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Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.MicrosoftThe power that comes with SQL Server at a glance...2018-08-21T18:52:25.180ZMicrosoft SQL Server is an RDBMS (Relational Database Management System.) This means it helps an organization to store and manipulate their data. The way our company uses it is no different: it stores the company's large consumer user base. Our company provide services to our clients via our website, and maintaining that website consist of two parts: front end, and back end.
So, in my organization, SQL Server is used as the back end. This means all the work related to storing the date (e.g. using tables), retrieving the data (e.g. using procedures and functions provided by SQL Server) and manipulating the data (e.g. necessary update and alter statements) are all tasks performed by SQL Server and some helpful programming language.
It is being used not just by any one department, but by the whole organization. Proper functioning of a website highly relies on its back end, so SQL Server is solving this business problem for us, in addition to generating visual reports using services like SSIS and SSRS, which are provided by SQL Server.,It can store large amounts of data. Moreover, it doesn't just store the data, but performs important operations with it. Things like backup, restore, etc., are all handled pretty well by SQL Server.
It is equipped with different tools like SQL Profiler (for visualizing what's going on), SQL Tuning Advisor (for better suggestion of indexes, etc.) and also third party tools like SQL Search and SQL Code Guard. This really makes life easier for us.
SQL Server integrates to almost all the programming languages that work as front end for SQL Server, such as asp.net, C++, etc.
Services provided by SQL Server do solve some high business level problems using SSIS and SSRS.
Support and service from a company like Microsoft is another big advantage.
The above mentioned points are all strengths of SQL Server, as this one RDBMS does a lot of jobs, and with relative ease and efficiency compared to any other software in this sector.,In terms of resource utilization, there is room for improvement for SQL Server, so that it can cost less CPU usage.
There are lot of third party services like SQL Search and SQL Code Guard. Why is there a need for these if SQL itself can implement these necessary functionalities inbuilt?,10,Our organization is using SQL Server for its business, and we are quite happy with its ROI, so I would say SQL has positive impact.
Organizations have to invest money somewhere for the operations of a DBMS (database management system,) so why not choose SQL, considering its huge benefits.,Oracle Database and MySQL,Microsoft Visual Studio Team System, Chrome DevToolsRahul Kumar SinghWould not be in my career and successful without it!2018-11-18T20:45:25.525ZIt is being used in a limited capacity which is why many SQL users are demonstrating the power of the tool.
Current use cases are order management, vendor performance metric building and maintenance, supply/demand views.,Group and count data
Join multiple data sets together across entire organization rather than a single site view
Monitor exception cases at scale,Intellisense won’t turn back on
Enhance object explorer to help find tables previously unknown
Easier note taking,10,Saved millions of dollars in resolving invalid billings
Identifying delays in a process for improvement
Solutions architecture based on existing models,Alteryx Analytics,Alteryx Analytics, Dell BoomiSpencer LewisMicrosoft SQL Server makes it easy to focus on the important stuff2018-12-04T15:24:54.098ZMicrosoft SQL Server is the database of used by all web applications. Hosted web applications that collect gigabytes of information directly store data into one or more Microsoft SQL Servers being used by our organization. We need these servers to not only store data but provide an easy means to make available to other software and services.,Easy to setup with the included Wizard that helps to get you up and running with the essential components covered. You won't waste a lot of time reading through documentation to just get started.
There is a large community of support for Microsoft SQL Server that can help to troubleshoot issues and explain how to tackle a problem.
The other components and modules to the system make is easy to setup backups and connections to other services.,I would like to see them overhaul the Microsoft SQL Report Server included. Its very outdated and lacks modern features.
I would like more artificial intelligence support to help make the databases run more efficiently.
I would like have better support for ORM management within the included Studio Manager.,9,With just one server we can easily host databases for many applications, which makes it easier to maintain.
The ROI on Microsoft SQL Server is very good as we have been able to set it and forget with out too much time invested in keeping it up and running.
The Microsoft SQL Server down time has been minimal and 90% of the downtime is due to our user error.,,Microsoft 365 Business, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure HDInsightVerified UserA Growing Company Dives Into The Big TIme2018-06-05T20:12:56.447ZMicrosoft SQL Server is used to ramp up the capabilities of a growing business that began using Excel in place of an actual database.,Support is a major factor. Day-to-day functionality is reliable, but for those times when there are issues support is available.
