Microsoft SQL Server 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

46 Reviews

Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees)

Microsoft SQL pricey but worth it

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

April 30, 2025

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use it to hold the databases that with use for our Apps. It gives us a efficient way to store all the data we have in order to make our apps works. Any business needs a database to store it's data and with Microsoft SQL things are easier to manage.

Pros

Data structure
Good documentation
Huge posibilities
Efficient querying

Cons

Easy issues management , like deadlocks and slow performance
Resource use , it's very memory hungry
Pricing

Likelihood to Recommend

With Microsoft SQL you will have a easier and faster deployment and work. It's true that you have other open sources options , like mysql for example but the learning curve and support it's harder. It's pricey but it's worth it. If you are a small organization you could try to use SQL Express but the database size is limited , in that scenario you might want to go with a open source option.

Verified User

Technician (Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering company, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

7 years of experience

Solid and Reliable.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

August 28, 2023

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use MSSQL Server along with SSIS and SSRS as it's a very competent software suite and very stable. It integrates well with other software that we use, namely JAMS Scheduler.

Pros

Easy to use
Reliable
Amazing integration with other software

Cons

The query optimizer is clunky
Performance tuning is difficult to use
It's expensive

Likelihood to Recommend

MSSQL Server is excellent for most organizations that have database needs. Typically businesses will be either a "Microsoft" or "Oracle" shop and it tends to boil down to the software used, as many require SQL Server to begin with. In my experience mostly small to medium sized business use MSSQL Server. For ETL, I find SQL Server the way to go as SSIS is better than Informatica, but that's my opinion.

Verified User

Consultant in Information Technology (Government Relations company, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

11 years of experience

Microsoft SQL Server is a great database solution!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

August 8, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently use Microsoft SQL Server as our database application for our applications. We are using the Microsoft SQL Server jobs, Analysis services, cubes, and many other features to help provide front end data solutions to our customers. Our instance of Microsoft SQL Server also allows for multi-database implementation with full backup capabilities. We also pair with the latest management studio to get the best UI experience.

Pros

Easy to use with Visual Studio and ASP projects
Multiple options for Data Security
Industry standard and easy to use
Easy to install and configure

Cons

Licensing can get complicated
Very very expensive
combability issues and dependencies with servers etc
Microsoft support....you know

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft SQL Server is best for enterprise-level databases for data management. If you need to scale easily there are other options like Azure SQL, etc, but this also works best on bare metals servers. The licensing can get a bit complicated so it is not good for small companies/applications. I also don't think it is the best for mobile applications, etc.

Pritesh Patel

Product Manager, Partnerships & Data Services in Engineering at ProfitSword, LLC (Hospitality, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

6 years of experience

View profile

Principal Software Engineer Adapted and Accustomed to SQL Server and happy

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

June 30, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Over in IT we use [Microsoft] SQL Server as our primary RDBMS across the entire department. We have a handful of legacy oracle databases which are yet to be retired and are planned to switch over to [Microsoft] SQL Server. [Microsoft] SQL Server is the database behind all of our software application systems essentially and is how we maintain and store all of our application data.

Pros

Extremely reliable
Great interface via SSMS
Fast operations
Atomicity

Cons

A better debugging experience
More built in support for logging
Better diagram generation

Likelihood to Recommend

[Microsoft SQL Server is] very well suited for transactional systems, less suited for big data querying and analyzing.

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology (Non-Profit Organization Management company, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

9 years of experience

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 Industry standard database and comprehensive solution

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

May 17, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I currently provide consulting services to various clients. These clients use [Microsoft] SQL Server as the database for there financial system and CRM applications in addition to using for reporting and ETL processes.

Pros

ETL using SSIS to automate processes
Reporting Services to offer SSRS reports as a standard reporting interface
Data Analysis using stored procedure, views and transformations
Connectivity/Integration with other applications through ODBC, Linked Server, etc.

Cons

Simplify licensing

Likelihood to Recommend

[Microsoft SQL Server is well suited] as a comprehensive solution as transactional database, data warehouse, analytics, reporting and ETL. Able to communicate with Azure database environment.

If you use other Microsoft applications, it integrates well such as Excel and Access.

