TrustRadius Insights for Azure SQL Database are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Pros
Reliability and Accessibility: Users consistently praise Azure SQL Database for its constant availability, emphasizing its reliability and ease of access. They find it reassuring that the platform is always accessible when needed, ensuring uninterrupted workflow and data access.
Ease of Use: Reviewers commonly highlight the simplicity in creating data models and managing databases with Azure SQL, making these tasks straightforward and user-friendly. This ease of use streamlines their workflow, simplifies database management processes, and allows them to focus on more critical aspects of their work.
Integration Capabilities: Many users appreciate how easily all their applications connect with Azure SQL Database, enhancing usability and integration possibilities. This seamless integration allows for efficient collaboration between different tools within their ecosystem, promoting a cohesive working environment.
Storing data used in automation applications enabling different business processes. One of the business processes that the product helps to address is manage slow moving stock items not tracked in an official ERP system that requires some or other form of workflow behind it. It has enabled us to have access to data outside of the business network to keep track and account of valuable items.
Pros
Data access
Data availability
Scalability
Cons
Network speed
SSO can be slow at times
Likelihood to Recommend
Building an application with a database that requires to be used by multiple parties that is a part of your network or not. The security on the platform allows for the secure handling of information. The platform availability is a big factor looking at factors when data availability for crucial application is very important.
We have been migrating our inhouse data warehouse to Azure SQL Database for the past year. We moving away from inhouse and colo architecture with the goal of a full cloud environment within 5 years time. Azure SQL Database is our backend database where we host the majority of our non-SaaS production data. We also use it for BI for data the resides in the cloud.
Pros
Automation including backups, patching and failover
Integration into our environment along with the huge ecosystem that comes with it
HIPAA and PCI compliance built in
Cons
Costs and transparency. It's difficult to understand what is driving spend and almost impossible to predict spend with a high degree of accuracy. It's unnecessarily complicated
Latency can be an issue for some applications that space a lot of infrastructure.
Likelihood to Recommend
I find it best suited in environments with modern development practices and a cloud first development mindset. Our business is very cyclical with predicable volume surges during certain periods. Azure SQL Database easily scales up or down based on our needs eliminating the cost of excess capacity that sit idle most of the year.
For organizations burdened with excessive technical debt due to legacy platforms, it is not an idea solution. The high IO volumes of these systems make it a non-ideal choice.
VU
Verified User
Director in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees)
Gathering large amounts of data from different servers to compare and reconcile, mainly for projects and production. This enables the business to accurately and timely provide deliverables within the organization. The main goal and scope is to keep using this tool with legacy and future systems for reporting and metrics.
Pros
Ease of connection
troubleshooting help
clear and precise error messaging
Cons
ability to cross connect between servers
exporting options
updates made easier for corporate accounts
Likelihood to Recommend
The response time after executing a query is pretty fast, it enables for prompt and delivery on a timely manner as well as the sahring capabilities of the data itself. Settings and set up options vary and can be toggled per user which makes it a very personal experience. It's clear.
We write custom software applications for small businesses. Many applications we maintain are written for on-premises databases. When clients need to make their applications distributed and accessible anywhere, we offer conversion of the app to use Azure SQL as a low-cost alternative to a complete rewrite. The path to migrating to Azure SQL is often straightforward and doesn't require significant testing or app rework.
Pros
Automated backups and simple restore options.
Active Directory integration and firewall rules by IP address handle many security issues.
Able to use SSMS to maintain it in most of the same ways as an on-premises SQL database.
Very inexpensive low-utilization plans with easy scaling when needed.
Easy to integrate with Excel for reporting and data analysis.
Cons
Would like more tools for bulk loading large data sets.
Billing that's easier to understand with pricier plans.
Ability to restore a database backup from online storage on top of an existing Azure SQL database to replace it.
Likelihood to Recommend
We have found it's a great alternative for making older legacy applications work with online databases instead of only on-premises databases. We've converted over a dozen applications this way, and it has allowed our clients to have a distributed workforce using their applications without incurring the expense of a complete application rewrite.
VU
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology (1-10 employees)
Azure SQL Database is a big step forward for us, as we no longer need to patch the database server or patch the operating system. It's a truely SQL-as-a-Service which allows dynamic up- and down scaling of the server. Gone are the tedious tasks to configure the DB, even Recovery is pre-configured.
Pros
Up- and Downscaling
Setup
Backup and Recovery
Cons
A SQL-Worksheet Tool in Azure Portal would be really nice
Likelihood to Recommend
Any e-Commerce Szenario where ad-hoc up- and down scaling is needed
Currently, we are using it for Microsoft PowerApps Business Applications and we prepared all the data models for Azure SQL Database. Its interface is easy to use and within less time we can create databases, add tables and prepare views, and immediately those databases are available for other applications which are already on the cloud.
