Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Analytics Platform System vs Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Analytics Platfor...
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Data Warehouse (17th)
Microsoft Azure Synapse Ana...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Warehouse (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

MahmoudMohamed1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers smooth data integration between systems, but requires better real-time analytics capabilities
We leverage its capabilities for many applications. We can integrate with our databases, like Oracle, MySQL, or any other, using Microsoft Integration Services. This lets us continue using private databases without paying additional licensing fees. Additionally, the license includes Analytics services and Power BI, which work on-premises, unlike most other technologies that require cloud solutions.
Renee Hoon - PeerSpot reviewer
Scalable performance tuning and optimization for finance and supply chain jobs
We run our finance and supply chain jobs using SQL BW, and we visualize our data loads on Power BI. We are using SQL Data Warehouse for data warehousing In terms of cost savings, we don't need specialization in skills as advanced as Teradata. We used to pay extensive licensing fees for Teradata,…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Microsoft Analytics Platform System's most valuable feature is its ecosystems and seamless integration with other Microsoft reporting platforms and databases."
"Helps our customers to discover trends, which provides useful information based on their business."
"I like that it's integrated with other Azure products."
"This solution will connect to any database, you can combine databases, and you can create a cube or tabular model."
"The Cube Solution is quite different when compared to the rest of the competition and has unique functionality for advanced analytics."
"This is a well-integrated solution and that integration empowers results."
"We leverage its capabilities for many applications. We can integrate with our databases, like Oracle, MySQL, or any other, using Microsoft Integration Services."
"It is closely integrated with other products in the MS portfolio."
"The most valuable feature is the scalability."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics are its serverless flexibility and complete power have allowed me to explore various different use cases. While I am not an expert in the product, my experience in programming in Databricks has shown me that Microsoft's investments in Synapse could potentially lead to it becoming a complete replacement for Databricks in the future."
"The most valuable feature is the incremental load because we do not need to refresh the entire data on a daily basis."
"They are available on the Cloud, and the platform is very intuitive."
"The useability, the user interface, is very user-friendly."
"Synapse Analytics' best features are notebooks, pipelines, and monitoring."
"I like how Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics integrates with other Microsoft solutions."
"The ability to scale out services on-demand and scale them down when they are not required is most valuable. You are in control of your expenditures, and you are also in control of the horsepower that you need. That's a major advantage."
 

Cons

"Machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities need to be more friendly for beginning users."
"Releases of new products and functionality is never accompanied by associated documentation, training and resources that adequately explain the release."
"Microsoft Analytics Platform System could have better support."
"We need better real-time analytics capabilities. It's a bit challenging for us."
"I think the biggest problem with the product is that it does a data ingest model, which is very expensive."
"​Hybrid environments are complex to manage."
"Functionality needs to be more up-to-date with competing products."
"The pricing model needs to be improved."
"I am very sure that there are areas in need of improvement, but I can't recall what they are off the top of my head."
"The need to improve a little bit in terms of user-friendliness."
"The initial setup has a bit of a learning curve."
"This solution needs to have query caching so that if the same query is run and the results are available, it will return the data from the cache without having to re-run the query."
"While the solution is flexible, sometimes this works against the user."
"I would like to see them provide the ingestion of images."
"Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics can improve by adding more flexibility to the reports. Having more visible structures based on the area, region and country would be beneficial."
"There may be some challenges in terms of connecting with Virtual Networks (VNETs) to Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Users have to pay extra for premium-level technical support."
"I rate Microsoft Analytics Platform System a seven out of ten for pricing."
"We are currently paying $200,000 a year for all the different parts of the suite during an ingest model Microsoft now charges us $700,000 a year."
"The initial price is lower than Oracle, but extensive use of SQL may lead to a higher total cost of ownership."
"We normally pay between $300 and $500 per month, which is quite expensive for how much we actually use it, performance- and usage-wise. They have a cheap version and an expensive version, and our usage usually falls in the middle ground, which makes it not as cost-effective as it could be."
"Our license is very expensive"
"The pricing is quite reasonable in comparison to other products."
"The cost of the solution depends on the type of license we choose, such as pay-as-you-go, one-year reserve, or three-year reserve."
"My company pays for the license and I am not sure about the price."
"The pricing is okay. You can pay as you go."
"They are cost aggressive, and it integrates well with other Microsoft tools."
"You have to be very careful with one specific service inside Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics which is called the Sequel Data Warehouse Dedicated. It is very reliable and performs well, but it's expensive. You need to define the tier well because you can choose between several tiers and you have to define which suits your needs and not overperform the tier because it's quite expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Warehouse solutions are best for your needs.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Educational Organization
52%
Computer Software Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Analytics Platform System?
We leverage its capabilities for many applications. We can integrate with our databases, like Oracle, MySQL, or any other, using Microsoft Integration Services.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Analytics Platform System?
It's not too confusing. It's based on features, and we don't have to buy additional licenses.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Analytics Platform System?
We need better real-time analytics capabilities. It's a bit challenging for us. Moreover, there are some permission limitations.
How does Amazon Redshift compare with Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
Amazon Redshift is very fast, has a very good response time, and is very user-friendly. The initial setup is very straightforward. This solution can merge and integrate well with many different dat...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
The product is easy to use, and anybody can easily migrate to advanced DB.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics?
We use an enterprise-level subscription for Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics. I would rate our satisfaction with the price around five, as I have not focused much on cost aspects presently.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft APS, MS Analytics Platform System
Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Microsoft Azure SQL DW, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, MS Azure Synapse Analytics
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Transport for London, E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH & Co. KG, Prometeia, Tangerine, SSM Health Care, Service Corporation International
Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Analytics Platform System vs. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.