Security is key, and Microsoft SQL Server has clearly put this concern in its design.
Perhaps not a strength of SQL Server itself, but the pool of professionals with SQL Server experience ensures the ability for growth.,User setup should be allowed to be copied from other users,8,It's too early in my latest implementation to have metrics to show its benefit.,Greg UrbaitisMicrosoft SQL Server Review2018-05-29T19:40:19.696ZWe use Microsoft SQL server to perform analytics with a large set of data from different kinds of clients. All the data preparations are done with SQL server. It is being used by everyone in our service line. also, most of our client uses SQL server as well. Using SQL Server to process unstructured data is not very effective.,It's fairly quick to manipulate large sets of data
Quick and easy to learn
Cost efficient,Implement features to process unstructured data easier
Increase performance speed
Add multiple results table in the same window,7,Cost friendly
Fairly easy to use and learn
Fairly easy to manage,Darren DengUnspecified
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Microsoft SQL Server
949 Ratings
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August 21, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "The power that comes with SQL Server at a glance..."
Software Developer
OATIComputer Software, 501-1000 employees
Microsoft SQL Server is an RDBMS (Relational Database Management System.) This means it helps an organization to store and manipulate their data. The way our company uses it is no different: it stores the company's large consumer user base. Our company provide services to our clients via our website, and maintaining that website consist of two parts: front end, and back end.
So, in my organization, SQL Server is used as the back end. This means all the work related to storing the date (e.g. using tables), retrieving the data (e.g. using procedures and functions provided by SQL Server) and manipulating the data (e.g. necessary update and alter statements) are all tasks performed by SQL Server and some helpful programming language.
It is being used not just by any one department, but by the whole organization. Proper functioning of a website highly relies on its back end, so SQL Server is solving this business problem for us, in addition to generating visual reports using services like SSIS and SSRS, which are provided by SQL Server.
So, in my organization, SQL Server is used as the back end. This means all the work related to storing the date (e.g. using tables), retrieving the data (e.g. using procedures and functions provided by SQL Server) and manipulating the data (e.g. necessary update and alter statements) are all tasks performed by SQL Server and some helpful programming language.
It is being used not just by any one department, but by the whole organization. Proper functioning of a website highly relies on its back end, so SQL Server is solving this business problem for us, in addition to generating visual reports using services like SSIS and SSRS, which are provided by SQL Server.
- It can store large amounts of data. Moreover, it doesn't just store the data, but performs important operations with it. Things like backup, restore, etc., are all handled pretty well by SQL Server.
- It is equipped with different tools like SQL Profiler (for visualizing what's going on), SQL Tuning Advisor (for better suggestion of indexes, etc.) and also third party tools like SQL Search and SQL Code Guard. This really makes life easier for us.
- SQL Server integrates to almost all the programming languages that work as front end for SQL Server, such as asp.net, C++, etc.
- Services provided by SQL Server do solve some high business level problems using SSIS and SSRS.
- Support and service from a company like Microsoft is another big advantage.
- The above mentioned points are all strengths of SQL Server, as this one RDBMS does a lot of jobs, and with relative ease and efficiency compared to any other software in this sector.
- In terms of resource utilization, there is room for improvement for SQL Server, so that it can cost less CPU usage.
- There are lot of third party services like SQL Search and SQL Code Guard. Why is there a need for these if SQL itself can implement these necessary functionalities inbuilt?
It is best for students, as it is free for them; students can learn a lot about databases using this. It is also well suited for organizations, if they are willing to pay-- and they should be, because it is easy and robust and takes less time to master than other RDBMS. It is definitely a useful tool for companies that work in the business intelligence sector.
November 18, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "Would not be in my career and successful without it!"
EDI Analyst
HID GlobalRetail, 5001-10,000 employees
It is being used in a limited capacity which is why many SQL users are demonstrating the power of the tool.
Current use cases are order management, vendor performance metric building and maintenance, supply/demand views.
Current use cases are order management, vendor performance metric building and maintenance, supply/demand views.
- Group and count data
- Join multiple data sets together across entire organization rather than a single site view
- Monitor exception cases at scale
- Intellisense won’t turn back on
- Enhance object explorer to help find tables previously unknown
- Easier note taking
Good for operations, finance, vendor excellence, supervisory intelligence, i.e. activities of teams throughout the day or over time.