Pros
Available all the time.
Robust database.
All apps easily connect with it.
Easy to create data models.
Easy management.
Cons
Table creation and addition of new columns.
Add more datatypes.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is best used for the Dot Net based and cloud-based applications where the user needs to connect with it immediately to start using with it.
The Azure SQL Database service offers premium performance and durability, powered by AI. It takes advantage of server less computing and hyperscale storage resources that free you from infrastructure management task. It solves the concern of space constraints and records with cloud flexibility. Speed, security along with other useful and practical features have made it one of the best options. Azure SQL Database server-less used by the executive projects development department and many of the company's clients in the financial and civil sector.
Pros
With managed SQL in the cloud, you can build applications tailored to your business needs.
Rapidly adaptable server less cloud computing and hyper-scale storage.
Cons
Define smart plans to determine the price according to the needs and type of each business so that startups and small companies can benefit from it better.
Develop more user-friendly UI wizard for migration SQL server
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
For the last year the company I work for is migrating to the cloud. This is a mega operation, and migration to SQL Database is just one of many things we're doing. SQL Database is used mainly for medium sized applications. Large applications use Oracle, while small applications would not benefit at all from SQL Database because it's rather expensive. What SQL Database is particularly good at is security and integration with other tools within Azure.
Pros
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.
Cons
On premise SQL database is much easier to manage with the "SQL server management studio." Especially adding users and roles is a bit of a hassle with Azure SQL Database. You can of course manage within "SQL server management studio," but is slow and does not have all options at your disposal.
I find it rather expensive up to a point where I can't "sell" my recommendation to use SQL Database to the management department. The simplest implementation (not for productional use) is already 380 dollar per month. When you have an existing on premise SQL Database environment, it's very hard to convince anyone to use the cloud option.
I find the management capabilities in the cloud rather disappointing. I would like a cloud version of SQL Server management studio, instead of using CLI or powershell for everything. The on premise SQL server management studio is too slow and lack functionality when it comes to SQL database integration.
Likelihood to Recommend
Small application that use their own database are better of on premise, since Azure SQL Database is simply too expensive. Like a factor 10 too expensive. These kinds of applications can grow in number throughout the years, and if they would all implement their own Azure SQL Database, we would simply not be making those applications anymore.
If you have a (large) application that is highly integrated with other azure modules, like events, API's queues, functions and apps, then it makes sense to use SQL Database.
VU
Verified User
Team Lead in Information Technology (501-1000 employees)
Azure SQL Database service, two of our critical workloads are used for online structure serving our customers. Since we work both physically and online, the cloud infrastructure equivalent of the entire on-premise structure managed for physical retailing is Azure SQL Database service. On the online side, the important thing for us was to have a structure that we can stretch very quickly, and this service provides exactly that.
Pros
Scalability
Simplicity, ability to just focus on SQL, no need to manage anything else.
High speed and minimal down time.
Keeping data in the country you want.
Cons
In the traditional on-premise Microsoft SQL Database structure, while everything the database developer does is almost the same in Azure, the database administrator needs to be separated from the interfaces they are used to.
Job and Task manager work in different logic.
The maintenance structure is different, if only it could stay the way we are used to.
Likelihood to Recommend
The most important feature of Azure SQL Database is that it is a service. There is no virtual machine to manage, no operating system to run on, no updates or security work for this operating system or virtual machines. Therefore, you can only focus on SQL service. It is almost unclear when the online world will gain speed/acceleration, especially in the covid-19 process, an unpredictable increase in online services may occur due to restrictions. Azure SQL server, which works on the cloud side, can keep the system automatically in accordance with every condition exactly as it should be, and you can do all the work on a single service and simple screens.
VU
Verified User
Professional in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees)
Currently, my organization is working on moving to cloud. we are trying to convert our products to SaaS products, so that we can provide them as a service on various clouds. Microsoft Azure SQL Database is one of many services that we are using in our organization. It is a primary tool for storing data up in the cloud. I am working on IoT based ERP system and I am using Azure SQL database to store data in the cloud. It is very easy to setup SQL server on Azure.
Pros
It is fully managed and secure SQL database.
It is highly available and scalable.
It provides automatic backup and restore.
Documentation of Azure SQL is perfect with all best practices.
Cons
I would love to see some new sizes of databases for compute and storage.
prices related to different size can be improved.
performance can be improved to reduce the latency.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is best suited if your company is making a transition from on-prem to cloud and if your product is based on SQL then it is best service to go for. It is highly available and secure.
There might be some performance issues when using it as an external database with kubernetes cluster. There might be some latency while performing database operations from a containerized app.
