It is used for many things. We primarily use it for our two-tier and three-tier applications.
Technical Director at a security firm with 51-200 employees
Stable and easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It is stable, and it works okay."
- "It would be nice if they can reduce its price."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
It is stable, and it works okay.
What needs improvement?
It would be nice if they can reduce its price.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for ten years.
Buyer's Guide
SQL Server
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
How are customer service and support?
I didn't use their technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Microsoft Access.
How was the initial setup?
Its installation is straightforward. It took half an hour to one hour.
What about the implementation team?
I can install it myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We did a one-time payment. Its price, in general, can be reduced.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. I would 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.

Operations Director at ALTERSIS Performance
Flexible and easy to use but the performance could be better
Pros and Cons
- "It's a good option for those that have a lot of Microsoft solutions in use."
- "The solution needs to be more secure. It's lacking, compared to, for example, Oracle."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product for information systems. This is a must both for us. We use it for our Enterprise Portal.
What is most valuable?
The solution has proven to be very flexible.
The product is quite stable.
Overall, we've found it to be extremely easy to use.
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. It's not difficult to implement and the deployment doesn't take too long.
Technical support has been pretty good so far. They are helpful.
It's a good option for those that have a lot of Microsoft solutions in use.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs to be more secure. It's lacking, compared to, for example, Oracle.
The product needs to work on its scalability. Oracle can scale a bit more effectively.
Sometimes we have some performance issues. It's not like Oracle. Oracle is more powerful in terms of performance.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've just been dealing with the solution for a few months. It hasn't been too long just yet.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've had some performance issues overall. It's something that's a pain point for us. They need to work on their capabilities in this regard.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution could be more scalable. Oracle scales better for companies that need to expand.
We have two to three customers that use the solution currently.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've used technical support in the past. They've been helpful and responsive. We haven't had any issues when we deal with them. We are quite satisfied so far with the level of service we receive when we reach out.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've also used Oracle in the past. From my side, Oracle is more technical and is more scalable, and more secure than the SQL server.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is quite straightforward. It's not overly difficult or complicated. I found it to be quite simple.
The deployment is rather quick. It took us about one hour, from what I can recall.
We just need one technical person to handle the implementation and maintenance processes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Customers do have to pay to use the solution. They tend to pay on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.
I'd recommend the solution to other customers, users, and companies. It's a good option of r many. Sometimes the customer is Microsoft-oriented and sometimes they are Oracle-oriented. If the customer is already using a lot of Microsoft products, SQL just makes sense.
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: Integrator
Buyer's Guide
SQL Server
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Head of Data Analytics at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Affordable, easy to use and democratic in the enterprise; scalability could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "Very easy to use, and it's very democratic in the enterprise."
- "Scalability of the database could be improved if it could handle increased volumes of data."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is for data mart and data warehousing. My company is a service company and we provide the professional services for deployment of BI solutions. We are customers of SQL Server and I'm head of data analytics.
What is most valuable?
This solution is very easy to use, and it's very democratic in the enterprise. A lot of customers use this type of database, and that's why the deployments are very often in the medium enterprise.
What needs improvement?
I think the scalability of the database could be improved if it could handle increased volumes of data. I'd also like to see improvement in performance when you are loading big amounts of data. Integration with other solutions would be a nice additional feature.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for 10 years.
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 is scalable to a point but not for very large enterprise.
How are customer service and technical support?
I don't have too much contact with the support at Microsoft, but as far as I know, it's good.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is a very affordable solution, which is why it's used so widely in the market. I think one of the strongest points of SQL Server is the reasonable cost.
What other advice do I have?
The value of this solution depends on the business case that you're trying to accomplish and company size, and it depends on the volume of data you're looking for and the type of users that you're trying to serve. Basically, it depends on everything that goes with the functional requirements of the solution. If all that works then I would recommend this product.
I rate this solution a seven out of 10.
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.
Technical Specialist at a media company with 10,001+ employees
Stable, intuitive, and easy to use for non-technical users
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very easy to use. It's intuitive and easy to navigate. Overall, it's a straightforward product."
