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Member of the Board & Co-Founder, Executive Manager at Networld Systems
Real User
Good replication and helps to reduce costs
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is replication because we had several replicas of the SQL Server database in different geographical locations."
  • "I would like to have more replication scenarios."

What is our primary use case?

We have a Windows Server environment.

This is a production system for secure document issuing in a government department.

How has it helped my organization?

It helped reduce licensing costs and also running costs, as well as the learning curve.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is replication because we had several replicas of the SQL Server database in different geographical locations.

What needs improvement?

I would like to have more replication scenarios.

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.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for twenty years.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1018449 - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Architect at Huron Consulting
Real User
It is one of the most stable relational databases out there
Pros and Cons
  • "It is one of the most stable relational databases out there."
  • "I would like to see native plugins built for other platforms versus having to buy third-party plugins to tap into S3 buckets and AWS Cloud. Right now, it does not have those built-in plugins."

What is our primary use case?

Our correlation and relational databases are on Microsoft SQL Server.

The company uses two platforms: MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server. Some applications are on MySQL, and some applications are SQL Server. 

I have pretty much worked all my life in Microsoft SQL Server.

How has it helped my organization?

I am in the process of creating a data strategy to consolidate multiple siloed data centers. Once my plan is finalized and approved, then we are going to execute it on the Microsoft platform.

What is most valuable?

  • Performance-wise, it is an excellent tool.
  • It is a Microsoft product, so there's a lot of support. 
  • It's not a new tool; it has been around for a while. 
  • It is one of the top five relational databases in the market. 
  • It is very user-friendly.
  • There are a lot of resources available for it.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see native plugins built for other platforms versus having to buy third-party plugins to tap into S3 buckets and AWS Cloud. Right now, it does not have those built-in plugins.

I know that they are building SQL Server for the Unix environment, which is in the beta version, and not out yet. This has been a long time wish for a lot of people. Once that is out, we'll be able to tell how diversified they have become in regards to other platforms.

It hasn't 100 percent on scalability and third-party plugins.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is one of the most stable relational databases out there.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

With the new versions and Azure, which is in the cloud, these do accommodate scalability. Until the 2014 version, the scalability wasn't there, but from the 2016 version and above, I think they have taken all these scalability features into consideration.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not used technical support for Microsoft with my current company. I have used them in the past. It depends on the tier of support that was purchased by the company as to the level of support that you receive.

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

Our company has probably been using this solution since it was released.

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

It is expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Since we are a cloud-based company, there is AWS pricing on top of the SQL Server pricing. The Enterprise Edition can typically sell from around $1000 dollars a month, which is not cheap. Then, there is an additional one-time Windows cost, based on the code, which can go anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 for the license.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

From my perspective, the two vendors for this are Microsoft and Amazon (AWS).

They are working on making it better with every release, compared to Oracle Db2 and IBM.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend SQL Server. It's not cheaper any more, like it used to be, but if you can afford it, then it's the best.

When I select a vendor, from a tool perspective, I make sure that they have full support available, have been in the market for awhile, and the solution/application is stable.

From an open source perspective, like MySQL, Aurora, and MongoDB, they have done a great job in making a robust database container.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
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.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1030020 - PeerSpot reviewer
Programmer Analyst at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Creating and implementing stored procedures is a valuable features

What is our primary use case?

Very pleasing and satisfying experience.

  • Used to create queries
  • Implemented store procedures
  • DBA can also use this effectively.

How has it helped my organization?

  • Used to create queries
  • Implemented store procedures
  • DBA can also use this effectively. 
  • Reduces other manual work.

What is most valuable?

  • Creating and executing SQL queries, transactions, ACID properties
  • Creating and implementing stored procedures.

What needs improvement?

Every good tool has its own limitations. 

  • First of all its cost. It is very high. 
  • We need a good amount of RAM to properly use this. 
  • Sometimes, query sticks in between. 

But our organization provides great RAM, so we don't have any issue with its speed.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

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

No.

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

It's good.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No.

What other advice do I have?

Go for it. Thumbs up.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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PeerSpot user
DBA,data architectuire at LG CNS Co.
Consultant
License price is lower than Oracle's

What is our primary use case?

The customer's MES system  use it.  The database system desgin as always on architecture.

Like Data guard in Oracle , always on contain double data and sync data by using transactions store in transaction log

How has it helped my organization?

It is easy to establish, and the license price is lower than that of Oracle.  

Otherwise, our customer could can replace primary databases from Oracle into MSSQL AG

Base on  windows cluster,  the always on no needs complicated config process.

