Microsoft SQL Server Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Reviews & Insights

Score8.7 out of 10

1,630 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for Microsoft SQL Server are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Pros

Ease of Use and Integration: Users have consistently found the software easy to use, praising its simple design and common interface. They also appreciate its seamless integration capabilities with various frameworks and tools like Visual Studio, Dot Net, MSBI, PowerBI, Crystal Reports, etc.

Reliability and Performance: Reviewers have highlighted the software's reliability in handling high volume transactions and data staging operations. They also value its fast performance, intuitive SQL coding experience, efficient data table management, and quick information filtering capabilities.

Data Management Capabilities: Users have praised the software for its functionalities as a relational database server and its support for OEM applications. They particularly appreciate its features for data storage, manipulation, scalability options, quick data analysis abilities, troubleshooting tools availability, and maintenance procedures.

Microsoft SQL Server Reviews

24 Reviews

Professional, Scientific, and Technical ServicesLegal Services1Architecture & Planning2Information Technology & Services16Marketing & Advertising2Market Research1Research2

Most reliable database product

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

April 28, 2025

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft SQL Server is being used for the various applications in our organization, which are OLTP, Data warehouse, and Java-based applications. The various tools that come up with Microsoft SQL Server like SQL Server Management Studio, SQL Server Profiler etc make the maintenance and performance analysis very easy. We also have integrated it with Power BI for the analysis purposes.

Pros

Highly reliable and scalable
Ease in operation and maintenance with the help of various tools
Good technical support

Cons

Being open-source databases available in the market, the licensing cost seems to be on the higher side.
Server resource utilization is more. It can be tuned further.
Can have better compatibility with third-party applications.

Likelihood to Recommend

In our organisation, scalability is of frequent use. With Microsoft SQL Server, we are able to scale up and down the servers based on the demand. We are also using it in our Data warehouse applications and the performance has been far better as compared to other databases. Since we are using other Microsoft products as well, Microsoft SQL Server provides a good ecosystem with those products.

Verified User

Professional in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

Microsoft SQL Server review

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

June 28, 2024

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I primarily use Microsoft SQL Server 2019 and 2022 data engine to run commercial workloads of various customers. A frequent configuration use case is the usage of Microsoft SQL Server Always On failover cluster instances to provide high availability and redundancy at the Microsoft SQL Server instance level. In some cases, I also make use of Microsoft SQL Server replication to ensure that a primary (publisher) database is replicated, by using transaction of snapshot replication, to a subscriber SQL instance from which the customer can run various SQL queries for analytical reporting purposes without affecting the SQL production workloads. Another common case where I make use of Microsoft SQL Server is when running hybrid cloud SQL workloads, in which case I combine on-premise SQL Server deployments, Azure VM-based SQL Server deployments and Azure SQL or Azure SQL Managed Instance resources.

Pros

Always On failover cluster instances for high availability
Microsoft SQL Server replication for keeping synchronized copy of a database
Microsoft SQL Server maintenance plans for maintaining integrity and performance of the affected databases

Cons

Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise edition has a high cost but is the only edition which supports SQL Always On Availability Groups. It would be nice to include this feature in the Standard version.
Licensing of Microsoft SQL Server is a quite complex matter, it would be good to simplify licensing in the future. For example, per core vs per user CAL licensing, as well as complex licensing scenarios in the Cloud and on Edge locations.
It would be good to include native tools for converting Oracle, DB2, Postgresql and MySQL/MariaDB databases (schema and data) for import into Microsoft SQL Server.

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft SQL Server is ideal for highly available SQL workloads by using SQL Server Always On availability groups. Microsoft SQL Server might not be appropriate for solutions which require a very low resource footprint, since it requires significant CPU cores and RAM memory as well as high IOPS, always depending on the usage scenario.

Verified User

Professional in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

Powerful Relational Database Management with Microsoft SQL Server

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

June 29, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

In our organization, Microsoft SQL Server is being used as a relational database engine to store and manage data for multiple applications of CRM, ERP, and Automation. It is widely used by a large number of teams across different project functions which require a database management solution.

