Microsoft Azure SQL Database Reviews

I work in data transformation, so I focus on doing queries and cleaning up data before sending it to the visualization team.

Integrating AI into our call databases in Azure sparked a significant revolution in what we could achieve. They have AI integrated with Fabric, which was interesting. All the databases now have AI. At first, realizing how AI fits in was challenging because it's only a database. It has data that you can use for artificial intelligence.

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. 

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is incredibly user-friendly, especially for beginner and intermediate developers. If you have someone who can help you with the tricky stuff, it's simple. On my first day on the job, I thought initializing the SQL databases would be complicated, but when I dove into SQL and learned how to interact with the database, it was straightforward. 

Azure SQL's integration with other Microsoft applications has been a lifesaver. You can use Azure for many things, mainly for running applications. The fact that you can integrate it with all their components in Azure is excellent. 

One area for improvement could be expanding the search queries using vectors or AI inside the database. After seeing its potential in a workshop, I realized the usefulness of more advanced search queries with AI.

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is fast and efficient, offering a significant improvement over other databases.

I haven't worked much with workloads, but it appears satisfactory.

My experience includes working with both on-premises databases and AWS databases. We favor Azure because of its simplicity and the user-friendliness of its portal. Microsoft's expertise was also critical because you need to know how to choose between all of the databases that Azure offers, so you'll realize the full potential and make the client happier.

Setting up SQL databases in Azure was initially intimidating, but it turned out to be straightforward and user-friendly.

I rate Microsoft Azure SQL Database 10 out of 10. 

My main use case for SQL Azure is for a self-reading application related to portfolio management. In this application, users can have portfolios designed and managed based on recommendations from their brokers. These recommendations are sent to users, and if consumed, they get executed and added to their portfolios, which can be easily maintained through mobile applications. This involves using Kafka for messaging and execution.

Some of SQL Azure's most advantageous features are its query performance and the ability to leverage its benefits within the cloud environment. 

If there are areas for improvement, one aspect could be the user interface. It could be made more user-friendly and similar to Google BigQuery's interface. 

I have been using the product since March 2024. 

The solution is scalable. I haven't encountered any issues with it, even with more than 12 gigabytes of data. Backups are easy to manage, and the server performance is super. Its cloud has unlimited storage capability. 

The solution's support is satisfactory but not as fast as Google's. It typically takes about one or two days to resolve issues. 

Positive

Installing SQL Azure is straightforward. If you have the setup ready, it usually takes about 30-40 minutes, with a maximum of an hour. The only additional step is configuring different servers that send requests to your data, which involves setting up IP configurations.

Regular database management practices are required, such as taking daily backups and restoring them when needed. This can be automated with scripts to ensure backups are consistently taken and stored in the cloud or as physical files.

The solution is more cost-effective than Google BigQuery. Compared to Google BigQuery, downloading data can be more expensive.

I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten. 

We have a web application that we deploy on Azure, and we use SQL Azure as a database to store the data.

Since SQL Azure is a stable solution, you do not need to spend time to maintain it.

The solution’s pricing needs improvement because it is too high.

I have been using SQL Azure for less than three years.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

Less than 100 users use the solution in our organization.

I rate the solution a seven or eight out of ten for scalability.

Microsoft provides good and quick technical support.

The solution's initial setup is easy and takes less than one hour.

SQL Azure is an expensive solution.

We use the solution to store not really big data, and the database is less than one gigabyte. The solution's integration with other Azure services is easy because it just needs a connection string to connect. SQL Azure is deployed on the cloud.

Users who can afford its price should use SQL Azure because it reduces setup time. Since it is a stable solution, you do not need to spend time to maintain it.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Scalability is a feature associated with SQL Azure. The primary use cases of the tool are for the retail sector where there are transactions, specifically high peak transactions during Black Friday or month ends, where people go on a spending spree after their salaries get credited to their bank accounts. Different sets of transactions have a few peaks during the month, especially during festivals or marketing events. When it comes to transactions in the retail sector, there can also be low peaks during the middle of the month. To address the high and low peaks in transactions, SQL Azure has a feature that can scale automatically to support a period involving a high level of transactions. Similarly, SQL Azure can automatically scale down to support fewer transactions. Whenever SQL Azure scales up, you need to pay the additional or premium fees associated with the extra use due after the product scales up. When the tool scales down, the cost reduces automatically, and you only pay according to your subscription.

The most valuable part of the solution stems from its scalability and its functionalities, which support high availability and are directly available as an out-of-the-box tool for users, ensuring that it provides you with business continuity features. I like the product's direct out-of-the-box features, which you don't have to go out and configure separately. In the product, you need to place a tick mark so that the solution can automatically take care of the configuration part for you. The intelligence part is pretty much built into the tool. You just have to go and enable specific settings, which automatically make those features available to you.

There are certain shortcomings when it comes to the stability of the product, especially if I consider the fact that there can always be some bug-related issues in the tool. The aforementioned area can be considered for improvement in the product.

I am sure that the tool does all sorts of quality checks before releasing the product in the market, but there are thousands of different environments today where users use the solution for their own purposes and customize it to fit their business requirements. In some cases, there may be some bugs that users need to fix, and many of them might even fix it as well. As SQL Azure is available as a cloud-based tool, it helps to maintain uniformity in the environment, so the number of issues is reduced significantly.

I have been using SQL Azure for 5 years. I use SQL Azure 2022, which is the solution's latest version.

The solution provides clear SLAs on paper, so I am sure that it is a very stable product. It also comes across as a secure product.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

It is a scalable solution.

My company deals with more than 7,000 customers who use the product.

The solution's technical support is knowledgeable and fast. The product offers clear documentation that explains how to reach out to the technical support team over the phone. Users can also chat with the product support team or Microsoft Teams and get help with any troubleshooting procedures. Users can reach out to the support team via email. The tool's technical team is very supportive.

The product's initial setup phase is very easy.

The product's setup phase can be completed in a couple of clicks.

The solution is deployed using Azure's cloud services.

During the first year of use, SQL Azure's ROI is around 30 to 40 percent. In the subsequent years of its use, the ROI will increase.

The price of the product depends on what you need in the tool. You can use it for smaller instances and pay less. You can also go for the premium product with all the security, scalability, and business continuity features, but you have to pay a premium amount. The tool offers different versions on the cloud. Similarly, SQL Azure also has offerings in the form of a web-based version of SQL database for very small customers who want to do PoC involving the solution in their environment, but it is available only in an on-premises version. The tool offers different pricing structures depending on the requirements of users. SQL Azure also has a freeware software version available for very small-sized customers.

Data warehouse and analytics are completely different concepts when it comes to SQL Azure. SQL Azure is not used for data warehousing. Data warehousing is used specifically in Azure, which consists of multiple tools that will use it. The data warehousing part may be associated with SQL Server Database Engine, but it is not used in SQL.

The product offers built-in high-availability features. I can design the product to support the business-critical requirements depending upon my business requirements. The product has features available or built into the tool, which I can use to achieve what I need.

The product has very strong integration features, especially considering that it can integrate with Azure Key Management or Azure Key Vault. SQL Azure can integrate with the security features within Azure, such as Microsoft Sentinel. SQL Azure can integrate with Azure Monitor. SQL Azure can integrate with Microsoft Defender. SQL Azure has ready-made integrations with all Azure products and all of the enterprise-grade products in the market.

When it comes to the product's security features, I would say that Microsoft releases patches on a monthly basis. Whenever a critical update is available, Microsoft informs our company about it. In some cases, Microsoft goes ahead and deploys the security updates directly, ensuring that users are always in a fully secured environment. The tool also has a clear structure of various regulatory and governance features, like PCI DSS, SOX, or HIPAA. Microsoft also certifies its products to support the aforementioned security regulatory and security compliances.

Speaking about how the transition from the on-premises version of SQL Azure impacts a company's operational cost, I feel that it will reduce the overall cost for a user over a period of time. There might be a transformation cost to migrate from- the on-premises version to the cloud, but once it is moved to the cloud, you will see that the month-on-month price will automatically reduce or at least stay stable and won't increase for a period of time.

I recommend the product to others, considering the fact that it is a stable and reliable solution with different price points and licensing models. As a customer, you have choices in picking what you want. The product also offers an option to scale up or scale down when you face struggles in your business.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

We use the product to extract data and present it for warehouse reporting.

The platform provides valuable scalability, stability, and robustness benefits.

The product's pricing needs improvement.

We have been using SQL Azure for 3 years.

I rate the platform's stability an 8 out of 10.

I rate the platform's scalability as 10 out of 10.

The initial setup can be straightforward if you properly configure the product and utilize scripts effectively. Once the script is ready for cloud deployment, executing it is next. The solutions architect sets up the basic infrastructure using infrastructure as code principles. It involves carefully selecting resources, such as VMs and app services, and configuring them according to your requirements. Additionally, one needs to manage security aspects like opening and closing firewalls, which can introduce complexities to the setup process.

I recommend considering a pay-as-you-go pricing model initially.

The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud. It can be done remotely, eliminating the need for manual intervention. However, it may become more challenging if the infrastructure reaches its limits, especially in vertical scaling scenarios.

Whether opting for AWS or Azure, the service offers guaranteed uptime, often around 99.9%. Additionally, it supports deployment across multiple zones and regions.

The transition from on-premises to SQL Azure can impact operational costs depending on the setup. It offers options like pay-as-you-use or dedicated services running 24/7. However, it's essential to evaluate your business case thoroughly before deciding.

I rate it an 8 out of 10.