Just click and click following  GUI interface.

What is most valuable?

table partition options,  that is very useful to separate unnecessary cost. 

For legacy data,  we can do partition swith out and store into flat files or old tables.

When it necessary, we can switch in back.

What needs improvement?

Horizontal partitioning.  

In that case,  cold , warm and hot data can be distributed into different database not only table partition located on different FGs .

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sometimes , when windows server suddently failed, the database still can be turn on when DB server started.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

When do "sp_rename" or "table rebuild" , the cluster index or non-cluster index no needs to rebuild at same time

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer always comes out many questions

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

I have no choice. our customer choose MS SQL 

How was the initial setup?

 initial setup straightforward

What about the implementation team?

ordinary level

What was our ROI?

database administrator

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

Migration local database into cloud

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No, I  have to accepted it 

What other advice do I have?

subpartition is necessary

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Cloud DBA at UNIT4
Real User
Its stability delivers performance and usability and it has good reporting services

What is our primary use case?

  • Effectiveness in a production environment
  • New features test

How has it helped my organization?

Besides that, SQL Server has become very expensive like Oracle. Its stability delivers performance and usability.

What is most valuable?

  • SSMS
  • SSIS
  • Reporting services
  • FCI clustering
  • AlwaysOn
  • Basic availability groups.

What needs improvement?

I would like a mature real-monitoring built in into SSMS, even a trace file analyzer.

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user941640 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Analyst Developer with 1-10 employees
Real User
A fast and efficient way to track reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "I have experience with this product for many years. I never have problems with it. It can handle a PC, and it can also handle huge data. It is fast and efficient."
  • "It would be nice if there was a feature to search for a specific value across multiple tables. This would save a lot of time for its users."

What is most valuable?

It is widely used and we never have problems with it. It can handle a PC, and it can also handle huge data. It is fast and efficient. It is something unique that tracks reporting of records, personnel, finances and more. It also integrates well with everything, not just Microsoft tools. 

What needs improvement?

It would be nice to search for specific value across multiple tables. This would save a lot of time. 

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have never had a problem with the stability of the solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have never really had a problem with the scalability of the solution. 

How is customer service and technical support?

I have never used technical support. It is the joke at the office that you cannot get help on the Microsoft website at all. Also, downloading anything from Microsoft is usually a nightmare. Honestly, I end up googling the problem and solving it myself. This is definitely something Microsoft needs to improve.

What other advice do I have?

It is definitely important for someone looking at a new vendor to consider the support of the solution. In addition, the customer should really do their research and understand what their needs are, and make sure the new solution will solve those needs. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user525360 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Programmes Architect at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Traditional DB toolkit is closely integrated into Microsoft Office, but it does not scale up to a truly global environment

What is our primary use case?

This is a departmental database engine which supports primarily localized solutions, data capture, and retrieval. However, with the exception of our aviation group, it is used for localized data lake or reporting solutions support.

How has it helped my organization?

It is cost effective with easy integration into the core MS Office tools. Hence user adoption is easy. Also, being a commodity product there is an abundance of cheap resources having experience with the toolkit, but very few senior or truly expert support personnel are available. Again because it is viewed as a commodity product even by developers, no serious time is spent on skills development with this toolkit.

What is most valuable?

Traditional DB toolkit closely integrated into Microsoft Office. This makes it truly easy to deploy in a light non-business critical environment.

What needs improvement?

  • It does not scale up to a truly global environment. We operate in 220+ countries and territories with data services centralized in three data centers. The ability for MS SQL to operate in this environment is a challenge for anything spanning regions or having a global footprint. 
  • It is best suited to supporting a single functional instance by business domain or a single country. 
  • MS needs to work better at the WAN implementations transoceanic. 
  • It also needs to have a less closed or less MS centric tool dependency as integration with other databases and non-MS development environments is always problematic.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Engineer / MS SQL DBA at Solvinity
User
This solution has proven stability and operational power
Pros and Cons
  • "This solution has proven stability and operational power."
  • "Improvements to the indexing, columnstore indexing, and high availability groups are good improvements for future versions."

What is our primary use case?

The database is primarily used as back-end storage.

How has it helped my organization?

As an engineer working for multiple organisations, MS SQL has proven stability and operational power.

What is most valuable?

The additional tools, like SSIS and reporting services, make this solution useful.

What needs improvement?

Improvements to the indexing, columnstore indexing, and high availability groups are good improvements for future versions.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What other advice do I have?

MS SQL is constantly improving their products. New options, such as managing with PowerShell, are good improvements.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SQL Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free SQL Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.