Azure Database vs. Microsoft SQL Server

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Database
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Available on Microsoft's Azure, Azure Database is a managed cloud-based option for a variety of popular community and open source databases. Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Fully managed, intelligent, and scalable PostgreSQL Azure Database for MySQL - Scalable, open-source MySQL database Azure Database for MariaDB - Enterprise-ready, fully managed community MariaDB Azure's fully managed PostgreSQL database automates maintenance, patching, and updates.…N/A
Microsoft SQL Server
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.
$1,418
Per License
Pricing
Azure DatabaseMicrosoft SQL Server
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Subscription
$1,418.00
Per License
Enterprise
$13,748.00
Per License
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure DatabaseMicrosoft SQL Server
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 DatabaseMicrosoft SQL Server
Features
Azure DatabaseMicrosoft SQL Server
Database-as-a-Service
Comparison of Database-as-a-Service features of Product A and Product B
Azure Database
9.8
1 Ratings
14% above category average
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Ratings
Automatic software patching10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Database scalability9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated backups10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Database security provisions10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring and metrics10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic host deployment10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Azure DatabaseMicrosoft SQL Server
Small Businesses
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.4 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 8.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.4 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM Cloudant
IBM Cloudant
Score 7.4 out of 10
SAP IQ
SAP IQ
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure DatabaseMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(107 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(8 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.6
(17 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(26 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure DatabaseMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Azure Databases is suitable in situations where users require a cloud space, which holds or takes secure data and makes accessibility easy. More so, Azure Databases supports data migration, which is a professional process of data transfer. The analytical progress from Azure Databases is connected to AI power and has automated reporting.
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Microsoft
Microsoft SQL is ubiquitous, while MySQL runs under the hood all over the place. Microsoft SQL is the platform taught in colleges and certification courses and is the one most likely to be used by businesses because it is backed by Microsoft. Its interface is friendly (well, as pleasant as SQL can be) and has been used by so many for so long that resources are freely available if you encounter any issues.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • Azure Databases is functional on cloud, giving the users flexibility and accessibility.
  • Azure Databases has a high storage space, and high speed processing power.
  • The tool is AI powered, hence, reputable for intelligent analysis.
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Microsoft
  • 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
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Cons
Microsoft
  • Should develop a friendly and more intuitive dashboard and UI wizard
  • Create smart package for fair ratings/prices.
  • Improve on documentation and perfect the support response.
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Microsoft
  • 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.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
We understand that the Microsoft SQL Server will continue to advance, offering the same robust and reliable platform while adding new features that enable us, as a software center, to create a superior product. That provides excellent performance while reducing the hardware requirements and the total cost of ownership of our solution.
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Usability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
SQL Server mostly 'just works' or generates error messages to help you sort out the trouble. You can usually count on the product to get the job done and keep an eye on your potential mistakes. Interaction with other Microsoft products makes operating as a Windows user pretty straight forward. Digging through the multitude of dialogs and wizards can be a pain, but the answer is usually there somewhere.
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Its does not have outages.
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Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
We managed to handle most of our problems by looking into Microsoft's official documentation that has everything explained and almost every function has an example that illustrates in detail how a particular functionality works. Just like PowerShell has the ability to show you an example of how some cmdlet works, that is the case also here, and in my opinion, it is a very good practice and I like it.
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In-Person Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It was good
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Online Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
very hands on and detailed training
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Other than SQL taking quite a bit of time to actually install there are no problems with installation. Even on hardware that has good performance SQL can still take close to an hour to install a typical server with management and reporting services.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Azure Databases has the data migrating power, which is done with just a press of a button and instant results are attained. Azure Databases has the optimization of performance, which includes an AI, which is intelligent based. Azure Databases has the recent or advanced SQL power, which is easily configurable and allows a safe cloud storage.
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Microsoft
[Microsoft] SQL Server has a much better community and professional support and is overall just a more reliable system with Microsoft behind it. I've used MySQL in the past and SQL Server has just become more comfortable for me and is my go to RDBMS.
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Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Database security is a positive ROI for users.
  • Undisputed cloud space, which control access, and smoothly accessible.
  • Automated backup, which fully declassify or eliminate data loss.
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Microsoft
  • Increased accuracy - We went from multiple users having different versions of an Excel spreadsheet to a single source of truth for our reporting.
  • Increased Efficiency - We can now generate reports at any time from a single source rather than multiple users spending their time collating data and generating reports.
  • Improved Security - Enterprise level security on a dedicated server rather than financial files on multiple laptop hard drives.
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ScreenShots