While we have a trader client or warehouse management, we use SQL Azure because the volume of trading activity keeps changing. Maintaining on-premises solutions or infrastructure for this is difficult, as the user demand can fluctuate significantly throughout the month. For example, at the end of the month, there is a high volume of orders and data as traders push their orders to their incoming entries. This can cause the user demand to spike and then drop off again. Hence, we need a flexible infrastructure that can scale up and down to meet the changing demand.

It's easy to use and maintain. If we look at the development of the maintenance team, we are not directly responsible for any infrastructure issues. We have too many positive sides to that. No maintenance, easy to use, and we'll know the limits very well. So, users cannot come and say that these are the problems we are facing.

Mostly, it is the cost. Microsoft services are costly, which is the only problem we face. So, pricing is an area of improvement.

Another downside is that it's very difficult to investigate if something wrong is going on behind the scenes. If we are facing a problem that our application is doing a CPU spike and when we look at the dump of the details, the processes that our application is generating are not consuming more than 40-50% of CPU. But we don’t know where it is going, who's generating it, and who's consuming the CPU. Even Microsoft says they don’t know. They simply said we cannot give you the details. So, a bit of control over such processes or maybe analytics for it is something that needs improvement as well.

In the last four or five years, a couple of clients have been more into Azure databases. So, depending on the client, we use this solution. 

Installation is easy. It has been changed the way it is being done. Once you do that, it's okay.

It is difficult to maintain it on-premises. If you are maintaining everything on your own, you need somebody who knows security. Everything comes into your bucket. So, you need to focus more on the infrastructure side and the maintenance of the application.

I've worked with clients who have multiple multifunction solutions, where some solutions use some technologies, and some use some.

SQL Azure is very well maintained. Most of the services are good. If not the best, but they're good—no such complaints.

Overall, I would rate SQL Azure a nine out of ten.

I work for a service-based company that helps businesses migrate their applications to the cloud. So, we're implementers. We help with the migration process. 

We primarily use Azure SQL when migrating data from legacy systems to the cloud based on customer preferences. If customers are looking for an Azure solution, we often recommend a Dedicated SQL pool based on their specific requirements. This allows them to store their data in cloud storage services and access it easily through the database.

Specifically for Azure SQL, I appreciate the detailed information available for different formats and the high data availability.

The data availability and speed are impressive, especially compared to legacy systems. The loading speeds are much faster on Azure SQL.

And for other Azure databases like Snowflake, the various features are helpful for development and testing. They allow us to create environments easily and with minimal cost, while maintaining high availability.

The user interface (UI) could be more flexible. It's not that the data access or storage format is bad, but the UI feels clunky and isn't up to par with other tools.

I've been using Azure SQL and Synapse for the past two years. It's also known as a dedicated SQL pool. That's the one we're using for data warehouse support.

For the past two years, I've been using both Azure Synapse Analytics and Dedicated SQL pool, writing code, and utilizing other Azure services. But these two are the ones primarily related to data warehouses and databases.

Stability is high. We haven't faced any outages or downtime during my time using it. So, I'd give it a nine out of ten for stability.

We did have some issues with data backups. Unlike traditional systems where backups were routine, with SQL Azure, managing data backups became an additional task. So, there have been issues with replication. But apart from that, scalability has been good.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. We have enterprise businesses as our clients. 

I also use Snowflake, which is an individual cloud database. I have experience with other cloud data warehouses like Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, and SQL databases. I use Synapse and upload SQL code to it.

I would rate my initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy. So, the setup is easy. 

Deployment took an hour. 

My clients have seen an ROI.

Compared to other providers, it's definitely on the affordable side. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Our primary use case is creating management-related items for SQL for the development of a variety of items we are working with.

I would like to see the cloud connectivity environment improved.

I have been using SQL Azure for the past year or more.

The stability is excellent because it is easier for us to connect to the cloud rather than connecting to MSSP.

When it comes to scalability because it is a cloud, you can always get additional resources, or you can scale up. At the point of integration, we have over three hundred. We created three instances, housing, roughly about one hundred of them, and then whenever we have additional disabilities, and we have maxed out on the number of instances, we just create another instance and start there, waiting for disabilities in that management. This is easy to notice on the cloud. Your resources are things that you can easily scale up without having to wait for hardware.

We have contacted technical support. The organization has a very good partnership with Microsoft and any area of the solution that can use even the on-prem risk premium platform. If I have issues on the network or with Nigel, I contact the account manager and I am directed to the appropriate team at Microsoft. If other users on the databases are syncing, I just reconnect to how I log a ticket on a Microsoft phone call and engineers are able to work with me to resolve the problem.

The initial setup was a bit difficult.  There was a faulty management style that we created, but we were able to replicate it subsequently because you can do a number on each of the management styles.

I believe the licensing is more on a global scale.

I would rate SQL Azure an eight out of ten.