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Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
138
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Cus...
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 9.1%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is 3.3%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database9.1%
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer3.3%
Other87.6%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Sawyer - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group
Automatic tuning and multi-region availability have reduced manual workloads and improved performance management
The features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database that I like the most are easy scaling and high availability. I appreciate those features because it's easy to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database readily available in a multi-region infrastructure. Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code. I am using the automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database. We are using the new feature of data encryption in Microsoft Azure SQL Database with customer-managed keys only. The reliability and stability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database platform are rock-solid; it's as good, if not better, than what our on-premise stability has been from an uptime perspective.
WB
Oracle DBS at Bpifrance
Positive experience with virtual cloud network creation and database migration highlights patching challenges
The best feature of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that it can be managed without needing only DBAs. We have many features, including the observability feature that helps check performance and generates numerous reports about performance. We have also implemented APIs, enabling us to create and perform many operations. This means we need DBAs who can work with APIs. We are autonomous in the patching process and don't need Oracle for patching. If you configure the process of patching, it will be executed automatically. We are using dynamic scaling which is implemented on an external virtual machine, helping us to downscale or upscale the CPU. Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer has supported our organization's compliance and data sovereignty without problems. I have observed some limitations. For example, regarding encryption, though it is mandatory for Exadata Cloud at Customer, we cannot encrypt the database with external keys. Currently, with Exadata Cloud at Customer, using external keys is not possible.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution is very easy to use, quite user-friendly, the product is stable, the performance is great and it's reliable, and it's very good as an on-premises deployment."
"The reason we moved to the cloud was for the convenience of not having any physical hardware to maintain."
"The ease of scaling the server up and down by simply pressing a few buttons in a dropdown menu has made our lives significantly more comfortable, especially as we aim to process more data this year by utilizing the cloud."
"The solution has become easier to use over time and it's also reasonably priced."
"Microsoft Azure SQL Database scales well, allowing us to increase our compute level or add more instances as required."
"The solution is a fairly mature product. It provides good stability."
"Azure SQL Database is very quick and easy to use."
"We have used SQL for a long time. Azure SQL has helped teams across the organization to use SQL's full potential. I can't say what the cost savings were precisely, but I believe it has reduced the total cost of ownership."
"Exporting and importing is easy because of its cleanliness, making the process easier. However, setting up the Data Guard was more difficult. Despite this, the client experienced lower downtime."
"I like that Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is a stable, well-positioned product in the market today, and it's very scalable."
"We have migrated mission-critical databases to Exadata and gained significant performance in our OLTP and Batch jobs."
"Performance has significantly improved."
"I am particularly fond of the intelligent capabilities that enhance the backend, utilizing technology to analyze SQL queries."
"The best feature of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that it can be managed without needing only DBAs, with observability features to check performance, generate reports, and implement APIs for creating and performing many operations."
"The operation model is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature is that it is based on Exadata infrastructure, which is Oracle 's leading engineered system that is trusted, fault-tolerant, and has unique performance features."
 

Cons

"There is probably more functionality in our on-prem SQL Server than SQL Azure."
"SQL Azure's performance monitoring features need to be improved."
"I wish the customer service and technical support were a bit quicker, though I recognize that not everything can be solved within an hour or a day."
"The price is a little higher."
"The solution could improve by allowing the export of the data more seamlessly. It is difficult to copy and back up data."
"The solution needs to improve its customer network, including its online support."
"The pricing plans when using multiple Microsoft solutions are complex and have room for improvement."
"Pricing is reasonable for a big enterprise. The price is a little higher. It should have a 20% discount."
"Scalability is not straightforward."
"Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is stable, but the only problem occurs during OS patching. If you encounter issues, the VMC (virtual machine cluster) becomes unusable."
"Today their support no longer lives up to my expectation."
"For the data migration, we used ZDM. It was not integrated with the databases, and the documentation lacks clarity."
"We had some problems in the developer's environment. We had some problems with the initial installation environment."
"As a customer, you can't see the boot messages of your virtualized guest machines."
"A room for improvement in Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that they need to train more partners to gain more knowledge because currently, they are keeping a lot to themselves. For example, they are still keeping a lot of information on their campus, so information sharing is limited."
"The solution is expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When looking at the long-term expenses associated with running software on an on-premises server, the costs are almost equivalent but when we include insurance for devices, onsite fees for servers, and other related costs, we may find that this is a cost-effective solution."
"Offers options for paying the license on a yearly or a monthly basis."
"Microsoft services are costly, which is the only problem we face. So, pricing is an area of improvement."
"The licensing for this solution is based on subscription."
"In terms of the cost, SQL Azure is a pay-per-use solution, particularly because it's a cloud subscription, so you pay as much as you use it."
"I'm not sure what the exact price is, but it's a moderate amount. It's not too expensive."
"I would like it to be cheaper, but comparatively, it is reasonably priced."
"I recommend considering a pay-as-you-go pricing model initially."
"The machine and the cloud model itself already have licensing advantages."
"The price is too much."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
10%
Educational Organization
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise65
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
I am not involved in the pricing part of Microsoft Azure SQL Database, so I have not heard anything.
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have not worked much on Microsoft Azure SQL Database's ability to power next-generation AI applications. I cannot suggest anything about improvements in Microsoft Azure SQL Database because I am ...
What is your primary use case for SQL Azure?
I find the data migration part for Microsoft Azure SQL Database very good for connecting one database to another database. For the integration with other Microsoft applications, we are using SQL Se...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?
The pricing is reasonable due to a universal agreement, which often positions Oracle solutions better against others. I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?
In future updates for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer, I would like to see another feature for the different costs for the non-CDB models, because if you are not using the non-CDB models, you have...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?
The use cases for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer are based on our actual solution. We have the Exadata, but it has reached its end of life. The X5 has attained the end of life, so we discussed mi...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
IBVI, illycaffe, Scottish Water, trueblue, AirAsia, droptank
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.