We use the solution for continuous integration, including CI/CD integration.
Independent Consultant at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Enables us to have continuous integration with high uptime
Pros and Cons
- "The stability is fine, especially if you're hosting it on AWS or Azure. You can get up to 99.99% stability on AWS."
- "Support could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
What needs improvement?
Support could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Server since 1992. I’ve used AWS and Azure for two and three years, respectively.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is fine, especially if you're hosting it on AWS or Azure. You can get up to 99.99% stability on AWS.
I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.
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SQL Server
December 2025
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can scale to any extent. You need to increase your EC2 or your app server.
Six team sites with 50 users each are using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
Sometimes the response time was high.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. Depending on the complexity, setting up the infrastructure can take a while. You can work on MVP. To deploy on AWS, select SQL Server along with several calls and CPU.
What about the implementation team?
The solution was deployed in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You receive other products, like free usage, depending on the number of product shares.
What other advice do I have?
You can use a Cloudflare or web application layer that controls security. Furthermore, you can implement SQL reverse proxy practices for in-house environments and beyond.
To ensure the security of my SQL server, we typically set up a configuration where an API communicates with the SQL Server, and there's a front-end interface. This setup prevents direct access to the database.
Four people are required for the solution’s maintenance, but it depends on the complexity of the solution. You can put one senior and three trainees.
Overall, I rate the solution 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.
Information Technology Division Director at a insurance company with 201-500 employees
Stores data from applications and helps to query data
Pros and Cons
- "We use SQL Server for various data management scenarios. It allows us to query data, some of which spans over twenty years. We generate reports and perform analyses using this tool. It also comes with backup and recovery tools, which are essential features of the database engine."
- "Regarding integration, the solution works well for different courses without any issues. However, if we want to add machine learning and AI capabilities for business analytics, that's an area where improvements could be made."
What is our primary use case?
Our main use cases involve using the tool for the database engine. We have a small team in our environment that develops and uses this database for data storage. The data collected by our application is stored in this database.
What is most valuable?
We use SQL Server for various data management scenarios. It allows us to query data, some of which spans over twenty years. We generate reports and perform analyses using this tool. It also comes with backup and recovery tools, which are essential features of the database engine.
What needs improvement?
Regarding integration, the solution works well for different courses without any issues. However, if we want to add machine learning and AI capabilities for business analytics, that's an area where improvements could be made.
As for security features, I believe additional security enforcement is needed. You have to implement extra measures on top of what's already there. We understand that the built-in security isn't as robust as expected, so additional solutions are necessary to enhance security.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for 16 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Regarding performance and scalability, we've been using this tool with over 20 years of data. Despite the large amount of data, it's still efficient and effective. We can query the data and perform various tasks without problems, as it serves as our main repository. For our specific use case, it's very effective in decision-making. Depending on their requirements, other organizations might choose different solutions like SQL, Oracle, Postgres, or MongoDB. They can use whatever solution fits their use case best, but this one works very well for us. The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is globally well-known. It's scalable and has good integrability. You can interface with it using different APIs; some solutions can connect directly with the engine. So, from that perspective, we don't face any issues.
How are customer service and support?
The tool has vendor and partner support. However, we support ourselves.
How was the initial setup?
SQL Server's deployment is easy.
What about the implementation team?
We did the deployment in-house.
What was our ROI?
The tool is very profitable for us. We initially acquired this solution for development purposes. We have small teams that develop applications using SQL Server as the back-end database engine.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the overall product a ten out of ten since it meets our requirements. Advice for others considering this solution depends on their specific requirements. They must consider whether they need Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, SAP Database engine, or something else. Their particular needs will determine the best choice. In general, though, I would recommend Microsoft SQL Server. Anyone can acquire and use it based on their requirements. However, as I mentioned earlier, some security and performance improvements may be needed.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
SQL Server
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Managing Director at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Provides effective security features, but the scalability needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The setup process is straightforward."
- "The product performance can become slow when the data reaches sizes like a terabyte."
What is most valuable?
SQL Server is easy to use. As a Microsoft product, it has an intuitive and user-friendly interface.
What needs improvement?
The product performance can become slow when the data reaches sizes like a terabyte.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our organization has a maximum of 100 SQL Server users. The scalability needs improvement.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used other solutions such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Oracle.
SQL Server is often chosen for Windows platforms due to its compatibility. For other development environments, like PHP or Java, we might select MySQL or PostgreSQL, respectively.
How was the initial setup?
The setup process is straightforward. It involves running the setup file, configuring general settings, setting up a user account, and creating a database. After that, you can create tables within the database and start using it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product's price is reasonable. It requires a one-time license purchase, unlike Azure SQL, which operates on a subscription basis.
What other advice do I have?
SQL Server's performance is good enough for medium-sized applications. The security features are adequate and effective.
I rate it a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Manager at a construction company with 51-200 employees
Allows to set up redundant databases and replication in the databases
Pros and Cons
- "The solution's most valuable feature is that we can set up redundant databases and replication in the databases."
- "The solution’s pricing is high."
What is our primary use case?
We use SQL Server to query our database for specific reports we need to write for our clients.
What is most valuable?
