We use the solution to provide the database layer for multiple applications.
A stable tool for any company that has got a Microsoft stack
Pros and Cons
- "I would say that it is a stable product."
- "I would say that people should know how to get a SQL setup in place since it might be an area where they lack when it comes to the solution."
What is our primary use case?
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for 10+ years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have had issues with SQL Server but Microsoft support has been able to resolve them quickly and most came down to configuration/design errors and not a stability of the product issue.
How was the initial setup?
SQL Server is quick to install < an hour. Additional features increase the installation time.
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What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The SQL Server pricing model is based on CPU cores that your database server utilises.
What other advice do I have?
To others looking into using a SQL Server, I would say that it goes down to the application that you are developing and what funds you have available to run the total system.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Sr. Training Manager with 201-500 employees
Stores all of our data, and there is nothing that it can't do
Pros and Cons
- "I've been using SQL Server for 20 years, and there is nothing that it can't do. It is awesome."
- "When we are talking about event space architecture, scalability generally comes into play. For example, I might have a hundred thousand transactions a second, and then all of a sudden, I build something that everybody in the world wants. The next thing I know is that I have a million transactions a second. So, to be able to process the throughput, I'd have to scale up, and then when the holidays are over, I'm again down to a hundred thousand transactions, and I want to scale back down. SQL Server is not going to do that. In this way, it is not very scalable. One of the reasons why they want us to use Kafka is so that if we need to, we can do that, but our base program is on SQL Server. So, this is where we would use a Kafka event stack so that if I need more servers, I can just write a command, and I can have more consumers, more brokers, and more producers, and when the holiday season is over, it scales right back down again. SQL Server is not going to do that."
What is our primary use case?
It has all of our data. Our company sells contracts when you buy a car. We sell aftermarket insurance for the tyre, wheel, ding, dent, windshield, etc. When somebody buys a contract, we capture all of that data into a legacy database PostgreSQL, and my task is to incorporate that into our financial platform using T-SQL. So, I write queries, procedures, and views. I use SSIS, and I use SSRS. My job is to get the data into our financial system so that we can process claims, payments, cancellations, and refunds.
In terms of its version, we're up-to-date. We have version 2019.
How has it helped my organization?
This is the heart of the whole company. SQL Server is where all of our financials are. It has all of our data.
What is most valuable?
I've been using SQL Server for 20 years, and there is nothing that it can't do. It is awesome.
What needs improvement?
When we are talking about event space architecture, scalability generally comes into play. For example, I might have a hundred thousand transactions a second, and then all of a sudden, I build something that everybody in the world wants. The next thing I know is that I have a million transactions a second. So, to be able to process the throughput, I'd have to scale up, and then when the holidays are over, I'm again down to a hundred thousand transactions, and I want to scale back down. SQL Server is not going to do that. In this way, it is not very scalable. One of the reasons why they want us to use Kafka is so that if we need to, we can do that, but our base program is on SQL Server. So, this is where we would use a Kafka event stack so that if I need more servers, I can just write a command, and I can have more consumers, more brokers, and more producers, and when the holiday season is over, it scales right back down again. SQL Server is not going to do that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We do clustering. If one SQL Server goes down, it automatically goes to another one.
How are customer service and support?
I don't ever need tech support. If it breaks, I can just rebuild it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
They're now using a different database for contracting called Road Runner. I don't know what that is, and how it stores data. I don't know anything about it.
There is also Postgres. I like SQL Server more than Postgres. That's only because I know SQL Server. I don't know Postgres as well. So, I can't say which one is better because I don't have the same amount of experience in both.
How was the initial setup?
I can bring up a SQL Server in an hour or so and set it up.
In terms of maintenance, the number of people required depends on the need.
We have a team of DBAs, developers, and UA analysts. We probably have 40 people in our IT area who are maintaining our solution. I'm just the developer. I'm the guy who makes the magic happen, but without other people collecting the information that I need to make the magic happen, I'm stuck. Without the guy who is an expert in permissions, partitioning, and performance tuning, I'm stuck. So, it's definitely a team effort. You can do it all, but you don't want to do it all because then you're running your head off, and you don't really get good at anything. It would be a jack of all trades, master of none type of scenario.
What other advice do I have?
You will seldom find a database that was designed correctly. Just because you got a poor-quality database doesn't mean that you're going to get a better database anywhere else. You rarely get to build a thing on your own. Usually, you inherit somebody else's stuff. So, the challenging thing is working with what you have while trying to implement a better solution. My only advice is to be patient.
I would rate it a nine out of 10. I wouldn't give anything a 10 because I don't have that kind of knowledge, but right now, it does what I need it to do.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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SQL Server
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about SQL Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
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CEO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Highly stable and secure, but stability could improve
Pros and Cons
- "The support from Microsoft has been good."
- "SQL Server has good performance, but it could be better."
What is our primary use case?