December 04, 2018
Review: "Microsoft SQL Server makes it easy to focus on the important stuff"
Verified User
Project Manager in Information Technology
Individual & Family Services Company, 51-200 employeesMicrosoft SQL Server is the database of used by all web applications. Hosted web applications that collect gigabytes of information directly store data into one or more Microsoft SQL Servers being used by our organization. We need these servers to not only store data but provide an easy means to make available to other software and services.
- Easy to setup with the included Wizard that helps to get you up and running with the essential components covered. You won't waste a lot of time reading through documentation to just get started.
- There is a large community of support for Microsoft SQL Server that can help to troubleshoot issues and explain how to tackle a problem.
- The other components and modules to the system make is easy to setup backups and connections to other services.
- I would like to see them overhaul the Microsoft SQL Report Server included. Its very outdated and lacks modern features.
- I would like more artificial intelligence support to help make the databases run more efficiently.
- I would like have better support for ORM management within the included Studio Manager.
With Microsoft SQL Server I can quickly develop a data storage solution for a .NET web application. The built in Visual Studio tool makes choosing Microsoft SQL Server an easy choice for getting up and running quickly. However it does require a large footprint, and would not be well suited for small applications where a NOSQL or static database solution would be more efficient.
June 05, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "A Growing Company Dives Into The Big TIme"
Panel & Programming Manager
Connected Research & Consulting, LLCMarket Research, 1-10 employees
Microsoft SQL Server is used to ramp up the capabilities of a growing business that began using Excel in place of an actual database.
- Support is a major factor. Day-to-day functionality is reliable, but for those times when there are issues support is available.
- Security is key, and Microsoft SQL Server has clearly put this concern in its design.
- Perhaps not a strength of SQL Server itself, but the pool of professionals with SQL Server experience ensures the ability for growth.
- User setup should be allowed to be copied from other users
SQL Server is useful for large databases where there is a lot of querying. The issue in introducing it to a smaller company is getting the employees used to having to request even the simplest reports. Those I've dealt with who are used to using Excel in place of an actual database needed to be shown the speed and accuracy of the results to sway them.
May 29, 2018
"Microsoft SQL Server Review"
Analyst
Golden Qi HoldingsPharmaceuticals, 501-1000 employees
We use Microsoft SQL server to perform analytics with a large set of data from different kinds of clients. All the data preparations are done with SQL server. It is being used by everyone in our service line. also, most of our client uses SQL server as well. Using SQL Server to process unstructured data is not very effective.
- It's fairly quick to manipulate large sets of data
- Quick and easy to learn
- Cost efficient
- Implement features to process unstructured data easier
- Increase performance speed
- Add multiple results table in the same window
It is well suited to manipulate mid-sized datasets (rows less than 2M). It can quickly change existing data or add new data to the existing data. SQL server cannot manipulate or clean unstructured data quickly when the unstructured large data sets do not have any pattern or rules.
May 25, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "Simplest tool for basic data analysis"
Associate
Argus Information and Advisory ServicesFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees
SQL server is the only data management tool we have. Its used all the way from Data preparation, transformation, and data aggregation. Its used across all the teams. Its used to analyze credit card transaction level data as well as customer demographic data to help inform product, pricing, and marketing strategies.
- SQL Server is really good at working with large structured datasets
- Great customer support and online resources available
- One of the most intuitive and easy to learn a programming language for data analysts
- Add more built-in functions
- Having the ability to work with unstructured data would be useful
- Having an in build data visualization would also be very helpful
It's useful only if you are working with relatively clean and structured data.
June 08, 2018
"Microsoft SQL Server Review"
Verified User
Employee in Engineering
Computer Software Company, 501-1000 employeesIn our Organisation Microsoft SQL Server is widely used because SQL server is a very powerful tool for managing the database. Yes, it is used widely worldwide because it is a Microsoft product and is trustworthy. It has a lot of security features. We solve our many businesses related issues like database management, save time and reduce the paperwork and also the burden of an employee. We increase our customers and our profitability.
- it has a lot of security feature, no one can access if they have no credentials.
- easy to use and maintain the database
- very flexible and easy to install and for new users it very easy to learn and implement.
- it has little bit performance issue
- output window panel is single if we run multiple select commands it shows all results in one after that so that is more clumsy
- it goes hang in low System RAM configurations.
it is useful where we use the same type of data and we can change databases very quickly and change the table name in no time. It is less appropriate where a huge amount of records are used and we cannot use and manipulate the unstructured database easily so that is not the good thing for big industries.
