We normally use Cosmos DB for data storage.
Developer at NA
A solution that is scalable and easy to integrate new features into
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to use, and it is also easy to integrate with several things for database use cases."
- "I would like the speed of transferring data to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
There are a lot of security features that can be integrated with Cosmos DB. The solution is easy to use, and it is also easy to integrate with several things for database use cases.
What needs improvement?
I would like the speed of transferring data to be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I’ve been using it for two to three years, and I’m working on the latest version.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. We have more than 1,000 users in our company.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. We deploy Cosmos DB once or twice a quarter. We have three or four teams handling deployment and maintenance, which is about 38 members.
What about the implementation team?
We implement the solution in-house.
What was our ROI?
We are receiving an ROI with this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cost isn’t a big hurdle for us right now. The solution is not costly.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB to anyone who wants to use it. If you are using Azure Stack, it is a good solution to use
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solution Sales Architect at Softline
Provides flexibility from a cost and data perspective
Pros and Cons
- "With Azure you can start small and grow as you need."
- "A couple features that would help me in architectural solutions would be customizable architecture or customizable documentation, which both Microsoft Azure or Microsoft Teams can provide."
What is our primary use case?
My current title is that of a Solution Sales Architect.
What is most valuable?
The biggest benefit of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is the general cloud model that Azure gives you. It provides more flexibility from a cost and data perspective. The solution is reasonable. Microsoft gives the best security solutions with zero trust protection.
With Azure, you can start small and grow as you need.
What needs improvement?
I provide architect solutions on top of Azure. A couple of features that would help me in architectural solutions would be customizable architecture or customizable documentation, which both Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Teams can provide. I can easily pick and choose a couple of architecture and merge them. This would be a very helpful feature for me in my role.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have had five years of experience working with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable. I rarely receive concerns from my clients that they are facing any downtime or that some solutions or configurations are not working.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Azure cloud is very much scalable however, you do need to consider your database. If I am scaling the product, the traffic will increase and the database also has to be optimized in that way.
My application is static, so it can be scaled to infinity, but the same cannot be done with the database. The database needs to be sufficient to get the load directly. I cannot go ahead and directly deploy a database with another skill functionality as I have to do some manual effort with downtime involved.
From a scalability perspective, the key database has to be optimized in a better way that can support auto-scaling architecture or scalability architecture.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Azure is a pay as you go subscription. Each month you utilize the solution and at the end of the month, based upon your utilization, you will get a report and invoice. It depends on the architecture and the services being used, how they are deployed and what the stories are. It is variable.
What other advice do I have?
My general advice to anyone looking to implement Microsoft Azure would be to start small. When you see your application increase or your traffic increase on site, you can slowly scale.
I would rate the solution a seven out of 10 overall.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Consultant at Rpc Data
Straightforward to set up, stable, easy to use, and well-compliments a solution that includes a relational database
Pros and Cons
- "Cosmos DB is stable and easy to use."
- "Better documentation on how to integrate with other components would be helpful because I was struggling with this."
What is our primary use case?
Cosmos DB is a non-relational, NoSQL database. We are a solution provider and we implement this product for our clients. It is used for integrating and managing unstructured data such as videos, pictures, and other big objects that you cannot include in a standard database tablet. It is made for these kinds of activities.
Some of our customers include banks, where together with their main relational database, it provides a place for keeping track of unstructured data. The relational database is used to store the regular data, whereas Cosmos DB stores what is unstructured.
I also use this product for my own purposes.
What is most valuable?
Cosmos DB is stable and easy to use.
What needs improvement?
Better documentation on how to integrate with other components would be helpful because I was struggling with this. For example, I had trouble finding information on how to integrate with other Microsoft components. Also, consider a situation where you want to use Cosmos DB to manage the uploading of data to your website. Information on how to do things like this should be readily available.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for less than a month.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cloud-based solutions like Cosmos DB are quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable product. When I originally used it on the cloud, Microsoft Azure, I tried changing a lot of things such as increasing the memory to see how it performed. The response was quite good.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good and they are responsive.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to Cosmos DB, was using MySQL, but it isn't a non-relational database.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It was complete in about five minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed it myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a licensing fee.
What other advice do I have?
