Databricks Reviews

We are building internal tools and custom models for predictive analysis. We are currently building a platform where we can integrate multiple data sources, such as data that is coming from Azure, AWS, or any SQL database. We integrate the data and run our models on top of that.

We primarily use Databricks for data processing and for SQL databases.

I found that PySpark is the most useful tool. It uses in-memory calculation and when you want to run a model it does it very quickly. We used to use Python and when we migrated to PySpark the performance was much better.

It would be very helpful if Databricks could integrate with platforms in addition to Azure.

Having an open-source version or having the option to get a trial version of Databricks would be very helpful.

It would be very useful for beginners if there were tutorials and examples on how to write code for PySpark, R, or Scala. Having examples would give people something to refer to and play with.

We have been using Databricks for the past two or three years.

A couple of times I faced an issue where a long-running process was consuming a lot of time and then stopped abruptly. It necessitated starting the process again.

We are in the prototyping stage so we do not plan on increasing our usage yet.

We have not been in contact with technical support.

Before using Databricks, we were running our own cluster with a web server that executed our Python queries.

The initial setup is straightforward. With respect to deployment, the development can be done within half an hour and we can use code and deploy from there.

We implemented Databricks on our own. We haven't deployed as such, as we are just running our queries and it is not in production yet.

I work in the data science field and I found Databricks to be very useful. If I want to run any models then I can code them in PySpark. If you are coming from a Python background then you can write code in PySpark and it runs quickly. This is a good solution in terms of performance. 

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We use the product as a data science platform that enables me to handle and analyze large datasets efficiently.

Databricks can switch easily between cloud providers, such as Azure and GCP. It allows seamless integration with various data platforms and cloud providers, facilitating better data handling and analysis.

The product could be improved regarding the delay when switching to higher-performing virtual machines compared to other platforms like Snowflake. The ease and speed of managing clusters can also be enhanced, especially when scaling up resources. They could add more advanced data storage solutions like Iceberg and Delta files.

I have been using Databricks for approximately two years.

I rate the product stability a seven out of ten. 

I rate the product scalability an eight. 

The technical support services are good. 

Positive

The initial setup was straightforward. However, configuring policies could have been simpler.

The product pricing is moderate. 

I evaluated other options, including Snowflake, before choosing Databricks.

Databricks is a robust solution for big data processing, offering flexibility and powerful features. While there are areas for improvement, especially in performance and cluster management, it remains a highly valuable tool in my data science toolkit.

 I rate it a seven. 

I primarily use the solution in two conditions: machine learning and big data computing.

The pricing of Databricks could be cheaper. The solution can also improve by providing more intelligence to the coder.

I have been using Databricks for the past two years.

The solution is stable. I would rate the stability a seven out of ten.

The scalability depends on the project. At present, around 20 people use the solution in my company.

The setup was straightforward. It also depends on the projects.

The deployment process was automated.

Evaluating solutions is not my work. I depend on Databricks.

I rate Databricks a seven out of ten.

I am using Databricks for creating business intelligence solutions.

The most valuable feature of Databricks is the integration with Microsoft Azure.

Databricks can improve by making the documentation better.

I have been using Databricks for approximately one year.

Databricks is stable.

The scalability of Databricks is good.

We have approximately 500 users using this solution in my organization.

I have not used the support from Databricks.

We previously used Microsoft stacks. We chose Databricks because the processing power was better and it was a better fit for our use case.

The initial setup of Databricks was not straightforward. We had to do trial and error and we learned as we went along.

I rate the initial setup of Databricks a four out of five.

We did the implementation of Databricks in-house. The solution requires ongoing maintenance.

I would recommend this solution to others.

My advice to others is for them to first do a small proof of concept and then see how it works out and then take it from there.

I rate Databricks an eight out of ten.

My company is a customer of Databricks. We use Data Science products for machine learning, engineering, and data preparation.

We have between five and eight people working on coding in Databricks. Indirectly, we have 1500 people consuming the data. We have plans to increase the usage of data bricks by 30% next year.

The capacity of use of the different types of coding is valuable. Databricks also has good performance because it is running in spark extra storage, meaning the performance and the capacity use different kinds of codes.

Databricks does not always have clear updates. Often we find an update in the tool but we are not really sure what has changed. We would appreciate better communication from Databricks. It could be in the form of a friendly warning that talks about the updates. 

There would also be benefits if more options were available for workers, or the clusters of the two points.

I have been using Databricks for two years.

Databricks is stable, however, we do find some errors and don't understand what has happened. Usually, they are resolved within a few minutes. I would say it is 95% stable.

Scalability is really good.

I have not had to contact Databrick's support other than through the deployment, which they helped a lot. 