Pros

Easy to configure and use with Visual Studio and Dot Net
Easy integration with MSBI to perform data analysis
Data Security
Easy to understand and use
Very easy to export database and tables in the form of SQL query or a script

Cons

Database backup and recovery functionality need improvement. Sometimes I have observed that when you try to restore a backup to a previous date/state, it does not work as expected, and restore fails.
Cost gets higher on integrating with Azure SQL

Likelihood to Recommend

It is well suited for large-scale projects. It definitely requires a learning curve for the developers to work on. A plethora of support and self-help documents/articles are available on the internet to get familiar with the micro functionalities.

Shivani Pandey

Project Engineer in Information Technology at Wipro Limited (Information Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

View profile

Great Enterprise Database Platform

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

June 26, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft SQL Server is used by our organization to store data for internal line of business and management systems. It meets these need well, is fairly easy to backup and manage.

Pros

Relational Database Server
Easy to stand up DB to support OEM Applications
Backend for Custom Written Application
COTS DB

Cons

Cost for Enterprise Edition
Heavy Mgmt Tools

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft SQL Server is a great RDBMS and meets all of our requirements. If you need a stable DB platform to support your line of a business application you'll be well served. Licensing costs are far cheaper, more portable and a lot more user friendly than Oracle. Product support and security patches from Microsoft are strong.

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

20 years of experience

MS SQL Server

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

May 25, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

For the uninitiated it is first important to point out that many programs use a Database at the back-end and the end-user will be totally unaware of that fact. So Microsoft SQL Server is a Database software. You (or the program you use) can enter all the needed information and then retrieve it when needed.

Pros

Holds data tables
Filters information quickly
Integrates with many programs

Cons

Installation is pretty complicated
Needs professional maintenance
Costs a pretty penny

Likelihood to Recommend

Some programs just require Microsoft SQL Server as the back-end Database, but if you have the choice I would go for one of the open-source free alternatives.
If you have a big base of Data, for instance, your customers' contact information, each customer's own detailed contract and layout, their tickets and service hours. You want to store them all in a organized manner and be able to retrieve any information quickly. That's when you use a Database of any kind and Microsoft SQL Server is one such Database programs which does a good job.

Verified User

C-Level Executive in Information Technology (Information Technology and Services company, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

Database Administration With Microsoft SQL Server

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

May 13, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

This is the database engine we use for our own systems and for our clients. So we use it internaly and externaly, to store all the information we need to have control of.
Also this is the source for different process and reports, outside the database sich as Power BI.
It helps a lot with the database storing, since it is very easy to use and manage.

Pros

Safe to store and query information
Query optimization
Scheduled jobs and tasks
Easy to code.
Maintenance procedures

Cons

External data sources
Support and chatting

Likelihood to Recommend

Our companny is a Service Desk, and IT Support supplier. We have different needs regarding information, ticketing systems, clients systems and also our company internal information such as HR related.
We are capable to keep the information always available around the globe, also this is kept in a safe way.
We have our systems working on several countries, and the response time, is always excelent.

John Ramírez

Database Administrator in Information Technology at System Crew GmbH (Information Technology & Services, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

View profile

Good tool for data analysts

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

April 13, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft SQL Server is used in our organization to store data, run analyses, and produce reports using data from our web-based application. It is mostly being used in the data analytics department and it allows the team to work on projects together and integrate with other software used in the organization.

Pros

UI is user-friendly, making integration easy for all members of the team.
It is easy to set up and teach to new members.
Good support with third-party software.

Cons

Cost can be expensive.
Some learning curves for users transitioning from other services.

Likelihood to Recommend

If security and consistency is important then Microsoft SQL [Server] might be a great option as your DBMS.

Jewon Ju

Data Analyst in Research & Development at LOAK (Research, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

Hosting a Microsoft SQL Server for small and enterprise businesses

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

October 22, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our company uses MS SQL Server to run jobs, store data and generates reports. Our team is supporting two separate companies and both use MS SQL Server. One is for storing data and running SSIS jobs for app and reporting purposes. These are company-owned servers and we are hosting other companies to provide service, application and hardware support for them.
Our company maintains these servers and they are being used by different departments, also internal company-wide. Business problems that we commonly encountered are mostly connection issues. These are basically a between network, database and applications connecting to MS SQL Server. The MS SQL Server support is easy to get in touch with when we are having issues with the application itself.

