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Veerender Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Owner at Software Technology
Real User
Top 20
Straightforward installation, easy database access, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "They have improved the UI and ease of accessing the database and server which is good. You can load it up and start using it from the very minute it is implemented."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use SQL Server to manage and store information.

    What is most valuable?

    They have improved the UI and ease of accessing the database and server which is good.
    You can load it up and start using it from the very minute it is implemented.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using SQL Server for two and a half years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    SQL Server is stable. We have more resources that are using it, I am more familiar with SQL Server. I have been using it for a long time. Most of the time it has been stable.

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    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable.

    We have approximately 30 people in my organization using this solution.

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support is okay.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation is straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have administrators and engineers that do support the solution.

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

    We are on a monthly subscription and the price could improve. However, the price has worked out well in some deployments. The problem is you never know what kind of services have been installed and you have to be in touch with many people, such as which servers are active or which are not. I did face a couple of issues in terms of subscriptions and the pricing model. They have improved over time.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others. My advice to others wanting to implement this solution is you have to consider the industry demand and the benefits or advantages of a solution before you choose, for example, Oracle or Microsoft.

    I rate SQL Server an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1703928 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Enterprise Solutions Architect at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Good Support, and easy to install
    Pros and Cons
    • "SQL Server scales well."
    • "While this is a reliable product, it has room for improvement."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use SQL Server as a database management system for all of our projects.

    What needs improvement?

    While this is a reliable product, it has room for improvement.

    Although Microsoft SQL was accessible in some projects, we did not use it everywhere. It is determined by the project. It's quite beneficial in some circumstances, but it couldn't support SQL databases in others, consequently, we used other suppliers like Oracle, Informix DB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and others.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using SQL Server for quite some time now.

    We use it both on-premises and in the cloud. It is dependent on the projects.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    SQL Server is a stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    SQL Server scales well.

    In the future, we may expand our usage.

    How are customer service and support?

    I don't have any issues with the technical support.

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

    We evaluated each product after using it, starting with Informix DB and ending with Oracle.

    Oracle, Informix DB, PostgreSQL, and MySQL are among the products we use.

    How was the initial setup?

    It's quite easy to install.

    Completing the installation is not an issue.

    What about the implementation team?

    My position is not related to installation, but if it is necessary, I am capable of doing it.

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

    It requires the purchase of a license. Our company's products all have licenses.

    What other advice do I have?

    It is appropriate for small and medium-sized businesses.

    I would recommend this solution to others.

    I would rate SQL Server an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
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    Managing Director at D3
    Real User
    Efficient data retrieval, scalable, and straightforward installation
    Pros and Cons
    • "One of the best features of SQL Server is the efficient retrieval of information."
    • "We want to move to Azure, and the solution could be made better to make the process easier for the migration from on-premise to the cloud."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using SQL Server for our financial application package.

    What is most valuable?

    One of the best features of SQL Server is the efficient retrieval of information.

    What needs improvement?

    We want to move to Azure, and the solution could be made better to make the process easier for the migration from on-premise to the cloud.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have used SQL Server for approximately seven years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    SQL Server is stable. However, Microsoft products have a tendency to crash. I would rate it a five out of ten in terms of stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of SQL Server is good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution is straightforward to install.

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

    The price of SQL Server could be better in the African market. The licensing model needs to be improved, it is confusing.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate SQL Server an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer909060 - PeerSpot reviewer
    IT Developer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Performs well for our use case
    Pros and Cons
    • "SQL Server's performance is fine."
    • "SQL Server could integrate better with other platforms."

    What is our primary use case?

    It's a normal DMS, so it can be used everywhere you want to use any RDBMS or relational database. It's for normal transactions.

    What needs improvement?

    SQL Server could integrate better with other platforms.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using SQL Server for the last six months. Earlier we used DB2, but now we use this one.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    SQL Server's performance is fine.

    How are customer service and support?

    Microsoft support is fine.

    How was the initial setup?

    We don't deal with the setup because we are developers. The system or admin team does all those things. So I don't have any idea.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate SQL Server eight out of 10. We haven't had any issues, but it depends on the use case. So I would recommend it depending on your use case.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises

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

    Other
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Sundaresan Subramanyan - PeerSpot reviewer
    Founder and Managing Director at Analytic Brains Technologies Private Limited
    Real User
    Feature-rich databases and user-friendly interface
    Pros and Cons
    • "SQL Server's Management Studio is very user friendly. I like their database and the additional features it offers. It's also easy to integrate SQL Server with things like CLR, PowerShell, and command shell"
    • "I would like to see SQL Server add the ability to write to multiple sites or support replication between multiple sites at the transaction level."

    What is our primary use case?

    SQL Server can be useful for a lot of businesses and enterprise solutions. SQL Server is very powerful and useful when you need to store, retrieve, process, and analyze a large amount of data. In my organization, almost everyone uses SQL Server. That's about 10 people using it.

    What is most valuable?

    SQL Server's Management Studio is very user-friendly. I like their database and the additional features it offers. It's also easy to integrate SQL Server with things like CLR, PowerShell, and command shell

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to see SQL Server add the ability to write to multiple sites or support replication between multiple sites at the transaction level. If we can have data available on multiple sites as quickly as possible, that would be a great feature.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using SQL Server for around 10 years. I have 30 years of experience in the IT industry. In that time, I have worked on different kinds of databases, such as Oracle. Before that, I worked on FoxPro. I have also worked with PostgreSQL.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It's absolutely scalable. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Our clients are the end-users of the SQL Server applications, and we do all the development and maintenance for them. So anything related to support, our clients take care of it.

