SQL Server vs Teradata comparison

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SQL Server

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024

SQL Server and Teradata are prominent database management systems that compete in the business solutions category. Teradata often has an advantage due to its robust features, particularly in large data environments, whereas SQL Server is preferred for cost-effectiveness and integration capabilities.

Features: SQL Server is favored for its cost-effectiveness, integration with Microsoft tools, and efficient handling of relational data. Users find SQL Server appealing for smaller workloads due to its competitiveness in price and accessibility. Teradata excels in scalability, complex analytical tasks, and performance in large data environments, making it an ideal choice for enterprises with significant data processing needs.

Room for Improvement: SQL Server could enhance performance in handling large data volumes and needs improvement in cloud integration and speed for more extensive environments. Teradata users feel that simplifying its complex setup, improving user training, and streamlining certain operations would benefit its user base. Despite these points for improvement, Teradata demonstrates substantial capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SQL Server deployment is straightforward, particularly advantageous in Windows environments, benefiting from broad support accessibility. Teradata showcases strong deployment flexibility but requires specialized knowledge for setup. Customer feedback suggests SQL Server often provides a more user-friendly experience.

Pricing and ROI: SQL Server is generally viewed as more cost-effective, with lower initial setup costs and strong returns for small to medium-sized workloads. Teradata, despite higher initial costs, is seen as delivering substantial ROI for enterprises with high-volume data processing and complex analytical tasks. The pricing models and expected returns vary significantly based on organizational needs and scale.

To learn more, read our detailed SQL Server vs. Teradata Report (Updated: October 2024).

SQL Server vs. Teradata

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Categories and Ranking

SQL Server

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

266

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Teradata

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Customer Experience Management (3rd), Backup and Recovery (20th), Data Integration (17th), Data Warehouse (3rd), BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (10th), Marketing Management (6th), Cloud Data Warehouse (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of SQL Server is 22.0%, down from 23.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Teradata is 5.2%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

AhmadTalha

Product owner at Digitt Plus (AFT)

Mar 20, 2024

A robust and secure solution that helps to store data

SQL Server is essentially the backbone of every microservice. From a developer's perspective, it is the backbone of all microservices. The tool enables data retrieval, set data, and essential operations, ensuring the smooth functioning of applications. In essence, it is the integral part that keeps…

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SurjitChoudhury

Data engineer at Cocos pt

Feb 20, 2024

Offers seamless integration capabilities and performance optimization features, including extensive indexing and advanced tuning capabilities

We created and constructed the warehouse. We used multiple loading processes like MultiLoad, FastLoad, and Teradata Pump. But those are loading processes, and Teradata is a powerful tool because if we consider older technologies, its architecture with nodes, virtual processes, and nodes is a unique concept. Later, other technologies like Informatica also adopted the concept of nodes from Informatica PowerCenter version 7.x. Previously, it was a client-server architecture, but later, it changed to the nodes concept. Like, we can have the database available 24/7, 365 days. If one node fails, other nodes can take care of it. Informatica adopted all those concepts when it changed its architecture. Even Oracle databases have since adapted their architecture to them. However, this particular Teradata company initially started with its own different type of architecture, which major companies later adopted. It has grown now, but initially, whatever query we sent it would be mapped into a particular component. After that, it goes to the virtual processor and down to the disk, where the actual physical data is loaded. So, in between, there's a map, which acts like a data dictionary. It also holds information about each piece of data, where it's loaded, and on which particular virtual processor or node the data resides. Because Teradata comes with a four-node architecture, or however many nodes we choose, the cost is determined by that initially. So, what type of data does each and every node hold? It's a shared-no architecture. So, whatever task is given to a virtual processor it will be processed. If there's a failure, then it will be taken care of by another virtual processor. Moreover, this solution has impacted the query time and data performance. In Teradata, there's a lot of joining, partitioning, and indexing of records. There are primary and secondary indexes, hash indexing, and other indexing processes. To improve query performance, we first analyze the query and tune it. If a join needs a secondary index, which plays a major role in filtering records, we might reconstruct that particular table with the secondary index. This tuning involves partitioning and indexing. We use these tools and technologies to fine-tune performance. When it comes to integration, tools like Informatica seamlessly connect with Teradata. We ensure the Teradata database is configured correctly in Informatica, including the proper hostname and properties for the load process. We didn't find any major complexity or issues with integration. But, these technologies are quite old now. With newer big data technologies, we've worked with a four-layer architecture, pulling data from Hadoop Lake to Teradata. We configure Teradata with the appropriate hostname and credentials, and use BTEQ queries to load data. Previously, we converted the data warehouse to a CLD model as per Teradata's standardized procedures, moving from an ETL to an EMT process. This allowed us to perform gap analysis on missing entities based on the model and retrieve them from the source system again. We found Teradata integration straightforward and compatible with other tools.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"One of the most valuable features of SQL Server is that it's easy to use."

"The most valuable aspect is the ability to utilize jobs and various functions to accomplish specific tasks, which cannot be achieved with standard procedures alone. This allows for a combination of features and functionalities to be employed."

"One of the things I most like about SQL Server is the log shipping piece. This is a great feature."