April 02, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "My experience with SQLServer and its R Integration"
Verified User
Employee in Research & Development
Research Company, 1001-5000 employeesWe used to SQL Server to build a decision support system for mid-size companies (e.g. bakeries) offering perishable goods. The core of the system is a machine learning algorithm that provides demand forecast based on transactional data (POS data) that are required for daily production and order decisions. Hence, the provided demand forecasts are used by operational staff at the headquarters that control the complete supply chain.
- Integration of the R programming language and its eco-system.
- Transact-SQL is quite expressive and allows implementing complex application logic.
- MS Excel can be used as front-end.
- OLAP queries on non-aggregated POS data can be very slow. Hence, it is required to persist aggregated views on the data.
- Debugging R-Code is not convenient.
- Versioning of SQL procedures.
MS SQL Server is an appropriate choice if the data foundation is not very large. The integrated R support allows you to deploy analytical applications (e.g. machine learning models) directly in the database.
However, if the data foundation is very large or real-time queries SQL Server reaches its limits and might not be the right choice.
July 16, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL works very well for larger datasets"
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 501-1000 employeesSQL server is used by most of the teams in the organizations where I worked. It is used to store the data for the large projects especially.
- Faster in performance.
- The concept of CTE(Common table expressions) is really great.
- Temp tables works well and easy to use.
- We need to always use BEGIN TRAN to start a transaction which adds an additional step each time.
Intelli-sense is very good.
May 18, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL server pivot function and automatic data table name pop up are awesome"
Verified User
Analyst in Product Management
Consumer Services Company, 201-500 employeesMicrosoft SQL server is currently used only in the IT department and Data Analytics department. We mainly use it for database management. For our data analytics team, I use SQL server to write queries to produce desired tables of data
- Tables in database automatically pop up in writing SQL, makes it easier to navigate
- Has pivot functionality, so I can query pivot tables instead of making them in Excel
- Great connection to Excel in terms of exporting queries
- Windows set up time takes longer than other DB software
- Does not allow numbers in "group by" clause, users need to write the column names explicitly
SQL server is well suited for all analysts because of the automatic data table pop up when you write SQL in their editor. I cannot think of any negatives that hinder users to write queries.
January 08, 2018
User Review: "Microsoft SQL Server will be the Best!"
Software Development Manager
ADD[+]SYS LABInformation Technology and Services, 1-10 employees
Microsoft SQL Server is our database back-end option to use in our Software Factory. Also, our Client is using this database from 2000 version after 2016 version. From 18 year ago I'm using SQL Server it has grown from this time today is compared with ORACLE and another RDMS in the market but the most important is SQL Server can run on LINUX. Great! From the most simple project after the must complex project our first option is MS SQL Server.
- Runs on LINUX
- Job and Task schedule and Email Notification
- Distribution Transaction
- Support
- RDMS Database backend for Web Site Application
- RDMS Database backend for Reporting Services
- RMS Database backend for ERP, CRM etc Software Tool Project
MS SQL Server in all version is suitable to work together with a Digital Organization and MS SQL Server will be your BACKEND RDMS it is compared to ORACLE and another RDMS. I think that exist more support for MS SQL Server over the internet and Microsoft SQL Server TEAM etc than another RDMS that's sound good for developers and organizations.
July 21, 2017
Review: "Microsoft SQL Server - Stores your Gold"
Machinery, 501-1000 employees
We use SQL Server to data mine and report on data for all departments including finance, production, shipping/receiving and purchasing. We are constantly studying our data trends to help us run our business proactively. Many other departments request data trends, etc., that may not be available in the ERP application. We are able to retrieve this data using SQL Server.
- Excellent Speed
- Backup/Restore fast
- Automated processes work well
- Data encryption
- Security
- Fuzzy SQL logic
Well suited for an environment where data integrity and reporting are significant parts of your business. The ability to data mine for specific scenarios is excellent. Also being able to design reports after finding the data is another excellent tool.
September 06, 2017
Review: "Microsoft SQL Server great for refining"
Senior Clarity Reporting Analyst
Kettering Health NetworkHospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
I use Microsoft SQL Server to write SQL queries for my healthcare organization to do reporting for national quality metrics.
It allows me to write efficient, fast queries that export nicely to Excel.
It allows me to write efficient, fast queries that export nicely to Excel.
