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Miyoba Sichimwi - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Security Officer at South African National Accreditation System (sanas)
Real User
Top 10
Mar 20, 2022
Beneficial support system, highly scalable and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "SQL Server is very scalable because we use it across a couple of different types of applications, such as micro-infrastructure setup and server farm."
  • "SQL Server is very scalable because we use it across a couple of different types of applications, such as micro-infrastructure setup and server farm."
  • "SQL Server could improve by being more user-friendly, it is still geared towards specialists. Additionally, the monitoring system is difficult to use, not everyone can use it well. The configuration should be able to be done through the GUI."
  • "SQL Server could improve by being more user-friendly, it is still geared towards specialists."

What is our primary use case?

All our databases are using Microsoft SQL. It supports our application, such as HR and finance.

What needs improvement?

SQL Server could improve by being more user-friendly, it is still geared towards specialists. Additionally, the monitoring system is difficult to use, not everyone can use it well. The configuration should be able to be done through the GUI.

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 highly stable.

Buyer's Guide
SQL Server
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

SQL Server is very scalable because we use it across a couple of different types of applications, such as micro-infrastructure setup and server farm.

The solution is suitable for any environment, such as small, medium, and large enterprises. 

How are customer service and support?

SQL Server support system is well-established. It's a Microsoft solution therefore you receive support very easily. It is the number one selling point of SQL Server. I have been highly satisfied with the support.

How was the initial setup?

SQL Server's initial setup is simple. However, you must be a specialist to do it. That's the unfriendliness that I see about the solution. It has to be done by an engineer and not any engineer can do it, you have to be a specific Microsoft engineer.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to others would be to create a standard for SQL Server to allow a high level of security. What we did is, we adopted CIS, which is the Center for Information Security, hardening standards and benchmarks to keep it secure. SQL Server out of the box comes with a lot of unnecessary services that can make you very vulnerable to any site attack.

I 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
System Engineer at CMC CSI saigon
Real User
Mar 19, 2022
Easy to install, reliable, and reasonably priced
Pros and Cons
  • "The license fee is very low."
  • "The license fee is very low."
  • "We have no vision. We don't know when or how we have been hacked."
  • "We have no vision. We don't know when or how we have been hacked."

What is our primary use case?

SQL Server is only running in China, it is not connected to our site.

We have some PCs running on Windows 7, but it is not supported.

What needs improvement?

We have no vision. We don't know when or how we have been hacked.

We require expert support with it. That is why I am looking for CRMs.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using SQL Server for one year.

We use several versions such as 2008, 2012, and 2015.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

SQL Server is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are not running more than 1%. Scalability needs improvement.

We have 415 users in our organization.

We have plans to increase our usage.

We have an Active Directory system, so we can install antivirus on the endpoints.

How are customer service and support?

Normally, we can check with the deployment person, and our IT team will respond to the message once my team has deployed it.

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

I have some experience with McAfee MVISION Endpoint. We are focused on the MV1 edition. We have to blend into the EDR.

McAfee has three editions, MVISION 1, 2, and 6. We are still working with version 1.

We are also working with Endpoint Plan 1.

We have 15 servers, both Windows OS and Linux OS.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex.

We have an in-house IT team that can deploy this solution.

What about the implementation team?

We have some people who have worked in IT and with endpoint software. I believe my team is capable of handling the new software, and solutions.

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

The licenses are purchased annually.

The license fee is very low.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I was looking into some solutions to meet our company's needs. Endpoint Protection for Business, McAfee, and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was among the solutions I researched. For endpoint security, I prefer Microsoft Defender or McAfee Endpoint Security.

Now we're comparing the cost-effectiveness, and especially the features, and giving ourselves the ability to choose the solution, truly enabling a solution.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate SQL Server 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
SQL Server
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
886,468 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Karoly Krokovay - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Informula Ltd
Real User
Mar 18, 2022
Highly stable and secure, but stability could improve
Pros and Cons
  • "The support from Microsoft has been good."
  • "The stability of SQL Server is very important for us because we provide services for banks."
  • "SQL Server has good performance, but it could be better."
  • "SQL Server has good performance, but it could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We developed a product for banks and we store the data in SQL Server.

What needs improvement?

SQL Server has good performance, but it could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SQL Server for a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of SQL Server is very important for us because we provide services for banks. The banks need a secure and stable solution from us and we have requested from the cloud provider to give us this level of service.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 10 developers and architects using SQL Server. Additionally, we have approximately four end-users using the solution.

How are customer service and support?

The support from Microsoft has been good.

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

I have previously used Oracle.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of SQL Server is not complicated. 

What about the implementation team?

We have four technicians that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.

