Azure Analysis Services vs. Azure SQL Database

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Analysis Services
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Azure Analysis Services delivers enterprise-grade BI semantic modeling capabilities with the scale, flexibility, and management benefits of the cloud. Azure Analysis Services helps transform complex data into actionable insights. Azure Analysis Services is built on the analytics engine in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services.N/A
Azure SQL Database
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Azure SQL Database is Microsoft's relational database as a service (DBaaS).
$0.50
Per Hour
Pricing
Azure Analysis ServicesAzure SQL Database
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
2 vCORE
$0.5044
Per Hour
6 vCORE
$1.5131
Per Hour
10 vCORE
$2.52
Per Hour
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure Analysis ServicesAzure SQL Database
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure Analysis ServicesAzure SQL Database
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
Azure Analysis ServicesAzure SQL Database
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.7
9 Ratings
7% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
Pixel Perfect reports8.99 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.78 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.59 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.0
9 Ratings
11% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
Drill-down analysis9.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Formatting capabilities8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration9.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.0
9 Ratings
8% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
Publish to Web9.19 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Versioning9.48 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling9.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers8.78 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.1
8 Ratings
13% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.37 Ratings00 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.28 Ratings00 Ratings
Predictive Analytics8.77 Ratings00 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.3
9 Ratings
9% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
Multi-User Support (named login)9.38 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model9.39 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.29 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)9.58 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.8
8 Ratings
11% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
Responsive Design for Web Access8.58 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Application9.54 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.56 Ratings00 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.9
8 Ratings
13% above category average
Azure SQL Database
-
Ratings
REST API8.97 Ratings00 Ratings
Javascript API8.77 Ratings00 Ratings
iFrames9.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Java API8.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)8.65 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Database-as-a-Service
Comparison of Database-as-a-Service features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
-
Ratings
Azure SQL Database
9.2
28 Ratings
5% above category average
Automatic software patching00 Ratings9.026 Ratings
Database scalability00 Ratings9.028 Ratings
Automated backups00 Ratings10.028 Ratings
Database security provisions00 Ratings9.028 Ratings
Monitoring and metrics00 Ratings8.027 Ratings
Automatic host deployment00 Ratings10.023 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Azure Analysis ServicesAzure SQL Database
Small Businesses
Cyfe
Cyfe
Score 8.8 out of 10
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Sigma
Sigma
Score 9.4 out of 10
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure Analysis ServicesAzure SQL Database
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(10 ratings)
8.0
(28 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure Analysis ServicesAzure SQL Database
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
We would have many technical issues and glitches with previous similar providers but found that Azure Analysis Services can simply handle our workload and memory better. I remember we lost an account due to cloud issues not fully saving or corrupting some files. Granted, this is rare with any cloud but haven't had that issue with the same load of memory with Azure Analysis Services.
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Microsoft
Your upcoming app can be built faster on a fully managed SQL database and can be moved into Azure with a few to no application code changes. Flexible and responsive server less computing and Hyperscale storage can cope with your changing requirements and one of the main benefits is the reduction in costs, which is noticeable.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • Providing role based access or we can say privilege based on the role to the user if it is integrated with Azure active directory and hence securing the access to sensitive data.
  • We use to run different type of analytics services to get the better result which is hectic if done manually or with human efforts.
  • We also use to collect bulk of data with the help of this tool and run customized test cases for better efficiency of result and better decision making. The result are very crucial and helps in taking big decision.
  • It supports different or we can say heterogeneous database vendors like the Oracle, SQL, and hence make the task easy.
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Microsoft
  • Maintenance is always an issue, so using a cloud solution saves a lot of trouble.
  • On premise solutions always suffer from fragmented implementations here and there, where several "dba's" keep track of security and maintenance. With a cloud database it's much easier to keep a central overview.
  • Security options in SQL database are next level... data masking, hiding sensitive data where always neglected on premise, whereas you'll get this automatically in the cloud.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • There is very least content available on Microsoft docs and the Internet to get through with AAS.
  • i faced lots of connection issues while implementation.
  • The need for serious platform experience or expertise.
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Microsoft
  • One needs to be aware that some T-SQL features are simply not available.
  • The programmatic access to server, trace flags, hardware from within Azure SQL Database is taken away (for a good reason).
  • No SQL Agent so your jobs need to be orchestrated differently.
  • The maximum concurrent logins maybe an unexpected problem.
  • Sudden disconnects.
  • The developers and admin must study the capacity and tier usage limits https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-subscription-service-limits otherwise some errors or even transaction aborts never seen before can occur.
  • Only one Latin Collation choice.
  • There is no way to debug T-SQL ( a big drawback in my point of view).
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
This is best solution as a DBA one could expect from a service provider and as a cloud service, it removes all your hassles.
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Usability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It just works!
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Support Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
We give the support a high rating simply because every time we've had issues or questions, representatives were in contact with us quickly. Without fail, our issues/questions were handled in a timely matter. That kind of response is integral when client data integrity and availability is in question. There is also a wealth of documentation for resolving issues on your own.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
The platform has vast number of features and modules. The UI is sleek and once you get to use to it, you will be able to do a lot of stuff. Also support for data sources is more in Azure Analysis Services.
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Microsoft
We moved away from Oracle and NoSQL because we had been so reliant on them for the last 25 years, the pricing was too much and we were looking for a way to cut the cord. Snowflake is just too up in the air, feels like it is soon to be just another line item to add to your Azure subscription. Azure was just priced right, easy to migrate to and plenty of resources to hire to support/maintain it. Very easy to learn, too.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Azure Analysis Service scale resources to match our business needs.
  • Helps us to govern, deploy, test and deliver our BI solution with confidence.
  • Stores our business data and clients data in a safe place where it's easy to access and visible to all our teams.
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Microsoft
  • Perfect for small and medium databases, being very cost effective.
  • As a Platform as a Service, there is no concern about patches, upgrades and end of life.
  • Be aware of security and network capabilities. The service cannot run in the VNET as Azure Virtual Machines do.
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ScreenShots