"The performance is reliable."

"The solution has the capability to scale."

"SQL Server's Management Studio is very user friendly. I like their database and the additional features it offers. It's also easy to integrate SQL Server with things like CLR, PowerShell, and command shell"

"The most valuable aspect of the solution is that it's integrated with the Visual Studio and also with Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. It's a tool they have and it's quite easy to use and understand. It's the interface for programming for SQL Services."

More SQL Server pros

"Teradata has good performance, the response times are very fast. Overall the solution is easy to use. When we do the transformation, we have all of our staging and aggregation data available."

"The performance is great, we are able to query our data in one operation."

"It is a stable program."

"It's a pre-configured appliance that requires very little in terms of setting-up."

"The product's scalability is great. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"The solution scales well on the cloud."

"It effectively has allowed us to remove over 20 portion copies of the data sets on other DB platforms for real-time operational reporting purposes."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

More Teradata pros

Cons

"SQL Server could improve the integration with nonrational database solutions, such as MongoDB."

"I have experience working with SQL Server 2016 and older versions, including handling JSON data. Initially, I found the JSON capabilities to be less helpful, but over time, they have greatly improved. SQL Server now offers extensive capabilities for working with various forms of data, particularly when communicating with text, such as in JSON format. I particularly prefer working with these features on Azure, as it provides numerous possibilities, especially in the field of business intelligence (BI). Additionally, the serverless platform offered by Azure is highly beneficial and makes tasks easier to manage."

"The price could be better. It costs a lot, and competing databases like Postgres are free."

"SQL Server could integrate better with other platforms."

"It would be better if it had more integration with other systems."

"I would like to see the integration with other platforms improved in the future."

"I would like to have the option to use fewer processors for certain tasks, thus reducing the licensing fee."

"The performance is not always the best."

More SQL Server cons

"Their level of technical support is adequate. It could be better."

"The increasing volumes of data demand more and more performance."

"I would like more security and speed."

"Teradata's UI could be more user-friendly."

"Data synchronization to the DR site."

"The primary challenge with Teradata lies in its cost structure, encompassing subscription fees, software licenses, and hardware expenses."

"Teradata's pricing is quite high compared to Redshift, Synapse, or GCP alternatives."

"Stability-wise, we have had some issues with automation and the ability to handle large datasets."

More Teradata cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We purchased our license and the pricing is fine for us."

"The price of the solution is very expensive. If I went with the cloud version of SQL a license would cost me approximately 11,000 Riyals per month."

"It is expensive in terms of licensing costs and pricing. If you want to scale SQL Server, it is very expensive. We probably have to pay extra for technical support. We also have to pay for the license of Windows on which the SQL Server resides, which is an extra cost."

"This is a very cheap product."

"This solution is available at a much lower price point than Oracle."

"I would rate the tool's pricing a six out of ten. It is not extremely cheap but also it's not the most expensive product."

"SQL Server offers three versions. You can get a free trial for 30 days."

"The product's price is reasonable."

More SQL Server pricing and cost advice

"We are looking for a more flexible cost model for the next version that we use, whether it be cloud or on-premise."

"The cost of running Teradata is quite high, but you get a good return on investment."

"We had a lot of parties involved when purchasing from the AWS Marketplace. They are very flexible and aggressive in trying to close the deal. They are good at what they have to offer and listening to the customer. It's a two-way street."

"The solution requires a license."

"It is still a very expensive solution. While I very much like the pure technological supremacy of the software itself, I believe Teradata as a company needs to become more affordable. They are already losing the market to more flexible or cheaper competitors."

"Teradata's licensing is on the expensive side."

"When looking into implementing this product, pricing is the main issue followed by technical expertise."

"Make sure you have the in-house skills to design and support the solution, as relying on external sources is extremely costly and tends to lock you into specific platforms, tools, and paradigms."

More Teradata pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user232068

Senior Data Architect at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 5, 2015

Netezza vs. Teradata

Original published at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-i-choose-net Two leading Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) architectures for Data Warehousing (DW) are IBM PureData System for Analytics (formerly Netezza) and Teradata. I thought talking about the similarities and differences…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

49%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

26%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?

SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...

Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?

SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...

Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?

My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...

Comparing Teradata and Oracle Database, which product do you think is better and why?

I have spoken to my colleagues about this comparison and in our collective opinion, the reason why some people may declare Teradata better than Oracle is the pricing. Both solutions are quite simi...

Which companies use Teradata and who is it most suitable for?

Before my organization implemented this solution, we researched which big brands were using Teradata, so we knew if it would be compatible with our field. According to the product's site, the comp...

Is Teradata a difficult solution to work with?

Teradata is not a difficult product to work with, especially since they offer you technical support at all levels if you just ask. There are some features that may cause difficulties - for example,...

