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Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server

Overview

What is Microsoft SQL Server?

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.

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Recent Reviews

Solid and Reliable.

10 out of 10
August 28, 2023
Incentivized
We use MSSQL Server along with SSIS and SSRS as it's a very competent software suite and very stable. It integrates well with other …
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Microsoft SQL Server Review

9 out of 10
October 28, 2022
I am a computer engineer. I have been working as a software developer for about 7 years. I've been using Microsoft SQL Server since I was …
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SQL Server Review

8 out of 10
June 19, 2021
Incentivized
We use MS SQL Server as our main database to store customer data. We have a monolith web application that is using a single MS SQL Server …
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MS SQL Server

8 out of 10
May 25, 2021
Incentivized
For the uninitiated it is first important to point out that many programs use a Database at the back-end and the end-user will be totally …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Subscription

$1,418.00

Cloud
Per License

Enterprise

$13,748.00

Cloud
Per License

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

An Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server's Statistics

YouTube

Introduction to Transact SQL (T-SQL) using Microsoft SQL Server

YouTube
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Product Details

What is Microsoft SQL Server?

Microsoft SQL Server Video

Microsoft SQL Server Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.

Reviewers rate Usability highest, with a score of 9.9.

The most common users of Microsoft SQL Server are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(1614)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 96)
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August 28, 2023

Solid and Reliable.

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to use
  • Reliable
  • Amazing integration with other software
  • The query optimizer is clunky
  • Performance tuning is difficult to use
  • It's expensive
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Ease of learning
  • Simple design
  • Common use
  • Documentation
  • Dark theme
  • Improvement of the query plan
  • Output screen is white
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • 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
  • Database backup and recovery functionality need improvement. Sometimes I have observed that when you try to restore a backup to a previous date/state, it does not work as expected, and restore fails.
  • Cost gets higher on integrating with Azure SQL
Pritesh Patel | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to use with Visual Studio and ASP projects
  • Multiple options for Data Security
  • Industry standard and easy to use
  • Easy to install and configure
  • Licensing can get complicated
  • Very very expensive
  • combability issues and dependencies with servers etc
  • Microsoft support....you know
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • It's the most used Database so it's mandatory to have knowledge for most of the roles today
  • You can find anything your need related to SQL Server on forums
  • Easy Implementation
  • I don't see too much to improve but maybe a more intuitive or graphical way to monitor the performance
Blake Baron | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Is reasonably responsive even when thousands of queries are executing at the same time
  • Provides an end user experience that allows for intuitive use of structured query language coding
  • The database explorer is intuitive and easy to use for SQL neophytes
  • This is probably a sys admin setting, but it forces me to reset my password every month
  • I've heard the enterprise edition is quite costly
  • If we want to do anything substantial with it beyond simple storing and reporting, we often need to hire consultants
June 19, 2021

SQL Server Review

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • It has quite a lot of pre-built function that helps speed up development time.
  • One of the fastest SQL database engines.
  • Built for enterprise use with enterprise-level of support available.
  • It could be very expensive to utilize MS SQL server to its full potential due to the licensing tier limit.
  • It does not have a built-in JSON type column, unlike PostgreSQL, although it has built-in functions to help to work with JSON.
  • Require more space to install the database engine compared to other SQL databases.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • It supplies a quick and easy way to analyze raw data when troubleshooting.
  • It gives the ability to easily create non standard ad hoc reports for clients.
  • It provides a standard platform for trouble shooting when we need to bring in engineers with advanced skills to solve problems.
  • It provides great tools for testing and development off line.
  • Configuration of the environment to create compatibility and restrict resource uses.
  • Configuration of connections in configuration manager.
  • Connection of data to other Microsoft products like Excel.
May 25, 2021