Pros

Maintenance, SQL server is easy to maintain.
User Friendly, Easy to use and understand.
Access, user access, and administration are very straightforward.
Application, it is easy to setup and provide service.
Can be used in small and enterprise sized clients.

Cons

Support cost, need to pay for support.
Compatibility with other new technologies.
Reporting capabilities.
Licensing, it is a lot of work to get licenses renewal

Likelihood to Recommend

I think it is best used in small businesses if you will be just paying for the hosting platform. Building your own server, maintenance, support, and application will be very expensive. Getting support solutions from other companies will be the best option since you will not have any problems setting up and will have the database and reports ready for you. In the enterprise setting, creating and building will only have a licensing issue if they can provide and maintain their own servers.

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

12 years of experience

SQL Server -- Enterprise Data and Analytics in a Box

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

February 22, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

SQL Server is our go-to database for both on-prem and cloud database needs. We are running on-prem for 3rd party, custom applications, and the enterprise data warehouse. The Cloud is great for custom applications, as well as beginning to migrate to a data lake structure with Azure SQL DW. Other than embedded databases in a few apps, it is the only RDBMS technology we leverage, although we do run several different versions and editions (Azure SQL DB, Azure SQL DW, SQL Server 2016, 2017).

Pros

It's easier to manage than other RDBMS.
Good, mature, in-the-box interface for both development and administration.

Cons

It has a fully extending feature set for managing Azure SQL DB to SSMS and/or Azure Data Studio.
It's simplifying security/access setup for Azure SQL DB.

Likelihood to Recommend

I have been using MS SQL Server since version 7, and it has grown significantly in that time. While in the early days I would only grudgingly consider it for departmental level use, by 2005 it had reached enough of a level of stability and reliability that it was a good option for small to mid-size enterprise use. Today, I consider it the premiere RDBMS for virtually any scenario, particularly considering the number of options available. Microsoft's continuing pursuit of separating compute from storage also seems like the right direction, and allows for the compute engine to leverage big data scenarios as well, where the data is sufficiently structured to support utilizing external tables. This provides for use of familiar SQL tools against outsized data sets that do not fit easily in the RDBMS storage paradigm.

Verified User

Professional in Information Technology (Architecture & Planning company, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

20 years of experience

Solid, affordable and easy to install and use database engine

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

February 21, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Microsoft SQL Server as the DB option for the commercial back-office modules of our MLFF (Multi-Lane - Free Flow) Tolling solution. All the commercial back-office (from Customer registration to involvement and payment handling) relies on Microsoft SQL Server databases. Other vital components of the entire solution, like Security and Vehicle Management, and the Reporting environment also utilize Microsoft SQL Server.

Pros

Microsoft SQL Server is simple to install and configure.
Many advanced options like Compression and Partitioning are available with no extra cost, thus reducing the overall TCO.

Cons

Partitioning does not provide as many options as Oracle (like Foreign Key partitioning, list partitions, hash partitioning and sub partitions)
The default READ COMMITED isolation level block readers, so it is important to use the READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT option, that should be default right now...

Likelihood to Recommend

I've found Microsoft SQL Server a robust and affordable solution for most OLTP scenarios, starting with department solutions up to enterprise-level systems. There are many advanced features (like compression and partitioning) that correctly implemented provide huge benefits on performance, reducing hardware requirements and costs. The default locking mechanism can be a problem for systems with high concurrency if the READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT option is not selected.

Lisandro Fernigrini

Sr Database Administrator / Developer in Information Technology at Kapsch Trafficcom (Information Technology and Services, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

13 years of experience

View profile

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Microsoft SQL Server review

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

June 28, 2024

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

Always On failover cluster instances for high availability
Microsoft SQL Server replication for keeping synchronized copy of a database
Microsoft SQL Server maintenance plans for maintaining integrity and performance of the affected databases

Cons

Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise edition has a high cost but is the only edition which supports SQL Always On Availability Groups. It would be nice to include this feature in the Standard version.
Licensing of Microsoft SQL Server is a quite complex matter, it would be good to simplify licensing in the future. For example, per core vs per user CAL licensing, as well as complex licensing scenarios in the Cloud and on Edge locations.
It would be good to include native tools for converting Oracle, DB2, Postgresql and MySQL/MariaDB databases (schema and data) for import into Microsoft SQL Server.

Likelihood to Recommend

Verified User

Professional in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience