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Microsoft MDS vs Talend Open Studio for MDM [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 MDS
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Master Data Management (MDM) Software (4th)
Talend Open Studio for MDM ...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

NA
Data Management Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Centralized master data has improved data quality but now requires a clearer future roadmap
An area where Microsoft MDS can be improved is that Microsoft has announced Microsoft MDS is being removed from SQL Server two thousand twenty-five. The future of the product is genuinely uncertain, and that's something any organization evaluating it needs to factor in seriously. Microsoft MDS is still supported on SQL Server two thousand twenty-two and earlier, but the trajectory is clear that Microsoft is not investing in Microsoft MDS going forward. I would also say that the cloud story is a gap because there's no native cloud version of Microsoft MDS. For clients who are moving workloads to Azure, that's an increasingly awkward conversation. Microsoft's direction for MDM in the cloud is through other capabilities like Azure Purview and Dataverse, but those are different products with different feature sets.
Mubahir Rashid - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Analytics Consultant at Aletha Corp
Good data fabric and a straightforward setup with the ability to extend
I really like the data fabric. In my data fabric, we have a component related to cloud computing that is quite useful. The data fabric has improved over the previous version. The user interface is fine. There are good integrations possible with the product. The initial setup is very straightforward. It is a scalable product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft MDS is its compatibility with ETL tools like SSIS, which simplifies operations for end-users."
"It has been 200% useful in our organization."
"It has been a long-standing tool in our organization since it was free."
"We used Azure Cloud service to set it up, and it was very easy to setup and configure."
"Enables non-technical people to directly interact with the BI system."
"Unlike specialized tools, MDS is adaptable for various industries, making it a versatile choice for master data management."
"It's Microsoft, so it's not always perfect, however, is a good step to start with."
"What I like about Microsoft, is that it has a huge database with many users."
"The most valuable features are the stewardship and the data prep."
"The biggest advantage of Talend is that they have an active community, and if we face any issue, we can get input in a short duration of time."
"I really like the data fabric."
 

Cons

"The only drawback is that it does not have the matching, merging, and all true MDM components. For these, you have to use another competent called Data Quality Services (DQS). You need to plug it in and use it along with MDS for true MDM. Both of these are integrated together, but you have to do them separately, whereas, in Profisee, there are a couple of screens where you can configure the matching process, create matching rules, and other things, and everything is in one product, which is not the case with MDS. In order to implement a true MDM, you need MDS, DQS, and SSIS. You have to use MDS to store your golden records, DQS to configure and standardize all your rules and matching percentages, and SSIS to load the data to DQS and MDS. At the same time, you also need Melissa Data to clean up your addresses to validate and standardize the addresses. That's the main component of true MDM. It would be good if they can create a true matching component inside MDS and merge MDS and DQS."
"There are occasions when the solution maintains SD and we get duplications of MDS."
"Microsoft MDS isn't getting strong support because Microsoft is focusing more on cloud solutions."
"If Microsoft MDS were part of Azure, it would be significantly more helpful."
"The stability could be improved."
"Microsoft MDS' language should be simple so everyone can use it easily."
"The version that I work with is on-premises and it required an additional virtual machine on the cloud. It would be a better option to have an on-cloud version."
"If one system has reached capacity or has stopped, then the whole system stops and it is quite difficult to solve the problem."
"It can definitely be improved on the UI side. They can provide a better UI as compared to what is currently available. I'm trying to set up the UI to capture some information, and when I try to use the native feature of Talend, I'm finding it difficult. It could be improved a bit. Only when it comes to MDM, it is not user-friendly, but when it comes to data integration of Big Data, it's extremely user-friendly."
"From the UI side, it'll trouble a lot."
"Creating a model and deploying it is a little bit tricky in Talend, compared to other tools."
"I do not have notes for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"SAP is more expensive than Microsoft."
"MDS is a part of the SQL Server enterprise license. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"I would like to see better pricing."
"The solution does require a license and we have enterprise licenses."
"The pricing of this solution is good."
"With Microsoft, we buy everything though an agreement, so we purchase volume licensing every year."
"Product licensing is very complicated. It would be helpful to have an online calculator to estimate the cost of a license."
"Microsoft MDS is an expensive solution."
"The licensing fees vary depending on the products that you purchase."
"It has one single license, and everything is included in it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft MDS?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that the licensing is one of Microsoft MDS's genuine advantages, as it's included in SQL Server Enterprise Edition at no additional cost....
What needs improvement with Microsoft MDS?
An area where Microsoft MDS can be improved is that Microsoft has announced Microsoft MDS is being removed from SQL Server two thousand twenty-five. The future of the product is genuinely uncertain...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft MDS?
My main use case for Microsoft MDS is as a central master data repository for clients running SQL Server-based data environments. The typical scenario is a mid-sized organization that has product d...
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Also Known As

Microsoft Master Data Services, Microsoft MDM, Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services, MS MDS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ETA a.s., Apeejay Surrendra Group, Blue Star Infotech, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation, The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, New Belgium Brewing
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