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Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse vs SAP BW4HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.9
Users find Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse effective in managing data, integrating tools, with ROI potential despite indirect tracking.
Sentiment score
5.8
SAP BW4HANA enhances data management, productivity, and decision-making, offering long-term ROI through centralized data and advanced analytics.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse support is generally positive with responsive service, though some suggest enhancements in speed and Azure expertise.
Sentiment score
5.8
SAP BW4HANA support quality varies; some users experience delays, while others leverage resources for independent issue resolution.
They are responsive and get back to us.
Service Desk Administrator at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would rate my experience with technical support around six on a scale of 1 to 10 because I have not had a particular experience with technical support.
CEO at Smart Data-Driven Solutions
In the meantime, I found solutions independently and provided two solutions to my client.
SAP Analytics Lead at Miracle Software Systems, Inc
I am satisfied with the response time and quality.
Senior consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is scalable with SQL benefits, but may lag behind Snowflake in large data handling.
Sentiment score
6.9
SAP BW4HANA is scalable, excelling in cloud environments, while on-premise scaling may encounter cost and planning challenges.
We go from a couple of users to tons of users all the time, and it scales and handles things really well.
Service Desk Administrator at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I give the scalability an eight out of ten, indicating it scales well for our needs.
Architecture at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
As a consultant, we hire additional programmers when we need to scale up certain major projects.
Associate Director at Sequentis
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is stable, reliable, handles large volumes well, with occasional speed issues on vast datasets.
Sentiment score
7.5
SAP BW4HANA is highly reliable and integrates well, though some users mention performance issues with large datasets.
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is stable for us because it is built on SQL Server.
Architecture at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse needs better tool integration, scalability, compatibility, frequent updates, competitive pricing, and enhanced error messaging.
SAP BW4HANA is costly and complex, with integration, usability, migration issues, and competition from better cloud solutions.
Addressing the cost would be the number one area for improvement.
CEO at Smart Data-Driven Solutions
It would be better to release patches less frequently, maybe once a month or once every two months.
Associate Director at Sequentis
When there are many users or many expensive queries, it can be very slow.
Computer engineer at a engineering company with 5,001-10,000 employees
SAP is asking us to move to one client approach and suggested moving to data warehouse cloud, which should have been done before HANA, as the cloud solution is better for them due to the lack of hardware maintenance on the client's end.
Consultant at IBM
Integration needs improvement.
SAP Analytics Lead at Miracle Software Systems, Inc
The integration with AI/ML in SAP BW4HANA is currently very limited, which is definitely an area that needs improvement.
Senior consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse offers competitive pricing, suitable for large enterprises, but can be costly for high-performance needs.
SAP BW/4HANA is costly, with prices varying widely; often affordable for large enterprises and negotiable per customer needs.
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is very expensive.
Architecture at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The certification cost for SAP BW4HANA in 2025 is expected to be one lakh forty thousand.
SAP Analytics Lead at Miracle Software Systems, Inc
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse boosts data loads, integrates with Power BI, and offers scalable BI with minimal costs.
SAP BW4HANA excels in user-friendly design, advanced analytics, real-time processing, scalability, and seamless integration for informed business decisions.
The columnstore index enhances data query performance by using less space and achieving faster performance than general indexing.
BI/Data Warehouse Analyst at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
There's a feature that allows users to set alerts on triggers within reports, enabling timely actions on pending applications and effectively reducing waiting time.
Associate Director at Sequentis
Its scalability is impressive as it scales up and down really well.
Service Desk Administrator at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The capability to handle a large amount of data and perform ETL operations is most valuable.
Senior consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
My impression of the stability of SAP BW4HANA is that it is a robust system, scalable, and effective for business reporting as well as combining multiple datasets into a single point of view.
Consultant at IBM
The best features include the ability to create data sources directly on tables, and perform mapping without creating info objects.
SAP Analytics Lead at Miracle Software Systems, Inc
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Parallel Data War...
Ranking in Data Warehouse
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP BW4HANA
Ranking in Data Warehouse
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Data Warehouse category, the mindshare of Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is 3.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP BW4HANA is 3.2%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Warehouse Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP BW4HANA3.2%
Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse3.2%
Other93.6%
Data Warehouse
 

Featured Reviews

HassanFatemi - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Smart Data-Driven Solutions
Has handled large volumes of data effectively but still needs cost flexibility
There could be improvements on the cost side of Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse because it is still considered to be quite expensive by a lot of users, and many companies are not interested in solutions with parallel data warehousing due to this expense. Addressing the cost would be the number one area for improvement. Additionally, I have not worked recently with it, so I don't know if this feature already exists, but if it doesn't, having an elastic feature that adjusts the service's power dynamically based on the workload would be beneficial instead of fixing the power at a specific level.
Ritesh Durvasha - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Has supported efficient data processing and streamlined reporting for large-scale sales operations
The capability to handle a large amount of data and perform ETL operations is most valuable. Additionally, sending data out of SAP BW4HANA through Open Hub, which is a free service, is another valuable feature. In contrast, many other products charge for sending data out of their systems, such as Data Sphere or BDC, which charge premium service fees. Regarding advanced analytic tools in SAP BW4HANA, users can directly connect to Analysis for Office without additional charges. It's convenient as users don't have to download data into Excel since it's already connected to the system. From an integration capabilities perspective, it's easy to connect to SAP systems, though integration with non-SAP systems presents more challenges.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Retailer
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise30
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse?
The pricing could be better; I think it actually just went up.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse?
The basic use case for us is virtual machines. In real estate, we use it for our operations. They handle large data sets well, and the performance is good during those times.
What needs improvement with SAP BW4HANA?
For improvement, I think AWS for HANA could be better, but it is an on-premise solution. SAP is asking us to move to one client approach and suggested moving to data warehouse cloud, which should h...
What is your primary use case for SAP BW4HANA?
My use cases involve the client I am working with, who already has a BW ON HANA system, and we are currently migrating and redeveloping things in SAP BW4HANA; they are decommissioning the BW On HAN...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft PDW, SQL Server Data Warehouse, Microsoft SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse, MS Parallel Data Warehouse
SAP BW/4HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Auckland Transport, Erste Bank Group, Urban Software Institute, NJVC, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse vs. SAP BW4HANA and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.