SQL Server Reviews and Pricing

Founder & Principal Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

May 1, 2014

The best-ever SQL Server release - again

Microsoft’s flagship database engine, SQL Server, keeps getting better with every release. The SQL Server 2014 platform is the best-ever SQL Server release, and is packed full of features for organizations of all sizes.

Every organization has different requirements for data. Vendors might specify a particular product or platform for their software. In-house development staff might be geared towards one platform over others. Management might have their preferences. SQL Server might not be right for all shops out there, but I can state that it provides the same scalability, flexibility, and raw power of other DBMS platforms on the market, and does it with the easiest to manage suite of features that I encounter. I enjoy this product and the technical community that has grown up around this product so much that I have dedicated this portion of my career to the mastery of SQL Server as a database and architecture consultant. SQL Server 2014 continues the platform’s evolution towards the future, and I continue to stand by it.

The core database engine is one of the easiest portions of the product to administer via the included SQL Server Management Studio tool. Quite a few of the SQL Server installations that I encounter in the wild are installed by non-DBAs who just click through the installation wizard and stand up their required SQL Server instances. This simplicity is one of the product’s double-edged swords, because even though it is trivial to install, non-DBAs tend to skip the best practices around infrastructure architecture, installation, post-installation configuration, and ongoing management that helps the product to really shine.

The Enterprise edition contains an updated and enhanced feature called AlwaysOn, and it allows for the simple setup of highly available databases so that the data is available if a server fails. It also plays a double role in allowing for the setup of disaster recovery database servers so that if an entire datacenter fails, applications can continue to work with only a minor interruption in service (usually measured in seconds). Failover and failback are trivial, and a single interface is all that is required to manage the entire setup. I love this feature, and as my clients are starting to migrate to SQL Server 2012 and SQL Server 2014, see a tremendous increase in AlwaysOn adoption at the moment.

The other huge feature is with In-Memory OLTP, or codename Hekaton. It is in-memory extensions that allow an application to begin to use memory to dramatically improve the performance of an application with only minor modifications to the app code.

Other features included in the core engine and licenses editions of the production include:

Backup encryption to make things more secure
Resource governance to keep high trafficked databases from being ‘noisy neighbors’ to other application databases
Data and backup encryption
Finely tuned security levels, based on your organization’s requirements
Integration Services - that includes a graphical means to transport, load, and transform data
Analysis Services – build data warehouses and cubes to help you gain serious insight into your business trends
PowerPivot for Excel to allow your end users to manage and transform the data that they require for decision support processes
Reporting Services – grant your users the ability to run and schedule their own reports in a simple to use management interface
Report Builder – advanced end users can construct their own reports, and even their own queries with the ‘model’ of the data that you present to them

SQL Server also now has the ability to move data into and out of the public cloud with ease through backing up to Microsoft’s Azure platform.

If you currently have SQL Servers in your organization, run – don’t walk – to SQL Server 2014. If you have some of the other database platforms on the market, consider migrating to SQL Server so you can reduce licensing costs, improve scalability while reducing complexity, and increase the number of database that a single DBA can individually manage.

Pros: Tremendous scalability. Easy to use and manage. Blur High Availability and Disaster Recovery with AlwaysOn Database Availability Groups. Business intelligence tools increases business insight into data.

Cons: The licensing has persisted the per-core model, and as a result the cost for the platform stays higher than expected. Adding software assurance, which I consider a must for virtualizing SQL Server, also drives up the cost.

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

it_user4524

Founder & Principal Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

May 1, 2014

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Best DBMS platform for all of your business needs

Valuable Features:

- Ease of use of this product is much better than equivalent products - New AlwaysOn availability group enhancements bundles more DR and HA features in one easy to use interface - In-Memory OLTP, or project Hekaton, allows for utilizing memory to boost application performance with only minor application changes - Power, scalability, flexibility, and bundled tooling means it will meet all of your organizational DBMS needs for all size workloads - Support from MS and free knowledge and support from the MS community is terrific - Virtualization friendly! - Core features of the product include many features that require additional licenses with other platforms - SImple to setup and keep running

Room for Improvement:

- Ease of installation means that anyone can install it, but many do not perform the steps required to properly maintain the data - The increasing cost of the platform is slowing adoption by the SMB space

Other Advice:

I am so fond of this product that I have dedicated this portion of my career to focusing on mastering this platform as a consultant. I feel that this product is the best fit on the market for your database needs. The product is stellar, the amount of free knowledge on the Internet for this product is without parallel, and the community around SQL Server is so strong that I consider it a family.