This is a good product and I recommend it, especially in cases where people want to keep their information outside of the organization and on the cloud.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Cloud Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Has good scaling abilities and good automatic performance
Pros and Cons
- "I like the scalability. There aren't any constraints for posting in the geolocation. I also like the SQL architecture."
- "The query is a little complex. SQL server should have more options. But the query should be better."
What is our primary use case?
We have a lot of use cases like for the web API backend where we have most of the processing jobs. It supports mobile, browser, and tablet. We have a single face application that interacts with the users and customers. It's backend and frontend architecture. For middleware, we use Kafka integration. We have PowerBI for reporting.
What is most valuable?
I like the scalability. There aren't any constraints for posting in the geolocation. I also like the SQL architecture.
What needs improvement?
The query is a little complex. SQL server should have more options. But the query should be better.
The setup takes a bit of time but once it's done, it goes well. Backend developers need a bit of time to do the setup.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using DocumentDB for a little over a year. You can use the libraries that are available in the framework and connect to DocumentDB for your operation.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable but since we have multiple locations, if one point goes down, we can access another location easily. Most of the effort goes into the script and we use keywords to secure the accessibility and then we set up the encryption. Configuration takes time. We do it without self-script. If you do it manually, it is quite difficult but script does it in a better manner.
How are customer service and technical support?
We use our own documentation as our resource. Azure doesn't have many problems that we need to contact support except for developers who struggle to learn about SQL. They need training and to read up on the literature.
We are satisfied with their support.
How was the initial setup?
It takes time to set up and understand. Since Azure has its own table, it's not so flexible.
What other advice do I have?
Before implementing, know now how to use DocumentDB. Understand your use case. From an architecture perspective, we have a use case where we wanted to use more SQ and we used DocumentDB as the first consideration. There isn't a better SQL than DocumentDB available. Cloud provides this type of platform.
The automatic performance is also very good. We did research on the internet and decided to go with DocumentDB.
I would rate it an eight out of ten. Not a ten because there is what to be done for improvement. In the future, it should be simplified for developers so that it's not a hassle for them. There aren't many resources for SQL and DocumentDB. It may take time for more documentation to come out.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Enterprise Integration Architect at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Highly stable and scalable solution that supports databases
Pros and Cons
- "Cosmos DB is a pretty stable solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten."
- "It doesn't support all databases."
What is our primary use case?
In our accounting department, we store data in Azure Cosmos DB. We query and store IO-based data there.
What is most valuable?
I'm still in the process of exploring all the features. We're continuously adding and releasing data, so there are several apps that have been useful to me.
What needs improvement?
Since we're working in the cloud, it's not easy to incorporate all the features it supports. There is room for improvement in terms of integration with other vendors.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cosmos DB is a pretty stable solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is pretty scalable. I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
If I had to rate it based on my initial usage, I would rate it around a seven.
What about the implementation team?
The setup was done by the team. They followed a set of instructions and it was pretty straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend understanding the underlying databases like Cosmos DB, but I don't think it supports Oracle. However, it does support various other databases. If it supports the databases you need, then go for it. If it doesn't support them, there's not much you can do.
Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I'm not giving it a higher rating because it doesn't support all databases.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
It has various APIs that allow it to integrate with other solutions
Pros and Cons
- "Cosmos is a PaaS, so you don't need to worry about infrastructure and hosting. It has various APIs that allow it to integrate with other solutions. For example, we are using a MongoDB-compatible API for customers, which makes it easier for developers on the team who previously used MongoDB or are accustomed to the old document storage paradigm."
- "The API compatibility has room for improvement, particularly integration with MongoDB. You have to connect to a specific flavor of MongoDB. We'd also like a richer query capability in line with the latest Mongo features. That is one thing on our wish list. The current version is good enough for our use case, but it could be improved."
What is most valuable?
Cosmos is a PaaS, so you don't need to worry about infrastructure and hosting. It has various APIs that allow it to integrate with other solutions. For example, we are using a MongoDB-compatible API for customers, which makes it easier for developers on the team who previously used MongoDB or are accustomed to the old document storage paradigm.
What needs improvement?
