Azure has multiple use cases. Organizations can use it for hosting infrastructure, for example. There are cloud services that you can utilize. The main purpose of the cloud is that you don't need to set up your own data center, and then you can just use the cloud platforms provided by Azure or AWS, or any other cloud. They all serve the same purpose.
Program Solution Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Stable and easy to use with good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "It's easy to use in terms of their portal, which is very nicely organized."
- "Their availability in the Middle East and Asia regions needs to improve."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution is a stable product. It has a lot of out-of-the-box services. It provides a lot of services that we would typically have to provision on-premise.
It's easy to use in terms of their portal, which is very nicely organized.
It's a good platform all in all.
The solution has proven to be quite scalable.
We've found the solution to be stable.
Technical support from Microsoft is very good.
What needs improvement?
The solution should start covering more regions in Gulf countries and other regions. This is due to the fact that other cloud providers are not locally available. Yet this is what people require here. Their availability in the Middle East and Asia regions needs to improve.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a couple of years at this point. It's been a while.
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Microsoft Azure SQL Database
October 2025

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've found the solution to be very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is quite scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with relative ease.
I'm from a technology provider. We provision these services and provide them to other clients. One of the infrastructure environments which we are provisioning on Azure would be used by probably approximately 8,000 to 10,000 users.
In terms of if we plan to continue usage or not, we are just building it on Azure right now. So it will be live in a year or two, something like this.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is really good. Microsoft support is pretty knowledgeable and responsive. We are happy with the level of service we receive from them.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is a cloud product. You don't need to install anything. There is no installation process to deal with.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
All products are licensed. The cost depends on someone's usage space. The more you use it, the more you pay. Some are billed in terms of fixed cost. For example, if I provision some work with a machine that I pay for it, even if I don't use it. There are multiple ways you could potentially pay.
What other advice do I have?
We are partners.
We are working on the latest version of the solution.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
I would recommend the solution. There are not many cloud providers. Azure and AWS are some of the top providers. These are the two which compete with each other, and both of them have good services. That said, I would recommend Azure for sure.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner

Consultor Senior at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
A great cloud solution, technically very good and easy to use on any platform
Pros and Cons
- "Very easy to use on any platform and works well."
- "The solution lacks feedback tools."
What is our primary use case?
I'm in charge of the development of our IT solution and I am an implementer of Azure.
What is most valuable?
I started with Azure SQL because it's a cheaper solution. It's a good cloud solution, very easy to use on any platform and works well. Technically it's very good.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have more tools for feedback. I find that there are a lot of things offered in other solutions that don't exist in Azure SQL. There are also tricky commercial issues. When you use Google or Amazon, you know exactly how much you will pay. With Microsoft solutions, you don't know, it's very unclear and impossible to get anyone on the phone.
How are customer service and technical support?
It's the commercial support that is lacking with Microsoft.
What other advice do I have?
From a commercial perspective, I would rate this solution very low. From a technical perspective, I rate the product an eight out of 10.
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 does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
October 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Azure SQL Database. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
871,469 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Data Architect at ACPAS Loan Management Software
Affordable, scalable, and stable with valuable Azure Portal
Pros and Cons
- "Azure Portal is most valuable."
- "Service Broker should be added in Azure Cloud. Service Broker is currently available only in the on-premises version."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for processing financial transactions. We have its latest version.
What is most valuable?
Azure Portal is most valuable.
What needs improvement?
Service Broker should be added in Azure Cloud. Service Broker is currently available only in the on-premises version.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We have six users and two people in our technical team for its deployment.
How are customer service and technical support?
I haven't used their support. I have only used the online material, and that's complete.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used PostgreSQL, which was on-premises.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It requires a license. As compared to its competitors, such as Oracle, it is affordable and reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate SQL Azure a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior IT Manager at a pharma/biotech company with 1-10 employees
Easy to use, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Its easy usage is the most valuable."
- "It can have more dashboards for monitoring, which would naturally help a lot. Other than that, everything is okay."
What is our primary use case?
We normally use it for development and other services. We have on-premises as well as cloud deployments, but it is mostly deployed on the cloud.
What is most valuable?
Its easy usage is the most valuable.