The initial setup of Databricks is straightforward and simple. It is not complex because they provide a lot of documentation. The deployment was fast, it took less than three days with five people assigned to the task.

We implemented in-house. It is difficult to find a good consultant or reseller for Databricks in Brazil.

We pay monthly on a pay as you go plan.

With Databricks, you may have a lot of devices. It is important to use each cluster for each kind of process and then not use the small clusters. Using the bigger cluster you will receive better performance and the use is closer and will save you money. 

It is important to code it in parts because if you code it all in full you could find some problems with performance.

I would rate Databricks a 9 out of 10.

Databricks can be used for large-scale data pre-processing and data transformations.

The solution is easy to use and has a quick start-up time due to being on the cloud.

The solution could improve by providing better automation capabilities. For example, working together with more of a DevOps approach, such as continuous integration. There is a lot of code from places, such as GitHub, but it is not tailored for Databricks. It requires a lot of effort to bring the code to a level where it can be used with Databricks capabilities.

I have been using Databricks for two months.

The solution is stable.

Databricks is scalable.

We did not have a need to use technical support.

The installation is straightforward, and it took approximately one hour.

We did the implementation and maintenance of the solution ourselves using approximately three engineers.

The solution requires a subscription.

We are evaluating other solutions.

I would recommend this solution for those wanting to process large data sets, but if it is to be used for smaller data sets, I would not recommend it.

I rate Databricks a five out of ten.

We are a consulting house and we employ solutions based on our customers' needs. We don't generally use products internally.

I am a certified data engineer from Microsoft and have worked on the Azure platform, which is why I have experience with Databricks. Now that Microsoft has launched Synapse, I think that there will be more use cases.

You can spin up an Azure Databricks clustered, and integrating with it is seamless.

The integration with Python and the notebooks really helps.

There is definitely room for improvement.

This is the type of solution where you need to have people with technical expertise to use it.  Other products are self-service and can be employed by end-users. Databricks is not geared towards the end-user, but rather it is for data engineers or data scientists. I'm not sure whether Databricks is working towards it, or not.

It would be nice if it were more user-friendly, where you don't have to rely on Power BI or a visualization tool. I know that there is integration in the notebook where you can do it, but still, the relationships and semantics make it more difficult. It would be better to do it right in Databricks. You could put them within the portal and I don't have to log out and bring that into Power BI and then visualize.

We have not done any major implementation yet, although I think it's stable to an extent. I can't comment on it in terms of benchmark and experiencing any issues. It works seamlessly in the places where I've used it.

Our implementations have been small and we haven't needed to scale as of yet. 

Databricks can help you to build a data lake, and it's something that they need to help make more popular. People are slowly understanding it because if you look, there are lots of data lakes that people are trying to create. I'm not intimate with it, but the concept seems complicated. I think they need to write up something where videos can explain it better. What I have seen on YouTube is quite complicated for an end-user to understand.

The initial setup is easy. It's not difficult when you are used to Azure.

I am based in South Africa, where it is expensive adapting to the cloud, and then there is the price for the tool itself. 

The cost is difficult to estimate. I've got customers who went to the cloud and then they realized that the costs were more, compared to what they used to be on-premises. Also, because our exchange rate is so weak, I would always advocate that prices being lower is better, although I don't know how feasible it is.

From a purely technical perspective, I would rate Databricks and eight out of ten. However, there is a failure in terms of user adoption. After I look at other products, including Synapse, those are better. I still feel that Databricks is quite complicated for the average person.

I would rate this solution a five out of ten.

We are still exploring the solution. We utilize it much, much better than their star schema models that they are trying to replace it with. We bring in Databricks and then see how they can leverage the additional analytical functionalities around the Databricks cloud. It's more in exploratory ways. We recommend Databricks, especially with the Azure cloud frameworks.

Pricing is one of the things that could be improved.

Also, there could be improvement in the visual analytics space there and on the machine learning functions. I haven't explored so I don't know about the functions and features that are there. If it is not there, then I think that's something which they should consider including.

My team has been exploring Databricks for close to five or six months.

I haven't heard about any major stability issues. At this time I feel like it's stable.

In terms of scalability, I think once we put it across for larger use-cases the scalability question will really arise. So we'll need detailed information. I assume that we will be able to scale up.

I think we do not have more than 10 people working on it now. Because we are in the earlier stages of implementation, it's more like a POC now. I really don't know whether it's been open for the larger audience yet.

The initial setup was straightforward.

It is better to be installed with the help of integrators, or consultants, or with an experienced team.

It's more data scientists using Databricks. I would call them power users trying to see how they can get a hand on it, though they are not data scientists. They try to understand it a little bit better for their future use.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate it an eight, easy.