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

it_user4524Founder & Principal Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Jun 25, 2014

Thanks! And the answer is nope - Report Builder 2012 is out there and
works great! It's available at
www.microsoft.com

Plus, Report Builder 2014 is out. Here's a great page on what's new in it.

msdn.microsoft.com

Hope this helps!

David A. Klee

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it_user103896

Sales Engineer at a tech consulting company with 11-50 employees

Apr 14, 2014

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I have found SQL Server to be fast, secure and low cost

How has it helped my organization?

Security, lower cost, ease of maintenance and administration, performance. When all of these are considered, our business is able to run faster, more securely, with SQL as the back-end.

What needs improvement?

The Management Studio front end still needs work as does Indexing.

For how long have I used the solution?

14 years

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No, SQL installs well.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No, SQL was stable for our applications.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No, scaling was easy with SQL. We never had an issue.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: Do not expect Microsoft to be in a hurry to get to you, but I have always found their support to be helpful.Technical Support: I would rate the support as average.

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

We also used Oracle. We supported both with our application.

How was the initial setup?

SQL is very easy to setup.

What about the implementation team?

In-house.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also used Oracle. We supported both with our application.

What other advice do I have?

Make sure you have your prerequisites installed and the proper amount of resources dedicated. You should not have a problem.

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

it_user103896Sales Engineer at a tech consulting company with 11-50 employees

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Apr 14, 2014

Some may not agree with my findings on the security portion, but according to National Institute of Standards and Technology, SQL had the fewest number of reported vulnerabilities.

it_user7944

Network Engineer & Web Developer at OneTexh

Jul 21, 2013

Consequently, Microsoft SQL server is best choice.

SQL Server Microsoft
Microsoft itself is the name of trustworthiness, solid promise, reliability, steadfastness, loyalty and commitment. Among its ranges of products which are mostly open source and freely available for consumers, Microsoft SQL server is useful for the “Great Data Storage” tool. The latest version of MS SQL server is 2012 which incorporates many enhanced features but previous versions like 2003 and 2008 also meet the needs to store data and analytics of data during structuring query.
Microsoft SQL server 2012 emerged in three different versions Standard, Enterprise and Business edition. The basic standard version can be used by smaller companies' databases and include many vivacious features to manage the data integration. Some features are not available but still it meet the needs of consumers and data handlers. Other two editions have more features like high end data integration, large data analysis, query optimization and other data encapsulation.
It can also integrate to Apache Hadoop e.g. running on different remote machines, capturing queries and send them to SQL server for further investigation. It can manage both relational and non relational data through its built in data-connectors. Database creation is trouble-free along with transportation of database from one platform to another much more uncomplicated.
The best feature in my point of view in its Enterprise and business intelligence edition builds on Power view, a web service BI toolkit that can be attached to the share point. So one can pull the data from any other source from the network and throw in Power View to view them (it mainly includes reports).
Disadvantage
As 2012 edition has a data-connector to have a connection with other data centers but it is still available for the windows environment. It can only be enforced in that hardware configuration which suits windows environment.

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

it_user6414

CEO at a tech company with 51-200 employees

May 10, 2013

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SQL Server offers tight integration at low pricing

Valuable Features:

• SQL Server provide end users and database programmers with a broad spectrum of services such as Analysis and Reporting services, Data Engine, Integration Services thus making database development and management easier and reliable. • SQL Server offers a platform on which data in all levels- structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data can be managed, integrated and analyzed thus enabling an organization to realize its mission-critical information. • Latest versions of SQL Server provide a handy development studio that not only make the creation of database objects easy but also offer useful tools such Object Explorer to allow quick processes.

Room for Improvement:

• SQL Server work best with Windows Operating System and it is not compatible with some other systems hence limiting its platform friendliness. • Advance versions with higher functionality such as Work Group Edition have high installation requirement such as multi-processor computers, larger primary memory and are not open source.