- Error logging and indicators
- Colors keywords
- Allows for easy formatting
- Allows for multiple tabs
- Allows for multiple subqueries
- Needs more specific error messages
- Sometimes it seems "buggy" with the predictive text
- Needs an in application help resource that is easier to understand
Microsoft SQL Server is well suited for Excel exports of data for on the fly reporting.
It smoothly incorporates subqueries that allow large pieces of data to be joined together without bogging down resources. It can also easily be used in other applications.
For fancy visual effects or pictures it is not well suited. It is a very "bare bones" application.
It smoothly incorporates subqueries that allow large pieces of data to be joined together without bogging down resources. It can also easily be used in other applications.
For fancy visual effects or pictures it is not well suited. It is a very "bare bones" application.
January 08, 2018
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "A Powerfull and Indispensable Database Server"
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Logistics and Supply Chain Company, 51-200 employeesSQL Server is our main database platform, across the whole organization, we've taken slow applications and moved querying logic into stored procedures and views to maximize performance.
- If configured correctly with the proper hardware, SQL Server can be incredibly powerful, delivering millions of data points in the blink of an eye
- If you're just starting with relational databases, you would probably be fine with opting for an open source solution. However, if you need a solution that can handle an enormous number of requests and return results with considerable speed, SQL is worth researching to see if it fits your needs.
- Managing database using SQL Server Management studio provides very good flexibility
- There isn't as much that I dislike with SQL Server. It will be good to have features where we have fine grain control over internal things. For example, it would have been a good feature to have historical tracking of the metrics as opposed to setting up custom metrics. Overall SQL Server made my life easy to manage a lot of databases and ease of use while migration projects.
- The database is the target of many attacks from it's SA account, this must come disabled by default and just after the instalation, some of 30 seconds, the attacks start, with many requests per second, it needs to improve the firewall to prevent these attacks, or put the SQL Server inside of a VPN and local network to avoid these attacks.
- It requires knowledge and in-depth technical skills to make complex processes truly performing, especially if we are in very complex infrastructures
We use SQL Server to deliver large amounts of data to our clients. As some have moved away from stored procedures and views in favor of technologies that are faster to develop, such as LINQ with Entity Framework, we've noticed that data load time performance has degraded. To fix this, we've taken slow applications and moved querying logic into stored procedures and views to maximize performance.
August 04, 2017
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "Any guy can work on MS SQL server. Its an easy thing to go on."
Verified User
Engineer in Customer Service
Computer Software Company, 1001-5000 employeesMicrosoft SQL Server is being used by our enterprise proprietary products as a backend database. Our entire organisation across departments widely uses Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server caters the needs of the following aspects. 1. Easy accessibility of data 2. Easy connectivity of data 3. Securing layers of information. 4. Hosting/Supporting/ acting as a backend database to all major applications (internal/ external).
- Strengths of Microsoft SQL Server creating an ease even for a newcomer who just knows basics of the database. Creates an easy adoption for any other database programmer who is working on another platform (Oracle, MySQL etc.) to get migrated over to Microsoft SQL server version with minimal efforts.
- Primarily when the application data to be hosted is very less there is less complexity involved in the creation of databases, securing access to a database table, schema and role wise. Much of the functionality of DML, DDL operations can be achieved through user interface called SQL management studio - best tool for any programmer to senior DBA.
- SQL Server integration services, analysis services, and reporting services which are included in BI pack will definitely help enterprise customers save a lot of revenue spent on the additional BI stack Reporting products like Cognos, Crystal Reports, Informatica etc.
- SQL Server has certain limitations in terms of functionality of SQL management studio. But there are a lot of third party programming tools which are available in the market which is powerful enough to overcome these limitations.
- Database comparison tool - Lack of a tool where you can compare entities of database like tables, views, indexes between 2 databases of the same application (like comparing production to stage sites).
- Version control management system (to maintain different versions of code checked in / checked out). Had to be driven using 3rd party tools.
- SQL replication - coverage for all 3rd party databases has been withdrawn in recent editions which are a limitation especially while migrating from previous SQL server editions. This is a gray area of SQL Server often challenged to due to limitations of integration to 3rd party software's like Oracle, MySQL etc.
- Performance management tools - even though there are built-in reports like "Activity Monitor", they are existing to monitor the performance of SQL Server. It's better to have an individual console to connect to SQL server instead of depending on Windows or other 3rd party tools like APEX SQL console, IDERA tool to monitor SQL server performance.