The API compatibility has room for improvement, particularly integration with MongoDB. You have to connect to a specific flavor of MongoDB. We'd also like a richer query capability in line with the latest Mongo features. That is one thing on our wish list. The current version is good enough for our use case, but it could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using Cosmos DB for about six to eight months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cosmos DB's reliability, performance, and scalability are all good. We can't complain. Azure has management outages, and the management windows that Azure publishes are still too big. They provide a 24 hour period in which maintenance will happen. Smaller, specific windows are easier to manage when you have a production system. Otherwise, it does a good job technically.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the Azure platform is a given. It's easy to scale and quickly deploy. The API's richness also helped us. We use Cosmos DB for a public-facing application with upwards of a million users.
I think we have all the scalability that we need, and we like that the system doesn't have outages when it's updating. However, an on-prem version is required for some use cases, and they provide this now.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft support is good if you contact a specialist. Getting in touch with the right specialist is crucial for whatever technology you're using on Azure. If you reach the right person, it's a dream, but that can be difficult in some cases can be difficult. You might go through several layers of support before you reach the platform experts.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We haven't used another solution for this particular use case. The product was benchmarked on Azure, so we used Cosmos DB. It wasn't like we were looking at different solutions, and we chose Cosmos.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up the whole landscape took about a week. It doesn't take long. It's a PaaS, so the setup is mostly configuration. It's more like provisioning rather than deployment. You could probably set it up in a day if you wanted to. We set it up with an in-house team. About 15 to 20 people support the solution, but they aren't dedicated to Cosmos DB. They work on lots of things.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cosmos DB is a PaaS, so there are no upfront costs for infrastructure. There are only subscriptions you pay for Azure and things like that. But it's a PaaS, so it's a subscription service. The license isn't perpetual, and the cost might seem expensive on its face, but you have to look at the upkeep for infrastructure and what you're saving.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Cosmos DB eight out of 10. I would recommend it for an appropriate use case. However, you need to be aware of the system's limitations. If you're using the DocumentDB system, it's crucial to plan properly for document structure, etc. You also need to plan for failure to ensure that your system can survive when any node fails. Set up clustering, redundancy, high availability, and so on.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Associate Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Very user-friendly, easy to set up, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate."
- "It would be ideal if we could integrate Cosmos DB with our Databricks. At this point, that's not possible."
What is our primary use case?
We are strict users of Microsoft. We use it to deal with huge amounts of data. It's like Databricks and it's structured. All of the sites we have are stored in Cosmos DB.
What is most valuable?
The solution's enhanced performance is its most valuable aspect.
The product is very stable.
We've found the solution to be scalable.
The solution is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate.
The initial setup is quick and easy.
What needs improvement?
I cannot recall finding any missing features. Everything we need is pretty much there.
It would be ideal if we could integrate Cosmos DB with our Databricks. At this point, that's not possible.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for one year at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's quite reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is very good. If a company wants to expand it, it can.
Currently, we have about 80 users on the solution within our company.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've had a year of support and they've always been very good. They are helpful and responsive. We're satisfied with the level of support we receive when we need to contact them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've always used Microsoft. Previously, we just used a different deployment for Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is not complex. It's very straightforward and very easy. It hardly takes more than a few minutes to deploy the product. Everything happens very fast.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself. I did not need to hire a consultant or implementor to assist the company during the implementation process.
What other advice do I have?
I am using the latest version of the solution.
Overall, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten. I have always been very happy with its capabilities.
I would recommend the solution to other organizations.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Practice Lead Microsoft Power Platform at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
An easy-to-maintain product with good technical support services
Pros and Cons
- "It works reasonably fast. You can retain the original format of the document as received by the third-party system."
- "Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's performance could be better. In large volumes of documents, the querying process becomes slow and complicated."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for storing information from third-party systems in JSON format.
What is most valuable?
The product's most valuable feature is its ability to store documents and assets. You can execute a query over all the documents. It works reasonably fast. You can retain the original format of the document as received by the third-party system.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's performance could be better. In large volumes of documents, the querying process becomes slow and complicated. It could be faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB for three years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have enterprise businesses as our customers for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support services are good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
It is an easy-to-set-up and maintain product. The installation process involves integrating it into the pipeline. It takes a few minutes to an hour and requires five executives to implement it.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB an eight out of ten. It is useful to store original data in original format.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Updated: October 2024
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