If you have limited resources to support and maintain environment this may not be ideal compared to a managed service or SAAS solution such as SNOWFLAKE.

Salvador Orochena

Salesforce Developer in Information Technology at Mondo (Information Services, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

20 years of experience

View profile

Microsoft SQL Server Review

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

May 1, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are using Microsoft SQL Server Express edition for teaching RDBMS to the students its really a nice tool to use. In personal I have also used the developer edition for application development. The best part of this software is it is robust. You can use it for both [...] website application[s] or [...] web application development. This database tool support[s] Microsoft visual studio so if you are using that IDE for development this is one of the most compatible and reliable [databases] software. Very efficiently handle the CRUD operations.

Pros

Easy to use is of course the foremost reason [for] its extensive use in almost every industry
Less expensive than Oracle tools
Multiple user support in [a] single set up
Excellent user support and documentation

Cons

Visualization is not available for that you have to use [the] different tool this is one of the feature[s] I think they should include
In MS Access you can design the query but here you have to write it in SQL
Enterprises edition is really expensive

Likelihood to Recommend

For almost all [development-related] jobs this is the [well-suited] database server. You should convert your excel sheets into the SQL database so that with the exponential growth of your data, [the] system will not go slow. The only thing you need to convert all your data into a systematic [database] is SQL expert who can right queries for your application.

Akhilesh Arya

Assistant Professor at Geetanjali Institute of Technical Studies, Udaipur (Higher Education, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

4 years of experience

View profile

Old faithful SQL server

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

April 27, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have a few [Microsoft SQL Server's] in our environment and they are used for SharePoint, Dynamics CRM, and many other database requirements that we have. Everyone indirectly uses it as it houses all our data which is accessed by some application frontends that our users work with. Being a Microsoft product it is very easy to manage and administer with in our Active Directory environment.

Pros

A requirement for most MS based applications
Widely used in the industry, allowing to easily support it
Flexible in terms of configurations

Cons

Very expensive!
Scalable, but not with ease
Resource hog

Likelihood to Recommend

[Microsoft SQL Server] is great for any Microsoft shop as it seamlessly integrates with most Windows based applications. It would not really make sense to run it outside of a Windows environment as there are better options for that. It is not the best database solution, but it has been around forever and is a very reputable brand with long history.

Ivan Sytchev

Supervisor, Information Technology in Information Technology at Real Estate Council of Ontario (Non-Profit Organization Management, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

10 years of experience

Microsoft SQL Server is an industry standard

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

April 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

SQL Server is used company-wide: All of our business data is stored in SQL databases and all of our applications utilize SQL in some capacity.

Pros

Scales well
Widespread usage means resources are more readily available.
Reliable when configured and maintained properly.

Cons

*Very* complex
Performance can be poor when configuration isn't tweaked just right.
System resource intensive, and some resources are capped by licensing.
Upgrading to newer versions is difficult and time-consuming.

Likelihood to Recommend

SQL Server is a good choice for situations where a more industry-standard database server is a better fit than an open-source option, or when products or development that is based on other Microsoft tech will be used.

Verified User

Manager in Information Technology (Financial Services company, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

12 years of experience

SQL Server is a reliable, stable, and easy to use DBMS

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

April 8, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft SQL Server is our organization's main Database Management System and is the primary back-end server for most of our critical business applications. It's a general requirement that any new application we implement has to operate on SQL Server, if it requires a database back-end. We have a great dependency upon SQL Server and it has not disappointed us.

Pros

Easy to use to set up databases
Reliable clustered instances
Maintenance plan wizards
Good UI with Management Studio
Good BI tools out of the box with SSIS, SSAS, and SSRS

Cons

It could use more/better templates in SQL Server Profiler
Lacks error avoidance tools when working in different environments (DEV/TEST/PROD). That is, preventing some code execution against PROD, for example.

Likelihood to Recommend

I have used Microsoft SQL Server in one flavor or another for two decades. It has always been a reliable database management system for running anything from custom, in-house applications to business critical Enterprise Resource Planning systems. There is also a broad SQL Server ecosystem available on the internet, which is helpful for development tasks, training and troubleshooting.

Verified User

Supervisor in Information Technology (Chemicals company, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

21 years of experience

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