The solution's most valuable feature is that we can set up redundant databases and replication in the databases. SQL Server has very good integration capabilities.
What needs improvement?
The solution’s pricing is high.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Server for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server is a very stable solution,
I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution’s scalability is quite good. Around 30 users use the solution in our organization. Currently, I use SQL Server about once a week.
I rate the solution an eight out of ten for scalability.
How was the initial setup?
On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a nine out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
The solution was implemented by an in-house team in a couple of hours.
What was our ROI?
SQL Server has dramatically improved our ROI. We couldn't do without it, and it's been a very valuable tool.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend the solution to users looking for any form of transactional database or commercial database.
Overall, I rate the solution 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.
Senior Database Administrator at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Offers Always On Availability Groups setup, stable product and easy to setup
Pros and Cons
- "We use it for our on-premises solutions, virtual servers and SSAS, SSRS packages. Also, our applications are .NET based, so it made to use it."
- "We need it to support Linux for better troubleshooting flexibility."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for both development and administration purposes.
How has it helped my organization?
It's serving our data solution needs okay.
What is most valuable?
I like that it's the Always On Availability Groups setup. It ensures our servers are always running.
What needs improvement?
We need it to support Linux for better troubleshooting flexibility.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this product for five years. We currently use the older versions, SQL Server 2019 and 2017.
We will soon migrate to the 2022 version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It works perfectly. No issues there.
So, it is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are around 300 to 500 end users using it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use it for our on-premises solutions, virtual servers and SSAS, SSRS packages. Also, our applications are .NET based, so it made sense to use it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy. It is easy to understand.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an expensive product.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend using it , but it's best if you already know how it works.
Overall, I would rate the solution a six 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.
Infrastructure Manager/Deployment Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
An easy to use solution with third-party integrations
Pros and Cons
- "It integrates well with other platforms."
- "Running multiple instances on the same box would be beneficial."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as the backend for the application.
How has it helped my organization?
SQL Server is a backend for software products that our company writes and distributes.
What is most valuable?
SQL Server is easy to use, but there is a great deal of complexity that you can dive into to use it to its best. Also, it integrates well with other platforms.
What needs improvement?
SQL Server should make the pricing simpler. It should add simplified load-balancing features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Server for 24 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There's a reporting database feature in SQL Server, but running multiple instances on the same box would be beneficial. That's one limitation we've encountered. Many of our customers utilize a hosting provider that offers multi-tenant SQL Servers, but we cannot implement a multi-tenant reporting database.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution’s scalability is good.
How was the initial setup?
There are a lot of different deployment options. The default options will work pretty well. We have to change a few things for our setup. Deployment is not at all long. It takes a couple of minutes. It took a long time for the first time because I had to go back and redo it and change the configuration, but it runs pretty smoothly now.
The deployment process follows: mount the ISO and run a script. That script retrieves some entries from a table and creates several instances based on that table using active directory SQL Server accounts, which is an out-of-the-box option. There are a lot of features that you can add to the setup to make it quieter. We've automated it so we can spin up an instance as needed for development processes.
What about the implementation team?
Deployment was done in-house.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the solution a 9 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software Solutions Account Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Helps users to manage their data but improvement is needed in pricing and support
Pros and Cons
- "SQL Server is easy to manage."
- "The tool needs to improve its pricing and technical support."
What is most valuable?
SQL Server is easy to manage.
What needs improvement?
The tool needs to improve its pricing and technical support.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the product for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the product’s stability a seven out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool's scalability a seven out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the tool's deployment a seven out of ten. Deployment time depends on the customer's environment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
Our clients are from small, medium, and enterprise businesses. It helps users to manage their data.
I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
System analyst at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
A reliable database management system that is able to handle significant volumes of data
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is valuable because it seamlessly extracts reports and enables the collection of information from different tables."
- "There is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to limited compatibility across the platform and restricted performance with massive data sets."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for warehouse data management, as well as for statistical reports. It facilitates tabling and query processing while supporting multiple database operations.
What is most valuable?
The solution is valuable because it seamlessly extracts reports and enables the collection of information from different tables.
What needs improvement?
There is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to limited compatibility across the platform and restricted performance with massive data sets. Enhancing those two areas would significantly improve the operation. It is important to mention the licensing cost, as well. Optimization of the licensing options to fit different needs and businesses would be of great benefit.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a robust and stable solution. Its tracking record is reliable and it can handle large volumes of data.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SQL Server offers easy scalability, allowing databases to grow as the data and user base expand.
How are customer service and support?
Their customer service is great. When we faced certain issues, they solved them fast. There were no problems with communication.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy, and integrating the system is okay. The only issue is regarding the customization of the business process of the organization, it might take some time. Ultimately, it depends on the client's specific needs.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
SQL Server is an expensive solution. Their pricing structure and licensing options are not budget-friendly, so I believe it is an essential factor to consider when choosing the right product.
What other advice do I have?
It proved to be a great fit for medium-sized enterprises, in terms of the variety of the tools it provides. For bigger projects and specific needs, there might be a need to employ different solutions such as Oracle, and ERP systems. But overall, it works great as a relationship database management system. I would rate it eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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