We use the product as a database for the applications.
Chief ICT Officer at Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union Ltd
A scalable and stable solution that works as a database for applications
Pros and Cons
- "The tool helps us by being available always."
- "The tool is expensive."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The tool helps us by being available always.
What is most valuable?
We don't encounter any issues with the solution.
What needs improvement?
The tool is expensive.
Buyer's Guide
SQL Server
May 2026
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For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for the last ten years.
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 tool is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The tool is easy to install.
What was our ROI?
We have seen ROI with the tool's use.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
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.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the product an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Data Analyst at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Easy use and simple to expand with good performance
Pros and Cons
- "We found it to be quite scalable."
- "The most valuable aspect of the solution is its ease of use."
- "While using it, we really didn't experience any pain points."
What is our primary use case?
I'm a web developer, and I use SQL for the backend.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspect of the solution is its ease of use.
It's a pretty stable solution.
We found it to be quite scalable.
What needs improvement?
While using it, we really didn't experience any pain points. It doesn't need any additional features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have a couple of years of experience with the solution so far.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability and performance are good. It doesn't crash or freeze. it's not buggy. there are no glitches. It's pretty reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability has been good. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so.
How are customer service and support?
I've never used technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they would be.
What other advice do I have?
I'm not sure which version of the solution I'm using.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been satisfied with its overall capabilities in general.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
SQL Server
May 2026
Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2026.
896,387 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Testing Lead at Enstoa
Integrates well, good support, and quick deployment
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of SQL Server are the speed, great support, and it is from a known vendor."
- "The most valuable features of SQL Server are the speed, great support, and it is from a known vendor."
- "The security features of the solution could be better."
- "The security features of the solution could be better."
What is our primary use case?
We are using SQL Server for data processing.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of SQL Server are the speed, great support, and it is from a known vendor.
What needs improvement?
The security features of the solution could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used SQL Server within the past 12 months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SQL Server is a scalable solution.
We have approximately 200 users using this solution. We increase the number of users every year.
How are customer service and support?
I have not contacted their technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The process for the deployment is straightforward. It takes approximately four hours to complete.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation of SQL Server in-house. We have eight people managing the solution. The team includes managers, technicians, and administrators.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a subscription that needs to be purchased to use the solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others this is a good Microsoft solution.
I rate SQL Server a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Kurucu, Bilgisayar Programcısı at Optimus Yazılım
Easy to use and there is great value having the database engine running continually
Pros and Cons
- "It's great that the database engine is always on."
- "The solution doesn't have too many surprises and is easy to understand."
- "The solution is lacking a compound index for comparing values."
- "For Turkey, the licensing costs are too high."
What is our primary use case?
We are an independent software vendor and users of this product. I'm a company founder.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature for me is that the database engine is always on.
What needs improvement?
The solution is lacking a compound index for comparing values as you find in PostgreSQL. SQL Server doesn't support that feature so we need to build binary indexes to be able to compare those compound values. I'd also like to see AI capabilities. Oracle has a cloud solution which maintains its own indexes. If you buy a service from Oracle's cloud system, it keeps track of the queries that you have made to the database and it automatically implements its own indexes. It's such a good optimized database and I'd like to see an SQL Server that maintains its own indexes with AI capability.
I have an issue with memory support: If you create a table and a third procedure followed by an additional procedure using that third procedure, and then wish to alter the original table with the two dependent objects, you have to drop those third procedures and alter the table and recreate dependencies. Those dependencies make it impossible to work in an online environment. If there's a problem, for example, in your implementation and you have to modify a production system, for example, it can't be done. SQL Server generates DLL files in this instance and you can't change DLLs of a running program. It should be easy for them to solve.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have the issue of memory support but the solution is stable.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
For Turkey, the licensing costs are too high. Previously, independent software vendors like us would buy the license from Microsoft and resell to our customers.
For vendors it was half the retail price, but that's no longer possible. Sometimes enterprise companies buying in bulk can get licenses at a better price, but we don't have that and it's impractical for us to sell this solution.
What other advice do I have?
The solution doesn't have too many surprises and is easy to understand. It's all dependent on the architecture and implementation. Newer products use code-first solutions and I'm not sure people will continue to go down the SQL path. If I were starting my project now, I would have chosen another database.
I rate the solution eight out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Data Analyst at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Useful online community, helpful support, and powerful
Pros and Cons
- "SQL Server's most valuable features are that it is a large number of community resources to help you out. that's one, and then it is quite powerful."
- "My advice to others is SQL Server is a good tool to work with and there are a lot of community resources available to help you out in case you are stuck anywhere."
- "SQL Server backups could be better."
- "SQL Server backups could be better."
How has it helped my organization?
SQL Server has helped us make better decisions through the queries that we have built.
What is most valuable?
SQL Server's most valuable features are that it is a large number of community resources to help you out. that's one, and then it is quite powerful.
What needs improvement?
SQL Server backups could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Server for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found SQL Server to be scalable.
The solution is suitable for all-sized businesses.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support from SQL Server is quite good.
How was the initial setup?
I was satisfied with the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of SQL Server is great. In my company, SQL Server is part of the Microsoft Suite, we don't have to pay for any additional license costs, it's quite cost-effective for us.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others is SQL Server is a good tool to work with and there are a lot of community resources available to help you out in case you are stuck anywhere.
I rate SQL Server a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
Co-Founder at a logistics company with 1-10 employees
User-friendly and reasonably priced system for storing and managing information
Pros and Cons
- "Easy to implement and user-friendly relational database management system. This product is stable and scalable."
- "My advice for people looking into using SQL Server is that it's the best choice, especially for those who are beginners with databases."
- "The UX design of this system needs improvement."
- "The product needs improvement in its UX design."
What is our primary use case?
We're using SQL Server for database work.
What is most valuable?
What I find most valuable in SQL Server is that it's user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
The product needs improvement in its UX design. A newer interface is what I'd like to see in the next release of SQL Server.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with SQL Server for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server is a stable system.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SQL Server is a scalable system.
How are customer service and support?
I'm satisfied with the technical support provided by Microsoft for this product.
How was the initial setup?
SQL Server is easy to implement, especially because it's a very common system that we use in the workplace.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing for this product is very reasonable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated Oracle Database.
What other advice do I have?
SQL Server is a common product that I use on a daily basis, and I'm using its latest version. Most of my colleagues use it for database work.
200 people use this system in the company.
My advice for people looking into using SQL Server is that it's the best choice, especially for those who are beginners with databases.
My rating for SQL Server is nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Admin at IEC (Electoral Commission of South Africa)
Stable and scalable data storage for enterprise applications
Pros and Cons
- "SQL is stable."
- "SQL is our main data store for enterprise applications, all applications that we have in the organization."
- "SQL could be improved by making all features available on the on-premise version of the product as well as the cloud version. When you buy the on-premise version, it's sort of an inferior product compared to the cloud version, which seems to get most of the latest and greatest features."
- "SQL could be improved by making all features available on the on-premise version of the product as well as the cloud version. When you buy the on-premise version, it's sort of an inferior product compared to the cloud version, which seems to get most of the latest and greatest features."
What is our primary use case?
SQL is our main data store for enterprise applications, all applications that we have in the organization.
What needs improvement?
SQL could be improved by making all features available on the on-premise version of the product as well as the cloud version. When you buy the on-premise version, it's sort of an inferior product compared to the cloud version, which seems to get most of the latest and greatest features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I am satisfied with Microsoft's technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was ok, it met our requirements.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented SQL ourselves, and it took around a week to install.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Subscriptions are available on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I would give SQL a score of nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Systems Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 201-500 employees
It is easy to deploy and easy to maintain, but they should provide faster support
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to deploy and easy to maintain."
- "It is easy to deploy and easy to maintain."
- "They need to improve their support. It should be faster."
- "They need to improve their support. It should be faster."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for various applications.
What is most valuable?
It is easy to deploy and easy to maintain.
What needs improvement?
They need to improve their support. It should be faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for a couple of 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 more than a thousand users who use this solution. It is being used heavily, and we don't have any plans to increase its usage.
How are customer service and support?
Their support needs improvement. It should be faster.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't use any other solution previously. We have been using it for a long time.
How was the initial setup?
It was easy.
What about the implementation team?
I can install it myself. We also have a technical team of three admins.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its licensing is yearly. There are no additional costs. There is only the subscription license.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate it a seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Updated: May 2026
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