Oracle Database vs SQL Server

Comparisons

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MariaDB vs SQL Server

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LocalDB vs SQL Server

Compared 10% of the time

Compared 10% of the time

Amazon Aurora vs SQL Server

Compared 6% of the time

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Oracle Exadata vs Teradata

Compared 13% of the time

Snowflake vs Teradata

Compared 9% of the time

MySQL vs Teradata

Compared 8% of the time

Vertica vs Teradata

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs Teradata

Compared 5% of the time

More Teradata Competitors

Product Reports

SQL Server

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Also Known As

Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL

IntelliFlex, Aster Data Map Reduce, , QueryGrid, Customer Interaction Manager, Digital Marketing Center, Data Mover, Data Stream Architecture

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Microsoft

Overview

SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) by Microsoft. The product's main purposes are to store data and retrieve it as requested by other software applications - on the same computer or on another computer across a shared network. The solution is built on top of Structured Query Language (SQL), which is a standardized programming language used for relational database management.

The product is tied to Transact-SQL (T-SQL), which is an implementation of SQL from Microsoft that adds several proprietary programming extensions to the standard language. SQL Server is built similarly to other RDBMS products, as its structure is a row-based table that connects related data elements in different tables to one another. One of its most important components is the SQL Server Database Engine, as it controls data processing, storage, and security. Beneath the Database Engine is the SQL Server Operating System, which is used for memory and I/O management, locking data to avoid unneeded upgrades, and job scheduling.

The solution has four editions with different sets of services and tools. They include:

SQL Server Developer
SQL Server Expression
SQL Server Standard
SQL Server Enterprise

The first two are available for free and are typically utilized by smaller companies, as they work with fewer functions and storage. The second two editions are generally used by bigger organizations and enterprises and offer more features.

The solution has several functions through which users can facilitate different data-related processes. These include:

Aggregate functions: These functions are used to calculate one or more values and return a single value.
Window functions: Window functions calculate an aggregate value based on a group of rows and return multiple rows for each involved group.
Date functions: These functions allow clients to handle data and time data efficiently.
String functions: Through the string functions, SQL Server processes an input string and returns a string or numeric value.
System functions: The system functions of the product return objects, values, and settings.

SQL Server Services

SQL Server has a wide range of add-on services that provide additional benefits beyond database management. These services include:

Machine learning: SQL Server machine learning services allow users to do machine learning and data analytics within the product.
Service broker: This feature is a part of the database engine and offers messaging and message queuing for applications on the platform.
Replication: This feature consists of transaction replication, merge replication, and snapshot replication.
Analysis: SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) adds online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining capabilities to SQL Server databases.
Reporting: This feature supports the development of custom reporting applications.
Notifications: This feature generates data-driven notifications which are sent to subscribers of Notification Services.
Integration: This SQL Server feature provides capabilities for data integration, data import, and data warehousing.
Full-text search: Through this feature, users can utilize specialized indexing and query for unstructured text stored in the solution.
Visual studio: This feature supports data programming with SQL Server.
Azure Data Studio: This is a cross-platform query editor that can be downloaded and used alongside SQL Server.

SQL Server Benefits

The solution has many benefits for users. These include the following:

The platform ensures a consistent experience across other platforms while being fast and agile.
Through the built-in intelligence features, users can understand their data better.
The solution has enterprise-level security, which ensures the smooth and safe performance of users' data.
SQL Server offers the ability to retrieve large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.
The product installation process is fairly easy, and it offers a user-friendly interface.
SQL Server offers improved data storage and retrieval functions through frequent upgrades.
The solution reduces the risk of database server attacks, since it is not an open-source database.

Reviews from Real Users

A president at a consultancy evaluates SQL Server as a veteran solution with critical log shipping feature.

Harkamal S., a user at a manufacturing company, rates SQL Server with a high mark because it is a stable, scalable, and easy-to-deploy solution that pretty much covers everything.

Teradata is a scalable data analytics platform designed to meet enterprise demands for large-scale data management and processing, focusing on performance, scalability, and security for complex query executions.

As a leading data warehousing solution, Teradata integrates advanced analytics enabling organizations to derive insights from massive datasets. It supports high-volume data workloads with its architecture optimized for analytical queries. Users benefit from its robust scalability, allowing seamless expansion as data grows. Teradata's SQL engine is compatible with a wide range of data types, ensuring flexibility in data analysis. With advanced security measures, it protects sensitive data across various environments, providing peace of mind to users handling critical information.

What are the most important features of Teradata?

Linear Scalability: Easily expands data processing capabilities to handle increasing data loads without performance degradation.
Advanced Analytics: Supports complex analytical operations integrating machine learning and AI for predictive insights.
SQL Compatibility: Offers a comprehensive SQL interface that supports complex queries across diverse data types.
Data Security: Implements rigorous security protocols to protect data integrity and confidentiality.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Decision-Making: Derive actionable insights quickly for strategic business decisions.
Cost Efficiency: Optimized resource usage reduces operational costs associated with data processing.
Increased Productivity: Streamlined data operations save time, allowing teams to focus on analysis.
Enhanced Scalability: Seamless growth without significant additional investment as data volumes increase.

Teradata is widely used in industries like finance, telecommunications, and healthcare, where data-driven decisions are critical. Companies leverage its robust analytics capabilities to enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. In these sectors, quick access to data insights can significantly impact competitive advantage.

Sample Customers

Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.

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SQL Server vs. Teradata