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

There is a license required to use the solution and I am satisfied.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate SQL Server a seven 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
Richard Vivian - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer at KOLOK SA
Real User
Mar 17, 2022
Many licensing options, quick installation, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "SQL Server is a very mature solution."
  • "We use SQL Server for storing all our company information, such as ERP, customer applications, and our wealth management systems."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use SQL Server for storing all our company information, such as ERP, customer applications, and our wealth management systems. All of our data is stored in SQL Servers.

    What is most valuable?

    SQL Server is a very mature solution.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using SQL Server for approximately 20 years.

    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?

    The scalability of SQL Server is good. It can scale up to thousands of times more data than I have. 

    We have approximately 250 people using this solution in my organization.

    How are customer service and support?

    I have not used the support from SQL Server.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is simple it takes approximately 10 minutes. You only need to run the setup and you have SQL installed.

    What about the implementation team?

    I have installed SQL databases and SQL Servers regularly. I did the implementation of this solution.

    This solution requires one administrator for implementation and maintenance.

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

    Some of the licensing are very expensive, such as the Enterprise license. 

    The Express version is free. There are a lot of licensing options.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others.

    I rate SQL Server 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.
    PeerSpot user
    Ahmed-Ramy - PeerSpot reviewer
    CEO at TMentors
    Real User
    Mar 2, 2022
    Problem-free, easy to implement, and very reliable
    Pros and Cons
    • "The scalability is very good."
    • "Overall, we've been satisfied with the capabilities of the product."
    • "The remote access aspect needs to be improved in terms of security."
    • "The remote access aspect needs to be improved in terms of security."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use the solution on FastAutomate, our core product, to store the aggregated data from different nodes. It resides on the server that's handling the agents. We also use it for different organizations for development. Therefore, we use it for development mainly.

    What is most valuable?

    Overall, we've been satisfied with the capabilities of the product.

    The solution is stable. It works without issue - to the point you rarely need any technical support at all.

    The scalability is very good.

    It's got an easy initial setup.

    What needs improvement?

    The remote access aspect needs to be improved in terms of security. Right now, it's a little bit hard. 

    Also, they need to work on the user interface, as it's a little bit old. They need to improve it a little bit. 

    The pricing could be lowered a bit.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've used the solution for a while. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Its stability has been good. The solution performs well and is reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have found the solution to be scalable. If a company needs to expand, it can do so. 

    How are customer service and support?

    Techni al support is good. That said, it's hard to judge as you don't need support on SQL Server. It's working without trouble or issues. Therefore, it's rare to seek support for SQL Server. You rarely have to deal with them.

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

    I've also used SQL Azure.

    The recommendation is based on the use case. It depends on what use case the customer will need. If they don't have the capacity to manage their own Server, I would recommend Azure, as it's managed. Therefore, you don't have to worry about the management and administration.

    The main difference between the two is, in some data types it is not available on SQL Azure while it's available on SQL Server or vice versa. There's a version of SQL Server with a little bit of limited functionality. That said, the difference is not huge. You can go back and forth between them if you want.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is very easy. It's even easier than before, in fact. A company shouldn't have any problems with the implementation. 

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

    The price could be less.

    What other advice do I have?

    I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. If the price was a bit less or the remote access was better, I would rate it tighter.

    In general, I've been happy with the product.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1056471 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Manager Global Identity & Access Management at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Mar 1, 2022
    Database management system that's easy to manage, query, and scale; has well-designed databases
    Pros and Cons
    • "Very stable relational database management system that offers ease of management, querying, and scaling. It has well-designed databases."
    • "What I find most useful in SQL Server is that it's easier to manage and to query."
    • "Sometimes the system hangs. Its databases should be able to deal with more data in a faster way. Its speed of processing larger amounts of information should be improved."
    • "Sometimes, when you have a lot of information running on the SQL databases, the system hangs."

    What is our primary use case?

    SQL Server is our primary database for identity access management.

    What is most valuable?

    What I find most useful in SQL Server is that it's easier to manage and to query. Its databases are well-designed. It's easy to do any changes, and it's easy to query the database through reports and whatever information you need.

    What needs improvement?

    There is always room for improvements. In SQL Server, the databases should be able to deal with more data in a faster way. Sometimes, when you have a lot of information running on the SQL databases, the system hangs. Though there are always improvements being done to SQL Server, there's still a lack of speed in being able to process so much information, so the performance of this solution still needs to be improved.

    Another area for improvement in SQL Server is its front end, in terms of running the queries, e.g. it would be better if it could give suggestions. For example: When you write something, this solution could have a feature similar to a dictionary's intelligence that will tell you what to write such as the one you have in Word, or in PowerPoint, for example, you'll have the design suggestions for it. An improvement I'd like to see in SQL Server is for it to suggest what you put next when you are writing SQL codes or queries.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been dealing with SQL Server for four years now.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    SQL Server is a very stable product.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    SQL Server is a product you can scale. You can add and remove modules as needed.