We developed a product for banks and we store the data in SQL Server.
What needs improvement?
SQL Server has good performance, but it could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SQL Server for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of SQL Server is very important for us because we provide services for banks. The banks need a secure and stable solution from us and we have requested from the cloud provider to give us this level of service.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 10 developers and architects using SQL Server. Additionally, we have approximately four end-users using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Microsoft has been good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used Oracle.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of SQL Server is not complicated.
What about the implementation team?
We have four technicians that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required to use the solution and I am satisfied.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate SQL Server a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Manager Global Identity & Access Management at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Database management system that's easy to manage, query, and scale; has well-designed databases
Pros and Cons
- "Very stable relational database management system that offers ease of management, querying, and scaling. It has well-designed databases."
- "Sometimes the system hangs. Its databases should be able to deal with more data in a faster way. Its speed of processing larger amounts of information should be improved."
What is our primary use case?
SQL Server is our primary database for identity access management.
What is most valuable?
What I find most useful in SQL Server is that it's easier to manage and to query. Its databases are well-designed. It's easy to do any changes, and it's easy to query the database through reports and whatever information you need.
What needs improvement?
There is always room for improvements. In SQL Server, the databases should be able to deal with more data in a faster way. Sometimes, when you have a lot of information running on the SQL databases, the system hangs. Though there are always improvements being done to SQL Server, there's still a lack of speed in being able to process so much information, so the performance of this solution still needs to be improved.
Another area for improvement in SQL Server is its front end, in terms of running the queries, e.g. it would be better if it could give suggestions. For example: When you write something, this solution could have a feature similar to a dictionary's intelligence that will tell you what to write such as the one you have in Word, or in PowerPoint, for example, you'll have the design suggestions for it. An improvement I'd like to see in SQL Server is for it to suggest what you put next when you are writing SQL codes or queries.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been dealing with SQL Server for four years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server is a very stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SQL Server is a product you can scale. You can add and remove modules as needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
SQL Server is expensive if you use the advanced SQL version. If you use the standard version, it's not expensive, because it's included in Windows, in Microsoft. It's very expensive if you use the advanced version. We're using both. For IBM, we're using the advanced version, but then we use the basic SQL Server for the other platforms.
You just pay for the SQL Server license. There's no additional cost as everything's already included.
What other advice do I have?
We currently don't have any issues with SQL Server. There's nothing that we couldn't solve internally, so I haven't had the chance to contact their technical support team.
I'm giving SQL Server an eight out of ten rating.
I can recommend this solution for medium and large enterprises. For small enterprises, it depends: if they use the standard, free one on Windows, yes. If they don't, I wouldn't recommend the investment.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
Works at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
User-friendly, easy to install, and has a straightforward syntax
Pros and Cons
- "For my business requirements, the performance is good."
- "In the next release, I would like to see a better user interface and a familiar syntax."
What is most valuable?
For my business requirements, the performance is good. If we use it on a larger scale, it will not fit our business needs.
It is easy to use.
It has simple syntax, but you must check your packet on a daily basis.
What needs improvement?
We occasionally face or encounter a problem with the database table itself. Some tables and their flyers, as well as the content's data, must be truncated. It was a major issue with my ERP system because it is a backbone database application. It hasn't happened often, but it was a bad experience. Regarding some table issues, I believe we will encounter them in many applications, but I believe the other vendor, such as Oracle, has more than tools to protect my data.
In the next release, I would like to see a better user interface and a familiar syntax.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with SQL Server since 2003. It's been more than 10 years.
We use a version component for each application. One is for 2014, and the other is for 2017.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have two users in my company. The ERP system has nearly two users. We have about five users for subsidies and the sister company.
I'm not going to increase our usage because I'm going to the cloud. We're going to the cloud, according to my plan. Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft cloud, or NetSuite. Because they are both cloud-based, I don't need to increase the number of SQL server users, either for administration or for users.
How are customer service and support?
I'm not opening a ticket with SQL about the issues we experienced, because it was opened by my partner, but it didn't solve the problem. For my table, it almost uses truncate comma syntax, and it flushes my table contact.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Approximately 10 years ago, I used Oracle Database.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. I did not encounter any issues.
We have 12 technical teams with four admins to maintain the solutions in our companies.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't need a license for it as I will be migrating to Office 365.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution for small and medium-sized companies, but for enterprise businesses.
I know it's not the best, but this application meets our requirements.
I would rate SQL Server an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Administrator at a import and exporter with 5,001-10,000 employees
Great for creating backups and databases but needs more security updates
Pros and Cons
- "It's a very stable solution."
- "There should be more security updates for the product."
What is our primary use case?
I use the SQL Server for backups and for creating databases and a lot of other stuff. I also use it to shrink data and some stuff like this.
What is most valuable?
The solution is great for creating backups.
You can create databases using this product.