    How was the initial setup?

    I work on the development and performance-tuning side, so I don't do the installation but my guess would be that it is pretty straightforward by now. 

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

    I am not aware of the cost because our clients take care of them, but I think there are enterprise licenses. If you go for Azure Cloud databases, then you just can pay as you go.

    What other advice do I have?

    SQL Server is my favorite database. Because I've been working on it for so many years, I like it. I have only good things to say about it. I would rate SQL Server nine out of 10.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1671969 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Data Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Reliable and easy to use
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's easy to use and fairly intuitive. I do development and data analysis, so we do a lot of work with SSIS and SQL Job Scheduler. Deploying new databases is very simple with things like BACPAC."
    • "One thing I don't like about SQL Server is the way they've set up security with users and groups. It just doesn't seem that intuitive to me. Adding some more explanatory information might help some."

    What is our primary use case?

    We do data warehousing, and our clients are mainly large commercial Insurance providers in the United States.

    What is most valuable?

    It's easy to use and fairly intuitive. I do development and data analysis, so we do a lot of work with SSIS and SQL Job Scheduler. Deploying new databases is very simple with things like BACPAC. You don't have to do all the scripting for the database, then all the tables, keys, etc. It takes all that out of your hands.

    What needs improvement?

    One thing I don't like about SQL Server is the way they've set up security with users and groups. It just doesn't seem that intuitive to me. Adding some more explanatory information might help some. Sometimes the documentation is a little thin, but the same could be said about a lot of products.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using SQL Server on and off since it first came out in the 1990s. Most of the people I've worked for are SQL Server shops.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I can't really speak intelligently about that because I haven't been on any of the real big ones yet. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The complexity of the initial setup really depends. Obviously, you're going to need to know a few things and there are different ways to do deployments. I like the BACPAC, which is one of the features that come with SQL Server. It's a nice feature to deploy. BACPAC really handles all of the configuration for you. If you use that, I don't think you really need to know too much. If we're talking about a small database that holds a few thousand records, it doesn't matter what you're doing. You can't make a mistake because it's just not big enough.  

    We do a lot of Azure-based on-demand type systems where we host the system or we host it in Azure. We do the work for them. So we don't really do a lot of those installs.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We're going a lot heavier into Azure and we're going to be dealing with lots of volume because insurance data is pretty voluminous. I think some of our clients don't like the idea of having one gigantic VM system to run the database. That's one reason why they're switching to Snowflake. We had to do some SSRS stuff in the past, and I think they're moving over to Power BI mostly.

    What other advice do I have?

    I'd probably rate SQL Server nine out of 10. I don't think I'd give anybody a 10, but I think nine's about the best I can do. In my experience, it's been reliable and easy to use.

    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
    Principal, Sr. IT Consultant at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
    Consultant
    It is fairly easy to work with
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is fairly easy to work with. I like the high-availability options, like mirroring for example, and the high-availability groups."
    • "The Management Studio is a pretty heavy piece of software, and it's sometimes slow. I would recommend making an express version of the Management Studio, which is lighter and has fewer features but is a little faster."

    What is our primary use case?

    We set up SQL Servers for developers who develop applications for data mining. Our clients are generally small or medium-sized businesses. There's also a SQL Server Express that many software vendors use to support their applications. That gets installed often—usually as part of the application installation. 

    What is most valuable?

    It is fairly easy to work with. I like the high-availability options, like mirroring for example, and the high-availability groups. It's quite an interesting feature that enables high availability for the SQL Server. I think it's important. So that's the feature that I'm particularly interested in and it works pretty well.

    What needs improvement?

    The Management Studio is a pretty heavy piece of software, and it's sometimes slow. I would recommend making an express version of the Management Studio, which is lighter and has fewer features but is a little faster.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    "Using" is the wrong word. We mostly set it up for others. The last time we set up an SQL Server for a client was about a year ago.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    We haven't had any experiences. The software hasn't been unstable or glitchy in our environment so far.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    In terms of scalability, it would be closed to a high-availability group. So I would say it varies in scale. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate it nine out of 10. Nothing's perfect.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Group DWH and BI Senior Manager at Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa
    Real User
    Low maintenance, helpful online community, and flexible
    Pros and Cons
    • "The SQL Server is low maintenance, it does not require advanced technical skills to maintain or use it as you might in other similar database solutions. You need some knowledge on how to access the solution and how to query it but it is fairly straightforward."
    • "SQL Server could improve by enhancing the integration abilities, adding more inbuilt data security features, and simplifying the maintenance."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use SQL Server as a relational database mostly for the application backend activities and integrations.

    What is most valuable?

    The SQL Server is low maintenance, it does not require advanced technical skills to maintain or use it as you might in other similar database solutions. You need some knowledge on how to access the solution and how to query it but it is fairly straightforward.

    What needs improvement?

    SQL Server could improve by enhancing the integration abilities, adding more inbuilt data security features, and simplifying the maintenance.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using SQL Server for approximately 10 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    SQL Server is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable and flexible.

    We have approximately 15 people using the solution in my organization.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support from Microsoft is good but we have learned and received the most help from the online community.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation difficulty level depends on the use case and environment. For example, if you need to deploy it on multiple nodes or have large amounts of storage it could increase the difficulty level. 

    What about the implementation team?

    We have a team of approximately five database administrators and application developers who handle the setup and maintenance of the solution.

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

    There is a license required for the use of SQL Server and we are on an annual subscription.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate SQL Server a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
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