Other Advice:

• Database developers who want to have a clear logical and physical understanding of database systems will no doubt benefit much from using SQL Server. I personally marvel at the extensible support provided by the management studio especially on disk and file management as I enjoy using SQL Server 2008. SQL Server is friendly to both beginners and experts and its installation process can be customized to suite different features.

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

it_user6579Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Jul 27, 2013

Good Article. Though i would like to add some points.

1) Microsoft SQL Server is easy to use and offers more features, like full support for triggers.
2) Closely integrated with Microsoft products like .NET Framework.
3) Various features for data restoration and recovery.
4) Microsoft SQL Server only runs on Windows-based servers.
5) Costly license fees.

it_user5520

Network Manager at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees

Apr 1, 2013

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Will be my first choice for a DBMS again in the future.

Valuable Features:

A great database management system for all size companies. SQL server is more user friendly than competitors. Provides easy installation. If you need support or research for the product, it is easy to find help online. There are 3 editions available which will meet any companies needs. Latest version is cloud ready. Offers power and flexibility.

Room for Improvement:

For each additional core feature you want to add to your DBMS edition, it is more money. This is not a FREE program as most other DBMS are. So basically, the more you want, the more you pay.

Other Advice:

A great DBMS for organizations of all sizes. Will be my first choice for a DBMS again in the future. The installation process was simple. You will pay for this SQL Server, but don't be afraid to try the free programs also.

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

it_user6579Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Jul 27, 2013

Yes agree with the author that the system is user friendly and installation process is also simple and hassle free. SQL Server is a relational DBMS and supports various features like triggers and many more. Though the features comes with the price which cannot be affordable for some organizations.

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it_user3876

Database Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Feb 2, 2013

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A tool of choice for many corporate environments

Valuable Features:

• SQL server has dynamic resource allocation feature that allows disk and memory usage scale to meet changing database demands. This facility provides better performance and simplifies software management.• SQL Server’s Graphical Query Analyzer not only helps building stored procedures and interactive queries but also graphically displays the steps performed by query processor to execute the query. • SQL Server’s Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) provides services like data warehousing, data marts and decision support to many medium sized companies.• Data Transformation Services is a powerful and flexible tool provided by SQL server, it simplifies importing and exporting data between and OLE-DB compatible databases.

Room for Improvement:

• Installation and operation of SQL Server requires Internet Explorer (IE). • Reloading all the data in a database can cause potential data loss especially when the size of database is large. • No Cascading declarative referential integrity is available in SQL server.

Other Advice:

Microsoft SQL Server is the tool of choice for many corporate environments because it is a commercial database server. Its core role in the commercial world is only to store data which is slightly different than other databases like MS Access. In addition to data storage capability, MS Access allows developing a full user interface for data entry and reports generation. Whereas SQL Server simply stores data. Significant numbers of companies are moving to SQL Server. When it comes to costs SQL will very often make a very good business case.

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

it_user4524Founder & Principal Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Feb 28, 2013

I politely disagree with the Cons portion of your review. SQL Server does not require Internet Explorer for installation and operation. The only optional module within SQL Server that requires IE present on the server (but not required for the end users) is SQL Server Reporting Services.

I also disagree with the statement about reloading data can cause data loss if the database is large. If the product is used properly, the potential for data loss is extremely small. I load large data sets quite frequently, and data loss simply does not occur. If you are experiencing data loss during loads, you might have an infrastructure problem that is contributing to instability.

Also, SQL Server has had cascading declarative referential integrity features since SQL Server 2000. See msdn.microsoft.com.aspx for more information.

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reviewer2384076

BI Specialist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

Apr 4, 2024

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Highly stable and easy to use, but its pricing and quality could be improved

Pros and Cons

"SQL Server is a highly stable solution."

"The pricing and quality of the product could be improved."

What is most valuable?

SQL Server is a highly stable solution.

What needs improvement?

The pricing and quality of the product could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SQL Server for more than 40 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate SQL Server a nine out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our clients for SQL Server are usually enterprise businesses.

I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten for scalability.

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

On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

Since SQL Server was one of the most commonly used products initially, it was very easy to use. I'm moving away from the solution because there are now better data storage tools. SQL Server was used for the postal service in the Netherlands, where the postal buses on the street were analyzed. SQL Server is always deployed on the cloud.

Data recovery and backup are sometimes hard with SQL Server because of the data store size. Based on the data structure, I would sometimes recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner