Network Manager at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Will be my first choice for a DBMS again in the future.
What is most valuable?
A great database management system for all size companies. SQL server is more user friendly than competitors. Provides easy installation. If you need support or research for the product, it is easy to find help online. There are 3 editions available which will meet any companies needs. Latest version is cloud ready. Offers power and flexibility.
What needs improvement?
For each additional core feature you want to add to your DBMS edition, it is more money. This is not a FREE program as most other DBMS are. So basically, the more you want, the more you pay.
What other advice do I have?
A great DBMS for organizations of all sizes. Will be my first choice for a DBMS again in the future. The installation process was simple. You will pay for this SQL Server, but don't be afraid to try the free programs also.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Developer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Performs well for our use case
Pros and Cons
- "SQL Server's performance is fine."
- "SQL Server could integrate better with other platforms."
What is our primary use case?
It's a normal DMS, so it can be used everywhere you want to use any RDBMS or relational database. It's for normal transactions.
What needs improvement?
SQL Server could integrate better with other platforms.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using SQL Server for the last six months. Earlier we used DB2, but now we use this one.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server's performance is fine.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft support is fine.
How was the initial setup?
We don't deal with the setup because we are developers. The system or admin team does all those things. So I don't have any idea.
What other advice do I have?
I rate SQL Server eight out of 10. We haven't had any issues, but it depends on the use case. So I would recommend it depending on your use case.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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November 2024
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Operations Director at ALTERSIS Performance
Flexible and easy to use but the performance could be better
Pros and Cons
- "It's a good option for those that have a lot of Microsoft solutions in use."
- "The solution needs to be more secure. It's lacking, compared to, for example, Oracle."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product for information systems. This is a must both for us. We use it for our Enterprise Portal.
What is most valuable?
The solution has proven to be very flexible.
The product is quite stable.
Overall, we've found it to be extremely easy to use.
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. It's not difficult to implement and the deployment doesn't take too long.
Technical support has been pretty good so far. They are helpful.
It's a good option for those that have a lot of Microsoft solutions in use.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs to be more secure. It's lacking, compared to, for example, Oracle.
The product needs to work on its scalability. Oracle can scale a bit more effectively.
Sometimes we have some performance issues. It's not like Oracle. Oracle is more powerful in terms of performance.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've just been dealing with the solution for a few months. It hasn't been too long just yet.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've had some performance issues overall. It's something that's a pain point for us. They need to work on their capabilities in this regard.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution could be more scalable. Oracle scales better for companies that need to expand.
We have two to three customers that use the solution currently.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've used technical support in the past. They've been helpful and responsive. We haven't had any issues when we deal with them. We are quite satisfied so far with the level of service we receive when we reach out.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've also used Oracle in the past. From my side, Oracle is more technical and is more scalable, and more secure than the SQL server.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is quite straightforward. It's not overly difficult or complicated. I found it to be quite simple.
The deployment is rather quick. It took us about one hour, from what I can recall.
We just need one technical person to handle the implementation and maintenance processes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Customers do have to pay to use the solution. They tend to pay on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.
I'd recommend the solution to other customers, users, and companies. It's a good option of r many. Sometimes the customer is Microsoft-oriented and sometimes they are Oracle-oriented. If the customer is already using a lot of Microsoft products, SQL just makes sense.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
License price is lower than Oracle's
What is our primary use case?
The customer's MES system use it. The database system desgin as always on architecture.
Like Data guard in Oracle , always on contain double data and sync data by using transactions store in transaction log
How has it helped my organization?
It is easy to establish, and the license price is lower than that of Oracle.
Otherwise, our customer could can replace primary databases from Oracle into MSSQL AG
Base on windows cluster, the always on no needs complicated config process.
Just click and click following GUI interface.
What is most valuable?
table partition options, that is very useful to separate unnecessary cost.
For legacy data, we can do partition swith out and store into flat files or old tables.
When it necessary, we can switch in back.
What needs improvement?
Horizontal partitioning.
In that case, cold , warm and hot data can be distributed into different database not only table partition located on different FGs .
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sometimes , when windows server suddently failed, the database still can be turn on when DB server started.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
When do "sp_rename" or "table rebuild" , the cluster index or non-cluster index no needs to rebuild at same time
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer always comes out many questions
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have no choice. our customer choose MS SQL
How was the initial setup?
initial setup straightforward
What about the implementation team?
ordinary level
What was our ROI?
database administrator
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Migration local database into cloud
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No, I have to accepted it
What other advice do I have?
subpartition is necessary
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Data Analyst
Its lead and lag functions have helped us reduce a lot of code needed when comparing rows
Pros and Cons
- "I love SQL Server's Common Table Expression. In addition to that, I like its lead and lag functions. That helped us reduce a lot of code when comparing rows in SQL Server."
- "The way SQL Server pivots data could be improved. For example, I would like built-in comma-separated pivot and unpivot functions."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use SQL Server for reporting.
What is most valuable?
I love SQL Server's Common Table Expression. In addition to that, I like its lead and lag functions. That helped us reduce a lot of code when comparing rows in SQL Server.
What needs improvement?
The way SQL Server pivots data could be improved. For example, I would like built-in comma-separated pivot and unpivot functions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with SQL Server for the past seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SQL Server is scalable. I can't say if we'll increase usage in the future because I'm only working here as an analyst. It's a company decision. If necessary, then I can make a recommendation. I can go for that if the client wants, so it depends entirely on our client. If the client wants Oracle instead of Microsoft, I don't have an option.
How are customer service and support?
I never contacted Microsoft support about SQL Server, but I have called about Power BI one or two times. It was great support.
What other advice do I have?
I rate SQL Server 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: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Deputy Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Helpful support, scales to our requirements, and handles our critical applications
Pros and Cons
- "I have contacted technical support, and overall my experience with technical support was okay."
- "I would like to see improvements made to the stability of SQL Server, as well as more analytics requirements."
What is our primary use case?
We are business consults. We use SQL Server to ensure that critical applications remain operational by performing BCM activities across application and database servers.
What is most valuable?
SQL Server has scaled as per our requirements.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see improvements made to the stability of SQL Server, as well as more analytics requirements.
For how long have I used the solution?
From a restoration perspective, I have been working with SQL Server for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the SQL Server needs improvements.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have over 2,000 users in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted technical support, and overall my experience with technical support was okay.
How was the initial setup?
The installation took a few days to complete.
We have a team of three or four admins to maintain this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We had assistance from an integrator.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We were evaluating other solutions for a specific requirement in our organization. The requirement is now complete.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate SQL Server an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. Solution Architect at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Easy-to-use interface for building queries
Pros and Cons
- "The interface for building the queries or writing the store procedures is good."
- "Additional interfaces would be an improvement."
What is our primary use case?
SQL Server is the database for the transactional database that is being used.
The solution can be used for the BI, the data warehouse part as well, but mostly I have seen it used for the transaction data being stored by the DBMS part of it.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very easy to use, because even the technical engineers that we get are able to use it more efficiently. I like the programming interface they have where they help us get the table names that we are dealing with, and the field names in that particular table.
The interface for building the queries or writing the store procedures is good.
What needs improvement?
If I compare the solution with current technology needs, like NoSQL, that have been prevailing now, they could improve it so there could be a single solution, where we could deal with a single database for both transactional as well as for the in-memory needs that we have.
For the integration part, additional interfaces would be an improvement. If SQL Server could expose certain APIs or certain interfaces which can be used for integration with the warehouse solution, then it would be great.
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 scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The team needed for implementing the solution depends on the project size and functionalities needed. But as far as the DB administrator, generally, we use a single resource for each project. One database engineer is sufficient for optimizing the query or indexes or building any database scripts.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior Digital Services Engineer at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Configurable, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is configurable."
- "The integration could be better. They are not open-source, so the integration with other platforms is not that easy."
What is our primary use case?
We only use it as a logging solution. We use it as logging for processing our database. It holds records for some systems and so on. That's it.
What is most valuable?
The solution is stable.
The product is scalable.
The solution is configurable.
What needs improvement?
The IT and digital transformation department are a bit fresh in this company that I am working for. They have a lot of plans, a lot of visions. I don't know how are they are going to do the infrastructure. I don't know their vision.
So far, the solution fits the scope of our company. We aren't missing any features.
The integration could be better. They are not open-source, so the integration with other platforms is not that easy.
For how long have I used the solution?
The company has been using them for a long time. I newly joined the company two months ago, so I don't know when exactly they start using it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can scale the product. You can increase and decrease the storage as needed. It's very easy.
The amount of users on the solution is anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
While I've never been in touch with technical support, the administration team has. They've contacted the team in Egypt. I haven't heard of any negative experiences.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've also worked with Oracle in the past. At this company, since it is an older server, it may have been in service longer. We were using the two databases for two different functions.
How was the initial setup?
I wasn't a part of the installation process, however, it's my understanding that the company handled the installation themselves.
The administration team has three or four team members. They can handle maintenance tasks and rotate tasks between themselves.
What about the implementation team?
My understanding is that the company handled the installation internally. However, I was only recently hired.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Any kind of information related to costs or licensing is beyond my scope. I don't deal with that aspect of the solution. I do not know if licensing is paid monthly or yearly.
What other advice do I have?
We are customers and end-users.
Our architecture is divided. There are parts on-premise and parts on Azure cloud. I don't know exactly where the SQL Server sits.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.
I might recommend it to other organizations. That said, it depends on the solution they need. I've worked on Oracle, I have worked on my Microsoft SQL servers. What would be best depends on the solution they need. However, Microsoft SQL servers are a very trusted product. I would recommend it if someone was asking about it.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Yes agree with the author that the system is user friendly and installation process is also simple and hassle free. SQL Server is a relational DBMS and supports various features like triggers and many more. Though the features comes with the price which cannot be affordable for some organizations.