Microsoft SQL server is well suited in the following scenarios:
for SAAS based solutions.
for any application hosting/ storing data < 1 TB.
for any application where the native code is written in Microsoft based technologies like C#, C#.net, VB.net etc.
for applications where it requires utilisation of BI stack (Reporting - SSRS, analysis - SSAS, and developing ETL based solutions - SSIS).
September 27, 2017
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL Server in view of a Start Up Organisation after 3 Years"
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Outsourcing/Offshoring Company, 51-200 employeesSQL Server is used to store the organizational data, which is entered by the users using the forms in front end. We have been using SQL Server to store data and sort it out for the Managers to view it. We also create email alerts for the leads and managers, consisting of employee performance, using database Email Services.
- Automated jobs on schedule
- Easy integration with the Com Components (Assemblies Integration)
- History of the jobs executed, gives the failure and the success email alerts after executing
- Database file partition for the large databases
- Log Shipping is a very easy to implement and very useful feature
- Better GUI for inbuilt functionalities. For example, I would like to have the Database email services have a good interactive GUI instead of the current one.
- It would be nice to have a Start Ups Guide for SQL Server which explains all the basic and necessary services needed for a start up company to use SQL Server.
My feedback is based on SQL Server GUI (Management Studio). The GUI is well built for functions like creating databases objects (Tables Design, Triggers, Stored Procedures...etc). But while creating the Database SQL Profile in Database Mail Management, it's not properly creating the Profile as per the given input. But through Query, it is updating the data correctly.
September 13, 2017
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL SERVER PREFERENCE"
Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesIt is used as a data storage engine and also for providing information to users based on the business user's requirement. It also supports multiple users' requirements. It is also used for reporting services for providing run time reports or summarized reports from OLAP cubes. We also use the various security features and different editions available based on the requirement and budget. I have been working with this product for over 15 years and I am a great admirer of how the product has evolved since 2000.
- In a single package, you get a data base/OLAP/reporting.
- Ease in using the best documentation and books are available for anyone to start working on it and use tons of features.
- Columnstore indexes need to be improved further even after many limitations were removed in SQL 2016.
- Pricing of the SQL Server license should be made more simple to be understand easily.
Moving the databases from a lower to a higher version is very simple and it works 99% of the time. But in some situations, it behaves quite differently which left scratching my head [about] what went wrong.
June 27, 2017
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "Using Windows? - Go SQL"
Director of Research and Development
Peppermint Technology LtdComputer Software, 51-200 employees
SQL Server underpins all our line of business applications and is the database of choice for our case management application. It is used firm-wide from our helpdesk, through to the finance and HR teams. It is used to log support calls, time record and bill our customers.
- SSMS provides useful tools such as the database tuning advisor - providing recommendations for missing indexes.
- SSMS provides useful tools such as the SQL Profiler - Providing in-depth trace files of queries currently executing in your database.
- SSMS provides useful tools such as the Activity Monitor allowing you to find expensive queries, resource waits, processes, and I/O.
- Would prefer more built in queries for DB optimization rather than having to find scripts on the internet.
If you are looking for a relational database management system that scales and provides multi-transactional support then look no further. It gives you ETL through integrations services, reporting through reporting services and cubes through analysis services. The administrative tools beat any other RDBMS available (Oracle for example); it is also much cheaper.
March 28, 2017
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "Business level data storage and reporting"
Verified User
Employee in Information Technology
Industrial Automation Company, 201-500 employeesWe use Microsoft SQL server as a base platform for our enterprise resource program. Not only is it the data warehouse but it also serves as the SSRS report server so we can use SQL views and stored procedures to create SSRS reports more effectively based on the user needs. The tools in SQL Server allow for all maintenance to be scheduled, simplifying maintenance.
- Backing up databases both full and differential as well as transaction logs so data recovery is simple.
- Database cleanup and maintenance tools that can be scheduled to keep the database running at optimal performance.
- The performance monitor allows you to track query performance so you can maintain the best user experience and tune the server for optimal usage.
- A better way to remotely connect to the database to maintain and review current transactions is needed.
- SSRS report designer needs better tools to build the reports you need. Too many workarounds due to limitations in SSRS.
- Logs need to be less cryptic and more meaningful at times so that diagnosing problems can be done quicker.
Storing data in tables SQL does well for major programs where data integrity is needed. It's less appropriate when using the data storage in a smaller format that you are only accessing thru Excel or Access.
