Azure Databricks vs. Microsoft SQL Server

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Databricks
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Azure Databricks is a service available on Microsoft's Azure platform and suite of products. It provides the latest versions of Apache Spark so users can integrate with open source libraries, or spin up clusters and build in a fully managed Apache Spark environment with the global scale and availability of Azure. Clusters are set up, configured, and fine-tuned to ensure reliability and performance without the need for monitoring. The solution includes autoscaling and auto-termination to improve…N/A
Microsoft SQL Server
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.
$1,418
Per License
Pricing
Azure DatabricksMicrosoft 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 DatabricksMicrosoft 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 DatabricksMicrosoft SQL Server
Features
Azure DatabricksMicrosoft SQL Server
Platform Connectivity
Comparison of Platform Connectivity features of Product A and Product B
Azure Databricks
7.3
4 Ratings
13% below category average
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Ratings
Connect to Multiple Data Sources6.14 Ratings00 Ratings
Extend Existing Data Sources7.84 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic Data Format Detection7.44 Ratings00 Ratings
MDM Integration8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Exploration
Comparison of Data Exploration features of Product A and Product B
Azure Databricks
6.8
4 Ratings
22% below category average
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Ratings
Visualization6.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Interactive Data Analysis7.63 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Preparation
Comparison of Data Preparation features of Product A and Product B
Azure Databricks
8.6
4 Ratings
5% above category average
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Ratings
Interactive Data Cleaning and Enrichment8.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Transformations9.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Encryption9.44 Ratings00 Ratings
Built-in Processors7.84 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform Data Modeling
Comparison of Platform Data Modeling features of Product A and Product B
Azure Databricks
8.0
4 Ratings
5% below category average
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Ratings
Multiple Model Development Languages and Tools6.54 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated Machine Learning8.64 Ratings00 Ratings
Single platform for multiple model development8.44 Ratings00 Ratings
Self-Service Model Delivery8.44 Ratings00 Ratings
Model Deployment
Comparison of Model Deployment features of Product A and Product B
Azure Databricks
8.3
4 Ratings
3% below category average
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Ratings
Flexible Model Publishing Options8.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Security, Governance, and Cost Controls8.64 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Azure DatabricksMicrosoft SQL Server
Small Businesses
Jupyter Notebook
Jupyter Notebook
Score 8.5 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 8.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Posit
Posit
Score 10.0 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Posit
Posit
Score 10.0 out of 10
SAP IQ
SAP IQ
Score 10.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Azure DatabricksMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(3 ratings)
8.0
(107 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(8 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 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 DatabricksMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Centralised notebooks are out directly into production. This can lead to poorly engineered code. It is very good for fast queries and our data team are always able to provide what we ask for. It is a big cost to our business so it is important it runs efficiently and returns on our investment.
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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
  • Data Processing and Transformations based on Spark
  • Delta Lakehouse when clubbed with an external cloud storage
  • Governance using Unity Catalog to unify IAM
  • Delta Live Tables is a product, which although relatively newer, has a great potential with the visuals of a pipeline.
Read full review
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
  • Intuitive interface
  • Ease of use
  • Providing FAQ or QRGs
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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
The developers are able to switch between Python and SQL in the Notebook which allows the collaboration of SQL analyst and Data scientist. The integration of Mosaic AI allows users to write complex codes in natural languages. Unity catalog has centralized the security and governance features and simplified the process of maintaining it
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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
I have found Azure Databricks to be much better than Snowflake for handling bigger, diverse data types. Snowflake is much simpler and better for smaller warehousing. The real time processing is much better in Azure Databricks and we have much more language options. Snowflake is more expensive but simpler to use. Both are great for different needs.
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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
  • The support team is amazing, they help you at every stage of the projects, from sales to delivery.
  • On a framework level, it has had an amazing impact and has reduced the clients overall data platform costs by a staggering 65%
  • There has been a 40% Manual work requirement on average for the clients when they move to Azure Databricks Data Platform
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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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