SQL Server Reviews and Pricing

it_user6414

CEO at a tech company with 51-200 employees

May 10, 2013

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SQL Server offers tight integration at low pricing

Pros and Cons

"Database developers who want to have a clear logical and physical understanding of database systems will no doubt benefit much from using SQL Server."

"SQL Server work best with Windows Operating System and it is not compatible with some other systems hence limiting its platform friendliness."

What is most valuable?

• SQL Server provide end users and database programmers with a broad spectrum of services such as Analysis and Reporting services, Data Engine, Integration Services thus making database development and management easier and reliable. • SQL Server offers a platform on which data in all levels- structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data can be managed, integrated and analyzed thus enabling an organization to realize its mission-critical information. • Latest versions of SQL Server provide a handy development studio that not only make the creation of database objects easy but also offer useful tools such Object Explorer to allow quick processes.

What needs improvement?

• SQL Server work best with Windows Operating System and it is not compatible with some other systems hence limiting its platform friendliness. • Advance versions with higher functionality such as Work Group Edition have high installation requirement such as multi-processor computers, larger primary memory and are not open source.

What other advice do I have?

• Database developers who want to have a clear logical and physical understanding of database systems will no doubt benefit much from using SQL Server. I personally marvel at the extensible support provided by the management studio especially on disk and file management as I enjoy using SQL Server 2008. SQL Server is friendly to both beginners and experts and its installation process can be customized to suite different features.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user6579Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Jul 27, 2013

Good Article. Though i would like to add some points.

1) Microsoft SQL Server is easy to use and offers more features, like full support for triggers.
2) Closely integrated with Microsoft products like .NET Framework.
3) Various features for data restoration and recovery.
4) Microsoft SQL Server only runs on Windows-based servers.
5) Costly license fees.

it_user5520

Network Manager at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees

Apr 1, 2013

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Will be my first choice for a DBMS again in the future.

Pros and Cons

"A great DBMS for organizations of all sizes."

"For each additional core feature you want to add to your DBMS edition, it is more money."

Valuable Features:

A great database management system for all size companies. SQL server is more user friendly than competitors. Provides easy installation. If you need support or research for the product, it is easy to find help online. There are 3 editions available which will meet any companies needs. Latest version is cloud ready. Offers power and flexibility.

Room for Improvement:

For each additional core feature you want to add to your DBMS edition, it is more money. This is not a FREE program as most other DBMS are. So basically, the more you want, the more you pay.

Other Advice:

A great DBMS for organizations of all sizes. Will be my first choice for a DBMS again in the future. The installation process was simple. You will pay for this SQL Server, but don't be afraid to try the free programs also.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user6579Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Jul 27, 2013

Yes agree with the author that the system is user friendly and installation process is also simple and hassle free. SQL Server is a relational DBMS and supports various features like triggers and many more. Though the features comes with the price which cannot be affordable for some organizations.

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it_user3876

Database Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Feb 2, 2013

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A tool of choice for many corporate environments

Pros and Cons

"SQL Server has a dynamic resource allocation feature that allows disk and memory usage to scale to meet changing database demands, providing better performance and simplifying software management."

"Reloading all the data in a database can cause potential data loss especially when the size of database is large."

Valuable Features:

• SQL server has dynamic resource allocation feature that allows disk and memory usage scale to meet changing database demands. This facility provides better performance and simplifies software management.• SQL Server’s Graphical Query Analyzer not only helps building stored procedures and interactive queries but also graphically displays the steps performed by query processor to execute the query. • SQL Server’s Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) provides services like data warehousing, data marts and decision support to many medium sized companies.• Data Transformation Services is a powerful and flexible tool provided by SQL server, it simplifies importing and exporting data between and OLE-DB compatible databases.

Room for Improvement:

• Installation and operation of SQL Server requires Internet Explorer (IE). • Reloading all the data in a database can cause potential data loss especially when the size of database is large. • No Cascading declarative referential integrity is available in SQL server.

Other Advice:

Microsoft SQL Server is the tool of choice for many corporate environments because it is a commercial database server. Its core role in the commercial world is only to store data which is slightly different than other databases like MS Access. In addition to data storage capability, MS Access allows developing a full user interface for data entry and reports generation. Whereas SQL Server simply stores data. Significant numbers of companies are moving to SQL Server. When it comes to costs SQL will very often make a very good business case.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user4524Founder & Principal Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

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Feb 28, 2013

I politely disagree with the Cons portion of your review. SQL Server does not require Internet Explorer for installation and operation. The only optional module within SQL Server that requires IE present on the server (but not required for the end users) is SQL Server Reporting Services.

I also disagree with the statement about reloading data can cause data loss if the database is large. If the product is used properly, the potential for data loss is extremely small. I load large data sets quite frequently, and data loss simply does not occur. If you are experiencing data loss during loads, you might have an infrastructure problem that is contributing to instability.

Also, SQL Server has had cascading declarative referential integrity features since SQL Server 2000. See msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa902684(v=sql.80).aspx for more information.

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reviewer1680246

Chief Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Sep 30, 2021

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Stable, straightforward installation, and priced well

Pros and Cons

"The installation was straightforward. We did not have a large installation and it took a couple of weeks to complete."
"We used SQL Server to store all of our lab data on the database, with a front-end application that needed SQL in the background for archiving all the laboratory data."

"The solution could improve by having better integration."

What is our primary use case?

We used SQL Server to store all of our lab data on the database. We had a front-end application that needed SQL in the background for archiving all the laboratory data.