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

    SQL Server is expensive if you use the advanced SQL version. If you use the standard version, it's not expensive, because it's included in Windows, in Microsoft. It's very expensive if you use the advanced version. We're using both. For IBM, we're using the advanced version, but then we use the basic SQL Server for the other platforms.

    You just pay for the SQL Server license. There's no additional cost as everything's already included.

    What other advice do I have?

    We currently don't have any issues with SQL Server. There's nothing that we couldn't solve internally, so I haven't had the chance to contact their technical support team.

    I'm giving SQL Server an eight out of ten rating.

    I can recommend this solution for medium and large enterprises. For small enterprises, it depends: if they use the standard, free one on Windows, yes. If they don't, I wouldn't recommend the investment.

    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
    EverVidal - PeerSpot reviewer
    Architect of Solutions at Interbank
    Real User
    Feb 25, 2022
    It's an inexpensive solution that integrates well with cloud-based tools
    Pros and Cons
    • "SQL Server is an inexpensive solution. I recommend it if the project isn't sensitive. SQL is similar to Oracle and integrates well with tools in the cloud environment. The difference is that Oracle is for data solutions where there is replication and moderation."
    • "SQL Server is an inexpensive solution, SQL is similar to Oracle and integrates well with tools in the cloud environment."
    • "Our biggest problem with SQL Server is latency. The communication between the cloud and the on-premises environment is slow. The data needs to be encrypted for security, and you have to exchange data certificates between environments. You can adjust the configuration to improve performance, but it would be nice if SQL Server had some templates to resolve problems."
    • "Our biggest problem with SQL Server is latency."

    What is our primary use case?

    I have SQL Server running in an on-premise environment, but we are testing it out on the cloud. We are trying out using APIs to access a database. SQL Server creates a lot of opportunities for us. While some of the larger companies have Oracle, SQL Server is more common in Peru. I'm responsible for administration and implementation, including configuration and data replication.

    What needs improvement?

    Our biggest problem with SQL Server is latency. The communication between the cloud and the on-premises environment is slow. The data needs to be encrypted for security, and you have to exchange data certificates between environments. You can adjust the configuration to improve performance, but it would be nice if SQL Server had some templates to resolve problems.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with SQL Server for 10 years. 

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

    I worked on Oracle Database for four years. In the last year, I have been working with various cloud databases, including Cosmos DB and DynamoDB in AWS and Azure.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate SQL Server nine out of 10. SQL Server is an inexpensive solution. I recommend it if the project isn't sensitive. SQL is similar to Oracle and integrates well with tools in the cloud environment. The difference is that Oracle is for data solutions where there is replication and moderation.

    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
    Works at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Feb 22, 2022
    User-friendly, easy to install, and has a straightforward syntax
    Pros and Cons
    • "For my business requirements, the performance is good."
    • "For my business requirements, the performance is good."
    • "In the next release, I would like to see a better user interface and a familiar syntax."
    • "We occasionally face or encounter a problem with the database table itself. Some tables and their flyers, as well as the content's data, must be truncated."

    What is most valuable?

    For my business requirements, the performance is good. If we use it on a larger scale, it will not fit our business needs.

    It is easy to use.

    It has simple syntax, but you must check your packet on a daily basis.

    What needs improvement?

    We occasionally face or encounter a problem with the database table itself. Some tables and their flyers, as well as the content's data, must be truncated. It was a major issue with my ERP system because it is a backbone database application. It hasn't happened often, but it was a bad experience. Regarding some table issues, I believe we will encounter them in many applications, but I believe the other vendor, such as Oracle, has more than tools to protect my data.

    In the next release, I would like to see a better user interface and a familiar syntax.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with SQL Server since 2003. It's been more than 10 years.

    We use a version component for each application. One is for 2014, and the other is for 2017.

    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?

    We have two users in my company. The ERP system has nearly two users. We have about five users for subsidies and the sister company.

    I'm not going to increase our usage because I'm going to the cloud. We're going to the cloud, according to my plan. Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft cloud, or NetSuite. Because they are both cloud-based, I don't need to increase the number of SQL server users, either for administration or for users.

    How are customer service and support?

    I'm not opening a ticket with SQL about the issues we experienced, because it was opened by my partner, but it didn't solve the problem. For my table, it almost uses truncate comma syntax, and it flushes my table contact.

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

    Approximately 10 years ago, I used Oracle Database.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward. I did not encounter any issues.

    We have 12 technical teams with four admins to maintain the solutions in our companies.

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

    I don't need a license for it as I will be migrating to Office 365.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution for small and medium-sized companies, but for enterprise businesses.

    I know it's not the best, but this application meets our requirements.

    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.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free SQL Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: March 2026
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free SQL Server Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.