I like the way you can shrink the volume using SQL.
It's a very stable solution.
I've found the product to be able to scale well.
What needs improvement?
There should be more security updates for the product. That would be ideal.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for about five or six years. I've used it for quite a while at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the product is great. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. it's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
So far, I have found the solution to be quite scalable. If a company needs to expand it out, it can do so.
We have about 4,000 users on the solution currently. About five to seven different departments use it.
How are customer service and support?
I don't directly deal with technical support. That would be handled by a different department and a person who is responsible for dealing with issues. Therefore, I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they would be.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use a different solution before using SQL.
How was the initial setup?
It's easy for anyone to install. For me, it was good and easy to install. A company shouldn't have any issues tacking the process.
The deployment is quick. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes. That's it.
What about the implementation team?
I didn't need the assistance of consultants or integrators. It was something I could handle on my own.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You can pay an annual or monthly licensing fee in order to use the solution.
What other advice do I have?
I'd recommend the solution to others. It's very useful.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Executive Director at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Intuitive features, low maintenance, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "SQL Server is similar to other Microsoft products, such as BI, they are easy to use. You do not need to have an expensive BD to maintain them. All the useful intuitive features you find in Microsoft solutions you will find in SQL Server."
- "Since this is a relational order system, scalability has a limit. If your system is very big, you need bigger servers and you have to spend more money. We scale a system up to a certain level, and then we move or shift data to the warehouse, which is NoSQL. We then do not have any bottleneck in scaling. For using this technique we are happy with it."
What is our primary use case?
We have a few transitional systems in our large company that we maintain with Microsoft SQL Server.
What is most valuable?
SQL Server is similar to other Microsoft products, such as BI, they are easy to use. You do not need to have an expensive BD to maintain them. All the useful intuitive features you find in Microsoft solutions you will find in SQL Server.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used SQL Server within the past 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SQL Server is stable. However, every product has limitations. It is stable for a certain amount of workload. Beyond the capabilities of this solution, you will need other data solutions, such as Oracle. A solution that is more secure.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Since this is a relational order system, scalability has a limit. If your system is very big, you need bigger servers and you have to spend more money. We scale a system up to a certain level, and then we move or shift data to the warehouse, which is NoSQL. We then do not have any bottleneck in scaling. For using this technique we are happy with it.
It is hard to tell or count how much data we are using because being one of the leading companies in Bangladesh, we have many teams who work on it. Different teams work on many different technologies.
We have not had an issue with the scalability SQL Server.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
For databases, we have used a lot of data tests with other solutions, such as Oracle. We have used all Oracle data, Postgres, and a few others.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. You do not have to worry about the management of the SQL Server instance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
To scale the solution there are additional costs.
What other advice do I have?
I rate SQL Server an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Sr. Consultant (Enterprise Architect) at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Secure with great out-of-the-box functionality and works well as a database
Pros and Cons
- "If we want to expand to other servers and create an extra node, it's expandable."
- "It would be great if we were able to run it on multiple operating systems and not only stick with Windows."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product as a database, a data tool for everything.
What is most valuable?
SQL Server, as a database, is great.
When it comes to the governmental sector, it is easily dealt with and can handle a big load of data. Specifically, after they added the capability of building a big data cluster from the SQL Server itself it's been great.
If it was a database developer who was working with it or database admin, it provides a lot of tools and potential utilization that helps in doing the work in the right way.
Stability-wise, it's stable.
If we want to expand to other servers and create an extra node, it's expandable. If you want to connect it with another, let's say, cloud node, it's also expandable with the cloud node.
Security-wise, it provides most of the required security aspects in the market suchg as hashing, or encrypting, or hiding some data in tables (according to privileges and tools of the users). That can be done throughout it easily.
It's an out-of-the-box solution. Lately, after they created the SQL Azure, if you use the Azure SQL Explorer, or SQL Server Management Studio, both of them can connect to the same database easily. It's natively built on the same core.
What needs improvement?
In my experience, while working with multiple sectors, such as banking, services, et cetera, there are some limitations for some sectors when dealing with the data.
It would be great if we were able to run it on multiple operating systems and not only stick with Windows.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for five or maybe six years. It's been a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is great. there are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. Its performance is reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's very easy to scale the solution in multiple ways. If a company needs to expand, it can do so easily.
How was the initial setup?
I can't say it is easy to deploy as it depends on the admin, however, it is doable. Most of the databases, in general, require configuration. Therefore, if the admin knows what he's doing, then it's super easy.
A full deployment, depending on what is needed, might take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. It's fast.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I can't speak to the pricing. I don't have any information on that.
It's my understanding that we pay for licensing on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
There is also another added product they created, called Synapse, Azure Synapse Analytics. Both of them are similar to Microsoft PowerBI on-prem with SQL Server on-prem.
I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten. There are other competitors that are also doing a very good job as well.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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