- "The documentation could be much better. It's lacking right now. If there are better help pages, for even complicated queries and stuff like that that would be quite a help for users."
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use it to extract some configuration information for my product - in order to understand how the configuration is done for my base product.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very easy to use. It's intuitive and easy to navigate. Overall, it's a straightforward product.
You don't really need a learning code to study MySQL. If you know the basics, it's quite easy to use the product. There isn't a high learning curve and you don't have to be overly technical.
The initial setup was straightforward.
What needs improvement?
The documentation could be much better. It's lacking right now. If there are better help pages, for even complicated queries and stuff like that that would be quite a help for users.
There were times where it was not working all the time, however, that could be due to some issues on our network side as well. I'm not really sure of that, and therefore can't blame the solution. However, I do remember experiences where, when I tried something, it didn't work.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with the solution for seven years now. It's been a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
For my purposes, I haven't had any issues with stability. I find it to be reliable in terms of performance. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. It's good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I don't really use it heavily, basically, my usage is quite small. It's been okay for me for my purposes. However, it's my understanding that it can scale.
We have more than ten engineers that currently use the product regularly.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've never needed to reach out to technical support from Microsoft, I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are. I don't have any direct experience I can draw from.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not overly difficult or complex. It was quite straightforward. It's a pretty simple process.
Our team is capable of handling the maintenance internally.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In terms of pricing, I just downloaded it and started using it. I don't have a lot of information on licensing. I can't speak to the costs.
What other advice do I have?
We are just a customer and an end-user. We do not have a business relationship with SQL.
I would recommend the solution to other users. So far, the experience I have had over the years has been a positive one.
I'd rate the solution at a nine 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.
Chief Technology Officer & Vice President, Delivery at a recruiting/HR firm with 1-10 employees
Very stable, easy to use, and easy to move data across versions, but needs better indexing, performance, scalability, and JSON support
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use and very stable."
- "Its support for JSON should be improved. It does support JSON, but the support is not good enough currently. They should also improve the way indexes work. Its performance can also be improved because sometimes it becomes very slow for certain table designs. It cannot have more than a certain amount of data. As compared to other databases, its capability to handle large volumes of data is not very good."
What is our primary use case?
We are a product-based company, and we use it as part of our product. It is deployed in a public cloud and on-premises.
How has it helped my organization?
We use it as part of our product, so it is helpful for us. It is easy to move data across versions, and it holds lots of our internal data for operations.
What is most valuable?
It is easy to use and very stable.
What needs improvement?
Its support for JSON should be improved. It does support JSON, but the support is not good enough currently.
They should also improve the way indexes work. Its performance can also be improved because sometimes it becomes very slow for certain table designs.
It cannot have more than a certain amount of data. As compared to other databases, its capability to handle large volumes of data is not very good.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been very stable. We had a very good experience with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scaling is a challenge because you cannot scale horizontally. We've run into a couple of scenarios where we were not able to scale it easily.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support is quite satisfactory. They have not been perfect every time, but they have mostly been quite good. They're prompt, but they weren't able to resolve some of the issues.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install.
What about the implementation team?
Our IT team handles the installation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
You should know its limitations. It cannot have more than a certain amount of data.
I would rate SQL Server a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Consultant at Botmantra
Reliable, scalable, and easy installation
Pros and Cons
- "The installation is really easy."
- "I would like to see the integration with other platforms improved in the future."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for managing database information from our clients and for testing database access.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see the integration with other platforms improved in the future.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for four months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is really easy.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others and we are going to continue using it.
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.
GF at Innopact GmbH
Extremely mature, scalable, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The product has been on the market for over 25 or 30 years. It's an extremely mature solution."
- "Technical support could be faster."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for data storage. We use it for its data warehouse, BI services, and AI.
What is most valuable?
If you compare the SQL Server with the block storage it's stable and it's working.
The product has been on the market for over 25 or 30 years. It's an extremely mature solution.
The solution is pretty scalable.
The initial setup is pretty straightforward, depending on your requirements.
What needs improvement?
The solution is very expensive.
Technical support could be faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for many years. It's been a while. It's likely been over ten years or so - a decade or more.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It does not crash or freeze. It's very reliable in terms of performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution scales well. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with ease.