April 22, 2016
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL Server to the rescue"
Senior Consultant
NavigantUtilities, 1001-5000 employees
Our company uses Microsoft SQL Server for much of our database storage needs. In the energy section, we use SQL Server to store sample data, generate reports and spreadsheets, as well as internal reporting and data manipulation.
- SQL Server is a whole package that usually connects well with other Microsoft products.
- SQL Server has a large community of users for tips and advice on SQL programming.
- SQL Server works fairly seamlessly with Power BI, Power Query.
- One glaring example is importing spreadsheets through SSIS, SQL Server only seems to sample the first few rows and generates errors if larger text cells are further down the rows.
- SQL Server tends to be a bit more touchy with database object names than MySQL.
- The good - SQL Server has a lot of ways to get at the data, the bad - finding particular settings is often buried in dialogs.
Microsoft SQL Server is great for interaction with other Microsoft products, it tends to be the elephant in the room, you can't miss it. MySQL can be a much more compact installation and requires fewer licensing issues to deploy a solution. Setting up a quick database and querying the data with Power BI is becoming much simpler as these products mature. As long as you already have SQL Server installed somewhere, that is. Importing data into SQL Server from Excel is pretty straight forward and it automatically sets up fields fairly well.
April 13, 2016
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL...not as bad as a lot of Microsoft Products out there"
Network Operations Manager
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)Religious Institutions, 201-500 employees
We use Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 in our environment for all of our .NET applications. We have also found that most any enterprise level software will provide a means to store their database within SQL Server. With one database server for all of our applications it is very easy to backup and create disaster recovery points for the future.
- Fast and efficient compression on backups. Typically we see about a 65% reduction in size compared to the data file.
- It just "works". We say this very little in IT but it really does just work. Almost every enterprise application out there works with it and the downtime is very minimal.
- You have the opportunity to cluster servers. You can easily create a cluster of SQL servers to share resources instead of buying all new equipment and scattering the database footprint.
- The patching has sometimes been an issue for us. It either doesn't work or the process isn't explained well for the different SQL instances on one engine.
- I wish they would design a way to allow SQL backups to go somewhere other than a local drive. A UNC path would be best. This would allow us to rotate off the backups to a longer term storage device.
- It takes up a huge amount of memory and space on a server.
- There is no benefit to running it in VMWare. We typically find that servers run better in VMWare for our use cases but SQL seems to run just the same and you don't save on licensing so there really is no benefit.
If you have an organization with over 50 employees then you will benefit from Microsoft SQL. Anything less than that and you are going to need Microsoft SQL Express. The full licensing model gives you all features for that edition. Things like compressed backups, clustering, and anything to do with more than one server will require the heavier duty licensing. We use it for most everything except our websites. Our websites run on Python Django which does not work with Microsoft SQL Server. Other than the lack of support on that front we are 100% satisfied with it at the moment.
February 23, 2016
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL Server from a mid-level DBA perspective"
Database Administrator
AderantComputer Software, 201-500 employees
SQL Server is used throughout the organization in differing capacities. Research and Development uses it to develop new software and to fix previously coded bugs or issues. Our software communicates with a SQL server database that has almost 1000 tables with varying relationships and data amount. Support uses SQL to log customer/client issues and to see what clients have downloaded what products and who the contacts are that are viewing our released software from the Salesforce website which communicates with a local SQL database we have on site. Our Professional services team will configure databases in SQL server at client sites to help set up a new client or to solve issues that the client is encountering.
- Handle large amounts of data. SQL can process thousands of rows of data in a pinch when given the correct hardware to utilize. SQL likes memory and it will utilize it very efficiently when given the chance.
- SQL provides at least 2 methods to do everything. You can write simple SQL query scripts or you can use the built-in GUI (which coincidentally just runs SQL scripts behind the scenes).
- Allows for jobs to be setup that can do simple tasks such as database backups, database restores, export and import data and even send out notifications when SQL Server encounters a problem.
- Integrates with a lot of other programs and software. Microsoft allows SQL Server to integrate with Visual Studio and you can utilize SQL tools with SSIS, SSMS, SSAS, and SSRS to get deep into integration tools, Analyzing data, and reporting on various data in each database. You can also integrate with third party tools such as the suite of products from RedGate.