What needs improvement?
It can have more dashboards for monitoring, which would naturally help a lot. Other than that, everything is okay.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for the last ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is definitely stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable because it is in Azure. We have around 50 to 60 developers who access it.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have contacted their technical support. Sometimes, we take support from Microsoft, and sometimes, we take support from our partner.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have been a partner of Microsoft, so we have been using Microsoft solutions.
How was the initial setup?
It was easy to install. There was not much challenge with the setup.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. I would rate SQL Azure an eight 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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
General Manager/MVP at Yotta Infrastructure Solutions LLP
A simpler database than its competitors
Pros and Cons
- "SQL is a simpler database. We use it more than other databases."
- "The price is a little higher."
What is most valuable?
We use it for a few databases that are deployed for our own purposes.
SQL is a simpler database. We use it more than other databases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Azure for three to four months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We haven't had any issues with performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are only three users who use it. Once we are more comfortable we will give it to more users. My technology team uses it.
How are customer service and technical support?
Microsoft technical support is good.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is reasonable for a big enterprise. The price is a little higher. It should have a 20% discount.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate SQL Azure an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Co-Founder & Managing Director at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
A scalable solution for storing relational data in the cloud
Pros and Cons
- "I am very happy with this solution; right now, I don't think there is anything I would change."
- "The only problem we have with Azure is regarding the price."
What is our primary use case?
I use SQL Azure strictly for active data rescue.
All of my work is stored in the Microsoft Azure Cloud.
I am working on a special product with another person — it's a secret product, so, unfortunately, I can't talk about it.
What needs improvement?
I am very happy with this solution; right now, I don't think there is anything I would change.
More power should be included between the upgrades. We started with a less costly service but we needed more power. We paid a lot and upgraded but we still needed more power. The power should increase more between each upgrade.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Azure for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Azure is both very stable and scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never had to contact customer support. There are several educational sites that I pay for that supply me with help.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straightforward. It's online, so I didn't need to install anything. I just had to choose options and activate them.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
How much we pay is determined by how much we upgrade or downgrade our services. If you downgrade the service you pay less if you upgrade the services you pay more.
Microsoft has a cheap license for developers. Still, it was expensive for us because we are not a company, and we don't use crowdfunding, we used our own money to pay for the license.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend SQL Azure to others.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of ten.
Right now, with Azure, we have everything we need. The only problem we have with Azure is regarding the price.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Chief Operating Officer at humancloud
A scalable platform with a lot of information and good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "Their technical support is the most valuable."
- "There is so much information that it becomes confusing at times. The information can be more friendly. They could also provide additional training, especially at the beginning."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for a database.
What is most valuable?
Their technical support is the most valuable.
What needs improvement?
There is so much information that it becomes confusing at times. The information can be more friendly. They could also provide additional training, especially at the beginning.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Azure for the last two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is indeed scalable. We have around five people using it, and we plan to scale it.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is good.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend SQL Azure. It is a good platform to use, and it has a lot of information, whatever you want.
I would rate SQL Azure an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Data Analyst at a tech company with 51-200 employees
It is fast for replicating the data, but it is expensive
Pros and Cons
- "It is very fast in replicating the data from one database to another. We do some extractions from multiple databases to a target database that we use for visualization. It has a good speed."
- "It is a little bit expensive for us. They can improve the price. It would also be very helpful if they can offer some free trial."
What is our primary use case?
It is a transactional system. We use it to visualize financial transactions, such as cash in, cash out, in real time.
What is most valuable?
It is very fast in replicating the data from one database to another. We do some extractions from multiple databases to a target database that we use for visualization. It has a good speed.
What needs improvement?
It is a little bit expensive for us. They can improve the price. It would also be very helpful if they can offer some free trial.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. Around 14 developers in our company use it. They are responsible for business intelligence and databases.
How are customer service and technical support?
I never contacted them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used MySQL.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It was not a big deal. It took a few minutes for features like .NET.
What about the implementation team?
I installed it on my own.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is expensive for us. We are looking for something less expensive and thinking of migrating the whole system.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate SQL Azure a seven out of ten. In terms of experience, it is a very good product, but it is a little bit expensive.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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Updated: October 2025
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