MS SQL Server

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Holds data tables
  • Filters information quickly
  • Integrates with many programs
  • Installation is pretty complicated
  • Needs professional maintenance
  • Costs a pretty penny
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Integration. We use PowerBI and Crystal Reports for our reporting and it integrates seamlessly with either.
  • Ease of use. Easy to learn and use. (Not the language - but the application)
  • Protection. Easy maintenance and backup options.
  • Licensing. Can be sometimes confusing layers and expensive.
  • Efficiency. Can be memory intensive on larger tables.
  • Server maintenance can be intensive as well.
Salvador Orochena | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • ETL using SSIS to automate processes
  • Reporting Services to offer SSRS reports as a standard reporting interface
  • Data Analysis using stored procedure, views and transformations
  • Connectivity/Integration with other applications through ODBC, Linked Server, etc.
  • Simplify licensing
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to use to set up databases
  • Reliable clustered instances
  • Maintenance plan wizards
  • Good UI with Management Studio
  • Good BI tools out of the box with SSIS, SSAS, and SSRS
  • It could use more/better templates in SQL Server Profiler
  • Lacks error avoidance tools when working in different environments (DEV/TEST/PROD). That is, preventing some code execution against PROD, for example.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Mircosoft SQL Server allows mutliple database to be set up for business purposes.
  • Microsoft SQL Server allows jobs to be scheduled after hours, when no one is in the office.
  • Microsoft SQL Server allows queries to be run to gather specific information needed.
  • Microsoft SQL Server allows security settings that will only allow specified users access. Easy disable employees no longer with the company.
  • Microsoft SQL Server has an activity monitor that will show any errors.
  • I have been using Microsoft SQL Server for 12 years and I have no complaints.
Lisandro Fernigrini | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Microsoft SQL Server is simple to install and configure.
  • Many advanced options like Compression and Partitioning are available with no extra cost, thus reducing the overall TCO.
  • Partitioning does not provide as many options as Oracle (like Foreign Key partitioning, list partitions, hash partitioning and sub partitions)
  • The default READ COMMITED isolation level block readers, so it is important to use the READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT option, that should be default right now...
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Stored procedures, efficient and so much easier to update business logic when under pressure!
  • High availability always on groups (since 2012), is pretty easy to set up and just works - has been an absolute savior on 2 server failures.
  • Fairly straightforward to administer out the box as it were (but this can be enhanced see below).
  • So widely used that someone somewhere has probably faced the same challenges that you have so [to] find a guide, solution, suggested path is relatively easy (not strictly a SQL server thing but makes a massive difference knowing that you have access to huge resource with a well supported well adopted piece of software).
  • Very well supported in terms of third party software to enhance administration (backups, performance, etc.).
  • Enterprise is unbelievably expensive.
  • Not tolerant of bad practices and poor query writing, really shows up when you do it badly!
  • Deep insight into what is happening with query performance is not especially great (but as mentioned in the "Pros", software support from third parties does cover this).
Akhilesh Arya | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to use is of course the foremost reason [for] its extensive use in almost every industry
  • Less expensive than Oracle tools
  • Multiple user support in [a] single set up
  • Excellent user support and documentation
  • Visualization is not available for that you have to use [the] different tool this is one of the feature[s] I think they should include
  • In MS Access you can design the query but here you have to write it in SQL
  • Enterprises edition is really expensive
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • A requirement for most MS based applications
  • Widely used in the industry, allowing to easily support it
  • Flexible in terms of configurations
  • Very expensive!
  • Scalable, but not with ease
  • Resource hog
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to create queries to return specific, filtered data
  • Interfaces with many third-party tools, like Pipedrive and Google BigQuery
  • Provides easy mechanisms to backup and restore data
  • SQL Reports are easily created and customized
  • Better exporting of SQL Reports to multiple formats
  • More Tool Tips for some of the less familiar options
  • More backwards compatibility for older software
John P. Maher | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • When properly maintained results are returned quickly
  • Backups and restores can be done quickly for testing
  • Support for common data access methods makes coding less painful
  • SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) really helps IT in database activities
  • Debugging stored procedures can be done better
  • SSMS could be integrated more efficiently
  • Tasks that require many steps could be either streamlined or at the very least remember the data entered for each step
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