Microsoft Azure SQL Database Reviews

Name: Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 4.3 (95 reviews)

Vendor: Microsoft

4.3 out of 5

95 reviews
96% willing to recommend

575 followers

Post review

What is Microsoft Azure SQL Database?

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Get the Microsoft Azure SQL Database Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure SQL Database, Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL and more!

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is the #2 ranked solution in top Database as a Service vendors. PeerSpot users give Microsoft Azure SQL Database an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 95 most recent Microsoft Azure SQL Database reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 7.4. (Among the highest in the category). Microsoft Azure SQL Database is most commonly compared to Amazon RDS: Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Amazon RDS. Microsoft Azure SQL Database is popular among the midsize enterprise segment, accounting for 72% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 70% of all views.

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

November 2024

Get the report

Helped 816,660 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Michael Hamlett

Senior Manager, Information Technology of Data Strategies at a hospitality company with 5,001-10,000 employees

I use Microsoft Azure SQL Database to store restaurant sales data, appreciating its scalability, reasonable pricing, and ease of setup with automatic backups. However, obtaining accurate cost estimates was challenging. It's a cost-effective, secure solution with excellent ROI.

Read full review

DineshKumar27

Solution architect at Rackspace

The most valuable part of the solution stems from its scalability and its functionalities, which support high availability and are directly available as an out-of-the-box tool for users, ensuring that it provides you with business continuity features. I like the product's direct out-of-the-box features, which you don't have to go out and configure separately. In the product, you need to place a tick mark so that the solution can automatically take care of the configuration part for you. The intelligence part is pretty much built into the tool. You just have to go and enable specific settings, which automatically make those features available to you.

Read full review

Praveen Chaudhary

Service Delivery Manager at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

It's easy to use and maintain. If we look at the development of the maintenance team, we are not directly responsible for any infrastructure issues. We have too many positive sides to that. No maintenance, easy to use, and we'll know the limits very well. So, users cannot come and say that these are the problems we are facing.

Read full review

Microsoft Azure SQL Database mindshare

As of November 2024, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category stands at 17.5%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Nov 24, 2024

Valuable Features

Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers key features such as scalability, high availability, and cost-effectiveness. Users value its easy integration with other Microsoft services and cloud environment benefits. It provides automatic backups and rapid data replication. The platform allows for seamless scaling and flexibility, reducing infrastructure and management costs. Its user-friendly interface enhances usability while advanced security features ensure data protection. Additionally, the platform's global accessibility and performance are highly appreciated.

"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is its accessibility."
"It is easy to scale in Azure in a way that I cannot scale on-prem."
"Our productivity is the same as that of on-prem SQL."

Room for Improvement

Microsoft Azure SQL Database requires improvements in security features and customer support. Users express concerns about pricing and documentation clarity. There is a demand for enhanced automation, integration with third-party applications, and backward compatibility with SQL Server. Scalability, high costs, UI flexibility, performance insights, and user management need refinement. Enhancements in regional availability, cross-database functionalities, and better technical training resources are also desired by the users.

"Microsoft Azure SQL Database would benefit from enhanced documentation, along with ongoing improvements to scalability and cost-effectiveness."
"The solution is somewhat user-friendly, but it's limited by the lack of full backward compatibility."
"I would like to see more compatibility with SSMS and more backward compatibility with regular on-prem SQL."

ROI

Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers significant cost savings compared to on-premises deployments. Companies report reduced infrastructure costs and increased scalability and flexibility. Many organizations experience a 40-50% ROI and significant infrastructure cost reductions. The transition to Azure removes capital expenses related to licensing and deployment. Businesses appreciate the centralized management and improved scalability. The pay-per-use model aids cost control, and features such as time savings, backup, and security enhance its overall value proposition.

Pricing

Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing varies based on usage, with subscription plans offering flexibility. While considered competitive against alternatives like AWS, PostgreSQL, and Snowflake, the cost can become a challenge with large data sets or complex transactions. Users highlight the pay-as-you-go model, which can lead to escalating costs without careful resource management. Licensing is primarily subscription-based, offering basic to premium plans, with many finding it slightly expensive yet reasonable for larger enterprises.

"The solution is more cost-effective than Google BigQuery. Compared to Google BigQuery, downloading data can be more expensive."
"SQL Azure is an expensive solution."
"You can use it for smaller instances and pay less. You can also go for the premium product with all the security, scalability, and business continuity features, but you have to pay a premium amount."

Popular Use Cases

Users primarily engage with Microsoft Azure SQL Database for diverse purposes including database management, cloud migration, and analytics. It supports hybrid and cloud deployments while serving content management, ERP, and financial transactions. SQL Azure facilitates data warehousing, business intelligence, application backend development, and offers scalability for transaction-heavy environments such as retail. Organizations deploy it across industries like healthcare, hospitality, and finance, benefiting from its ease of integration with Power BI and other Azure services.

Service and Support

Customer service for Microsoft Azure SQL Database is highly regarded. Technical support is generally considered excellent, with extensive online resources. Premium support offers more personalized assistance. Response times can vary, but many find the support knowledgeable and responsive. Some users have not needed direct support due to reliable documentation and a strong community. Larger customers with premium contracts report receiving timely attention, while smaller users sometimes face longer wait times and less flexibility.

Deployment

Many users find Microsoft Azure SQL Database’s initial setup straightforward and easy. It typically takes minutes to a few hours, with some configuration needed for custom requirements. While some find it complex, especially in enterprise environments or when integrating multiple services, many appreciate the ready-made setups and cloud infrastructure that eliminate installation. Users valued the user-friendly interface and efficient cloud-based deployment, highlighting simplicity and efficiency despite occasional documentation challenges.

Scalability

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is recognized for high scalability. Users highlight its ability to handle heavy loads without performance dips and praise its cloud-based nature, which allows easy resource scaling. Organizations across various sizes report satisfaction with its capacity to accommodate increased demands. Many rate its scalability near perfect, noting its flexibility in memory, CPU, and storage configuration. Some minor scalability issues have been noted, but the platform remains a strong choice for many enterprises.

Stability

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is frequently described as stable and reliable with minimal issues of bugs or glitches. Users appreciate the consistency and performance, although some note concerns about future provisions and data handling for larger databases. Microsoft's cloud infrastructure and security measures contribute to its stability. Ratings often range from eight to ten out of ten for stability, despite a few isolated mentions of potential downtime and concerns about local internet service dependencies.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Microsoft Azure SQL Database Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.