "Support isn't that great. They need to work on this aspect of their service. It can be challenging to reach them."

What is most valuable?

The flexibility with regards to licensing is the most valuable aspect of the solution. 

Customers can benefit from a lot of cost savings if they go for Azure.

What needs improvement?

The implementation process needs to be improved.

Support isn't that great. They need to work on this aspect of their service. It can be challenging to reach them.

The solution needs to be more flexible overall.

It would help if there were better reporting features on offer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for a few years at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is quite stable. We don't have any problems with it in that sense. There aren't bugs. It doesn't glitch on us or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution can scale quite well. It's very easy to scale, for example, on AWS.

We typically work with big enterprise clients such as banks and utilities. The projects are quite sizeable.

How are customer service and technical support?

We're only partly satisfied with technical support. They could work harder to improve themselves. They can be difficult to reach. They need to respond faster and be much more flexible.

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process only takes a few hours with Azure, however, they do need to make the process a bit better. The upside is you don't have to scroll through everything manually as you do with an on-premises deployment. It's not overly complex.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost of the solution isn't too high. It's pretty reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

We're a partner. We have a business relationship with the client.

I use a few different versions of the solution, depending on my clients, and have worked with both the 2016 and 2019 versions, for example.

I would recommend the product.

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I'd rate it at an eight.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Lead Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
A very good UI and no hard coding; lacking in technical documentation
Pros and Cons
  • "Coding does not require much effort."
  • "Lacking in technical documentation."

What is our primary use case?

I work for a consulting firm which uses the technology marketing projects from Microsoft and other IT vendors, re-routing the product, and creating a technical and architectural guide;  basically I work on the consulting assignments. I am a lead consultant in one of the leading IT companies in India and I've been implementing bridges and consulting in an architectural support role. I've been using Azure as a stack and that's where my proficiency is. We're partners with Azure. 

What is most valuable?

This has become a very global solution. The big advantage is the UI which has been simplified. The coding doesn't require much effort so it's valuable in that sense. They have invested a lot in security and compliance so it's also a good product in that area.

What needs improvement?

The product has many features that might not be explored by many end users because there isn't much technical guidance available. If I'm interested in understanding a particular feature I'd like there to be some kind of explore button that would provide technical in-depth assistance, and that's lacking for now. There is very little technical documentation. 

As already mentioned, additional features should include technical documentation on the product features. Secondly, there could also be some improvement in performance. I know they have done benchmark testing but sometimes performance is lacking. They can improve in that area too. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a good and stable product. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't think scalability is an issue, it's just a matter of adding more RAM as the users increase. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good but adding technical documentation would really make a difference. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and the deployment is very easy because it's a UI based migration. There's no hard coding. I believe deployment takes maybe two or three hours to get the environment set up and to be able to start exploring. We had one person  responsible for deployment and we have three or four people dealing with maintenance in a company of close to 200 people. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is a little expensive but not too bad in comparison to other products on the market and since I am using the cloud version it's really not too much. There are no additional costs. 

What other advice do I have?

If you're looking for many features in one product with easy usability and UI, then this product is good. You can readily add on features and exploration and all those things. They are adding features all the time so they are creating one large solution, which is like a repository for things like big data and sensors. The SQL Server encapsulates all the requirements.

I would rate this solution a seven out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
DevOps Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
User-friendly solution that is easy to understand and has good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is very easy. It's extremely straightforward."
  • "I need Microsoft to allow their network to access open source technologies."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use the solution for continuous integration and continuous delivery.

What is most valuable?

Azure DevOps is the feature that is the most valuable aspect of the solution for us.

What needs improvement?

I need Microsoft to allow their network to access open source technologies.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. Microsoft is one of the most stable platforms. It offers 100% stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate scalability as ten out of ten.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have been satisfied with technical support. We're a big Azure customer. I don't know if a normal customer or a start-up would get the same support from Microsoft but we are a big customer and we've paid a lot of money for the solution, so we have a good amount of attention from support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Previously we used open-source solutions and relied on the abilities of our techs. But now we're paying to have a big organization that can help manage and handle our projects.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy. It's extremely straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is okay. It's not too expensive.

What other advice do I have?

The solution is very user-friendly. I would recommend the solution. It's very easy to understand.

I would rate this solution ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Data Center Operations Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Integrates well, responsive support, simple portal management
Pros and Cons
  • "SQL Azure can integrate well with other Microsoft Windows services."
  • "If we need to deploy data management or services with SQL Azure we need InterSecure."

What is most valuable?

SQL Azure can integrate well with other Microsoft Windows services.

The interface for maintaining the solution is very easy to use in the portal.

What needs improvement?

If we need to deploy data management or services with SQL Azure we need InterSecure.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SQL Azure for approximately two years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of SQL Azure is fine. I needed more stability with Cisco but not with SQL Azure.

How are customer service and support?

The support is good and they are responsive.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It took approximately one week to complete.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment of SQL Azure is done by one person.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We have had some issues with the licensing of the solution.

We pay for the solution monthly and we are on a one-year contract. The enterprise edition is very expensive and the standard addition is lacking some functions.

What other advice do I have?

I rate SQL Azure a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Business Analyst at Paunaste OÜ
Real User
A straightforward, stable solution that provides regular database functionality
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment takes about one hour."
  • "The solution needs to improve its customer network, including its online support."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use the solution to study SQL.

How has it helped my organization?

It provides regular database functionality

What needs improvement?

The solution needs to improve its customer network, including its online support.

In the next release, I'd like to see Azure SQL improve user rights management and user rights control management.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution offers up options for scalability. Right now, in our organization, only one person is using Azure SQL and they are using it daily.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is okay.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment takes about one hour.

What about the implementation team?

I implemented the solution myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the free version. It's free of charge for one developer.

What other advice do I have?

In terms of advice to others, I would suggest that they make sure they keep the system stable and to not add complexity.

I would rate this solution eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Consultor Senior at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
A great cloud solution, technically very good and easy to use on any platform
Pros and Cons
  • "Very easy to use on any platform and works well."
  • "The solution lacks feedback tools."

What is our primary use case?

I'm in charge of the development of our IT solution and I am an implementer of Azure. 

What is most valuable?

I started with Azure SQL because it's a cheaper solution. It's a good cloud solution, very easy to use on any platform and works well. Technically it's very good. 

What needs improvement?

I would like to have more tools for feedback. I find that there are a lot of things offered in other solutions that don't exist in Azure SQL. There are also tricky commercial issues. When you use Google or Amazon, you know exactly how much you will pay. With Microsoft solutions, you don't know, it's very unclear and impossible to get anyone on the phone. 

How are customer service and technical support?

It's the commercial support that is lacking with Microsoft. 

What other advice do I have?

From a commercial perspective, I would rate this solution very low. From a technical perspective, I rate the product an eight out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user