Three people are using the solution in our organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've used technical support in the past. However, it's not a very fast support system. For the new Office 365, it's better. This solution still needs to work on support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
For a specific task, we are using this solution. However, for some other tasks, we're using MongoDB, MariaDB, Oracle, or something else. It depends on the task and the solution and the requirements.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is not overly complex or difficult for the most part. The initial setup's level of straightforwardness, however, depends. If you only need an SQL Server, it's easy. If you need a cluster, it's more difficult. If you need a great cluster all over the world, it's more difficult.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the installation myself. I did not need the help of an integrator or consultant.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is expensive. The pricing is different and not really standardized. If you're using it on Azure you pay on your workloads. If you have a separate dedicated instance, you pay for the course. It's different, according to the situation, however, in either case, it's expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We are customers and end-users.
We are using the 2014 and 2019 versions of the solution.
I'd recommend the solution to other organizations and users. However, if it will work for a company, or if it will work for them in an ideal manner depends on the requirements you have to fulfill as an organization. For example, race cars may be good cars, and great products, however, it's for a specific task. For other tasks, it may not be useful.
I general, I'm quite satisfied with the solution and it does what I need it to do. I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
I'd recommend the solution to other users and organizations.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Manager - RPA & Transition at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Stable with prompt technical support and capable of scaling
Pros and Cons
- "The performance is reliable."
- "You do need to have technical knowledge in order to install the solution. It's not something a layperson can do."
What is our primary use case?
Typically, the SQL Server is used in many, many ways. We primarily use SQL Server when there is a data requirement for our projects.
Typically there are uses around where you are creating a database. I've yet to store the data in our RPA server. We need MS Excel through Microsoft.
Any sort of RPA process where you require data through housing data or using a database, you need an SQL Server.
What is most valuable?
The solution is extremely stable. The performance is reliable.
The scalability of the solution is very good.
Technical support is pretty good. they are prompt in their responses.
What needs improvement?
You do need to have technical knowledge in order to install the solution. It's not something a layperson can do.
The scalability can always be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for a number of years now. It's been a while. I have some experience with it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the product is very good. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It does not crash or freeze. It doesn't give us any trouble.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very capable of scaling. A company should have no trouble expanding the solution as needed.
You can always add on to the server or make compartments into it.
We have a team of about 200 or more people using the solution.
We do plan to continue using the solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've dealt with technical support in the past. We found that their responses have been prompt. Given their engagement to typical organizations, they do decent work. I would say that we are mostly satisfied with the level of support on offer.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use any other databases prior to SQL. We only use SQL.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup does take some time. It depends upon how you are establishing the server in your environment and depends upon the firewall of your organization. It is a lengthy process, however, it is not that grueling. Depending upon the firewall of your organization, it does take time. That influences the time.
What about the implementation team?
I can handle the installation myself. I did not need the help of a consultant or integrator. However, whoever installs it must be somebody who has the technical knowledge. Not everybody can do it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have an organizational license.
What other advice do I have?
We are customers and end-users. We do not have a business relationship with SQL.
We are using the latest version of the solution. I cannot recall the exact version number.
I would recommend the solution to other users, companies, and organizations.
I'd rate the solution at 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.

Buyer's Guide
Download our free SQL Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Product Categories
Relational Databases ToolsPopular Comparisons
Teradata
MySQL
Oracle Database
SAP HANA
MariaDB
IBM Db2 Database
Amazon Aurora
CockroachDB
LocalDB
Citus Data
IBM Informix
Oracle Database In-Memory
YugabyteDB
SAP IQ
SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SQL Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- Microsoft sql2017 VS SAP Hana
- SQL Server 2005 vs. InfoBright - what are the pros and cons of these solutions?
- SQL Server 2012 - can I make OLTP transactions from my ERP run in memory?
- How does NuoDB compare to MySQL and SQL Server?
- What are the main architectural differences between Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Multitenant?
- Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?
- Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?
- Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?
- Which solution do you prefer: Microsoft SQL Server's enterprise edition or Oracle Database's enterprise edition?
- Which is better: SQL Server or SAP HANA?