- Speed up installation times. A manual installation of SQL server can take up a good chunk of time. You can be forced to go through an installation wizard screen by screen and it can take a lot of time waiting for each screen to load.
- Allow for easier integration with GUI's. SQL has the capability to use a visual query builder where you can drag and drop fields, tables, etc to build a query but it is not as user friendly as you would imagine.
- Make the permissions more stream lined. Users can have permissions to a SQL Server but not a particular database and trying to find the right spot to add the correct permissions can be painful for someone who is new to SQL Admin work.
The larger the database and project the more efficient it will be if kept running smoothly. Small projects/businesses will find SQL Server useful also but for the cost of licenses it may not be as cost effective as some would like. Also if your business depends on the data in the database or server you will want a full time DBA to watch over the Server (both the hardware and software of the server) to insure you don't have any data integrity or security issues.
June 06, 2016
Microsoft SQL Server Review: "SQL Server for quick and easy wins"
SharePoint/MS Project Server Engineer
MerckPharmaceuticals, 10,001+ employees
Microsoft SQL Server is being used extensively in my organization. It is the default database for SharePoint sites and also the default choice for custom database applications. SQL Server Database is very commonly used in the IT department since it is well suited with the Microsoft umbrella of products. Other departments also use SQL Server for self-served Microsoft Business Intelligence reports and SharePoint. Analytics is one of the main business problems that SQL Server handles efficiently and effectively. SQL Server Reporting Services, PowerPivot, Power BI, SharePoint rely heavily on SQL Server engine and database in the back-end.
- SQL Server handles a relational database very well. The fundamental logic for Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) hasn't changed much for a long time, so there is no learning curve if you upgrade from older versions to new ones.
- One of the strong advantages of using SQL Server is its better compatibility with Microsoft product suites. Choosing Microsoft SQL server is the first choice if your organization relies on other Microsoft products.
- It is very stable, fast, affordable, and extremely popular. There is an easy learning curve to acquire SQL Server skills. Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio is very graphical and requires very little programming to achieve basic tasks.
- SQL Server is only operable on the Windows platform. It should support the Unix platform too.
- There are a few object types missing in SQL Server, e.g. no packages (collection of procedures and functions), no "before" event triggers.
- SQL Server doesn't support partitioning.
I prefer SQL Server for SharePoint applications. There are SSIS data sources, destinations that can be used to sync data between SharePoint lists and SQL Server tables. SQL Server is a good choice if you are looking for a solution with quicker time to market. It is simple to use and administer. However, I would prefer something else (like Oracle) for enterprise solutions.
June 04, 2016
User Review: "Microsoft SQL server - WHY"
Database Developer
NewDay USAFinancial Services, 201-500 employees
Microsoft SQL server is the backbone of our organization and is used by the whole organization. Our application uses Microsoft SQL server as a backend. We do a lot with SQL server like storing the actual data, replicating the production database, SQL jobs to create a reports database, SQL server reporting services etc. We do have multiple servers for multiple different databases and we user the server objects/linked servers to access data across all the servers. I think it addresses almost all aspects of our business at this point.
- Data accessing via Excel or Access is very easy.
- Reporting services are a really good example to present and analyze the data to management.
- We do have an analytics team which does a lot of data modeling and also uses lots of integration services.
- Definitely room for improvement in SQL server reporting services.
- Missing the functionality to purge/archive/delete the reports from the server. We have to do it one at a time.
I think for any application it really works well. It has lots of features which could help with business requirements. It can easily import the data from different data sources and also can export the data in the required format. It is really good in OLTP transactions too. We will have to use it well to make it more efficient. For ex: if you don't have proper indexing, it might take time to retrieve the data you wanted or you might run into time out situations.
September 06, 2016
Microsoft SQL Server: "SQL Server review"
Business Intelligence Consultant
MitratechInformation Technology and Services, 201-500 employees
We use it to manage part of our enterprise ETL process.
- Great catalog of online support
- Intuitive interface
- Very useful functions and methods not available on other platforms
- SQL Server Integration Services, in my experience, is very buggy and crashes often. Needs improvement
- I wish it was easier to retrieve current instance settings and configurations without going through much of the installation process again
- Compatibility with Power BI suite is not intuitive and is less than robust
Great for complex querying and administration. Needs improvement on out-of-the-box ETL functionality.
About Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.
Categories: Relational Databases
Microsoft SQL Server Integrations
Microsoft SQL Server Technical Details
| Operating Systems: | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application: | No |