IBM Power Virtual Server vs. Microsoft SQL Server

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM Power Virtual Server
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
IBM presents their Power Systems Virtual Server as a scalable, cost-effective way to run IBM AIX, IBM i and Linux workloads​.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
IBM Power Virtual ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Subscription
$1,418.00
Per License
Enterprise
$13,748.00
Per License
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM Power Virtual ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM Power Virtual ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Considered Both Products
IBM Power Virtual Server
Chose IBM Power Virtual Server
The flexibility of IBM Power Systems Virtual Server is what made it stand out from the rest. This allows you to create the virtual server exactly as your business requires. Dynamic partitioning and scalability ensure that the server is the right size and power to support the …
Chose IBM Power Virtual Server
It is more flexible and reliable. My team can manage it as they want. Easy to use. Technical support is good. I will continue to use it.
Chose IBM Power Virtual Server
All the options we considered were expensive when it comes to having dedicated server for any system. Thus we chose IBM where we could have maximum support over a shared DNS server for various types of Clusters. All of our clusters have been supported on IBM's PS VS. IBM's …
Microsoft SQL Server

No answer on this topic

Features
IBM Power Virtual ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
Comparison of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) features of Product A and Product B
IBM Power Virtual Server
8.7
197 Ratings
6% above category average
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Ratings
Service-level Agreement (SLA) uptime8.9195 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic scaling8.8195 Ratings00 Ratings
Elastic load balancing9.8189 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-configured templates9.7190 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring tools7.2194 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-defined machine images9.7191 Ratings00 Ratings
Operating system support8.9193 Ratings00 Ratings
Security controls8.1192 Ratings00 Ratings
Automation7.1168 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
IBM Power Virtual ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Small Businesses
DigitalOcean Droplets
DigitalOcean Droplets
Score 9.5 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 7.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.0 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 7.9 out of 10
Enterprises
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.0 out of 10
SAP IQ
SAP IQ
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
IBM Power Virtual ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
9.8
(195 ratings)
8.0
(107 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(4 ratings)
9.0
(8 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(4 ratings)
7.6
(17 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(3 ratings)
7.9
(26 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.5
(3 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(3 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM Power Virtual ServerMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
It is really impactful in terms of scenarios like ERP systems and Data Analytics where heavy data needs to be analysed in terms of volume and their needs to be high scalability offering so in that scenario it is a great asset and features like distribution of workload using AI capabilities by leveraging modern IBM offerings like Watson is really helpful the area in which it could improve is native development of application in terms of adoption of New cloud Technologies
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Pros
IBM
  • It is good in managing our documents in a precise manner.
  • It is a comprehensive tool and supports other languages like JAVA and Python and it is useful for us.
  • It is quite a valuable tool available at a reasonable price in the market and it is a scalable tool.
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
Read full review
Cons
IBM
  • The software appears to be geared for a no-programming approach, which implies that making changes is more difficult.
  • The user base is small making it monotonous and difficult to come up with new methods.
  • The number of rankings is not as large as competitors.
  • The admin end is poorly designed, as they are unable to receive and respond to client feedback.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
IBM
At the moment we are 100% satisfied with the performance and our support team is well used to the process involved. So unless we have some major issues in adopting, we are sure to be with IBM itself.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Usability
IBM
I would rate IBM Power Virtual Server’s overall usability as an 8 out of 10. The platform offers a solid interface and intuitive dashboard, making it relatively easy for users with cloud experience to navigate. Its scalability and flexibility are strong points. However, the learning curve for new users can be steep, especially when dealing with complex integrations or configurations. While documentation and support are extensive, some users may find the setup process challenging. Overall, it’s highly functional but could be streamlined further for beginners.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
IBM
Very easy to use.
Read full review
Microsoft
Its does not have outages.
Read full review
Performance
IBM
While there’s room for improvement, it generally works very well.
Read full review
Microsoft
SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.
Read full review
Support Rating
IBM
As with most IBM products the ongoing support for IBM Power Virtual Server is solid and consistent. IBM provides a clear roadmap for receiving support of their products. Both voice and online response is offered. It is obvious that IBM has the internal systems and culture to maintain support functions. This starts from the initial support call to the problem analysis and continues through the problem resolution. Documentation and communication are consistent within this process.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
In-Person Training
IBM
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It was good
Read full review
Online Training
IBM
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
very hands on and detailed training
Read full review
Implementation Rating
IBM
It is economic.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
IBM
They both have their own ups and downs and it totally depends on the team which suits them best. IBM Power Virtual Server has Performance, Scalability, Reliability and Availability, Compatibility, and Good Vendor Support. The specific use case and workload requirements played a significant role. Some workloads may benefit from IBM Power Systems' architecture, while others may perform equally well on alternative platforms.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Scalability
IBM
I would rate IBM Cognos Analytics’ scalability as a 9 out of 10. The platform is highly capable of handling large volumes of data and supporting thousands of users with ease. Its architecture is designed for high performance, though it may require fine-tuning for extremely complex data environments to maintain optimal performance.
Read full review
Microsoft
SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.
Read full review
Return on Investment
IBM
  • We have had a return on investment of 30%.
  • There have also been 80% fewer application crashes due to a lack of resources that previously ran on the X86 platform.
  • Administration management has been simplified and staff can dedicate themselves to the development of applications, instead of providing support to users when the applications do not respond efficiently, this made staff 45% more productive.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
ScreenShots