# Microsoft SQL Server Reviews **Vendor:** Microsoft **Category:** [Relational Databases](https://www.g2.com/categories/relational-databases) **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 2,275 ## About Microsoft SQL Server SQL Server 2017 brings the power of SQL Server to Windows, Linux and Docker containers for the first time ever, enabling developers to build intelligent applications using their preferred language and environment. Experience industry-leading performance, rest assured with innovative security features, transform your business with AI built-in, and deliver insights wherever your users are with mobile BI. ## Microsoft SQL Server Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users appreciate the **ease of use** of Microsoft SQL Server, finding it intuitive and powerful for database management. (32 reviews) - Users appreciate the **robust database management** of Microsoft SQL Server for effective data handling and intuitive administration. (29 reviews) - Users value the **exceptional performance** of Microsoft SQL Server, appreciating its power and efficiency for their database needs. (25 reviews) - Users value the **enterprise-grade security and ease of use** in Microsoft SQL Server, ensuring powerful and compliant data management. (23 reviews) - Users appreciate the **easy integrations** with Microsoft products, enhancing data management and workflow efficiency. (22 reviews) - Users love the **seamless integration** of Microsoft SQL Server with other Microsoft products, enhancing productivity significantly. (21 reviews) - Reliability (18 reviews) - Users appreciate the **ease of data management** with Microsoft SQL Server, enjoying its simplicity and flexibility for various applications. (16 reviews) - Setup Ease (13 reviews) - Users appreciate the **incredible efficiency** of Microsoft SQL Server, making it the go-to standard for database management. (12 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find Microsoft SQL Server's **high licensing costs** to be a barrier, especially for smaller businesses and startups. (21 reviews) - Users find the **high licensing costs** of Microsoft SQL Server to be a barrier for small businesses and teams. (12 reviews) - Users find the **high licensing costs** of Microsoft SQL Server burdensome, particularly affecting small businesses and teams. (12 reviews) - Users find the **expensive licensing** of Microsoft SQL Server challenging, especially for small businesses and projects. (11 reviews) - Users report **performance issues** with SQL Server, particularly in scaling workloads and requiring skilled DBAs for optimization. (11 reviews) - Users experience **slow performance** with Microsoft SQL Server, particularly when handling large datasets and global searches. (11 reviews) - Users find the **user interface complex** and not intuitive, leading to a steeper learning curve for newcomers. (8 reviews) - Difficult Learning (7 reviews) - High Hardware Requirements (7 reviews) - Technical Difficulties (7 reviews) ## Microsoft SQL Server Reviews ### 1. Fast, Easy SQL Querying with Clear Table Dependency Insights **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Shyam s. | Data Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 21, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It is very easy to query and understand the dependencies between tables, and it’s also very fast when it comes to processing data. We use stored procedures to perform multiple transformations, and those transformations were faster in SQL compared to distributed computing. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** There are a few issues that cause an indeterministic update when multiple rows match a single target record. Instead of throwing an error, it updates a random row, which is a big issue. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Currently, we are using it as a data warehouse, and it is fast. We also have all our data coming in from multiple sources. On top of that, we have written multiple transformations as stored procedures and orchestrated them using Azure Data Factory. Overall, everything is running faster, and it helps us make decisions based on the fact tables that are connected in Power BI. ### 2. Reliable, High-Performance Database Management with Strong Security **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Dhirendra Y. | Associate Software Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 24, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The best thing about Microsoft SQL Server is its reliability and powerful performance for handling structured data. It offers a robust set of tools for data management, querying, and reporting, making it easy to work with large databases efficiently. I also like its strong security features, seamless integration with other Microsoft tools, and user-friendly interface through SQL Server Management Studio, which simplifies database administration and development tasks. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** One of the main drawbacks is its high licensing and maintenance cost, especially for small businesses or individual users. It can also be resource-intensive, requiring strong hardware for optimal performance. Additionally, some advanced features have a learning curve, and it’s less flexible compared to open-source alternatives when it comes to customization and cross-platform support. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server solves the problem of efficiently storing, managing, and retrieving large volumes of structured data in a secure and reliable way. It helps ensure data consistency, supports complex queries, and provides tools for reporting and analytics. This benefits me by making data handling faster and more organized, improving decision-making, and reducing the risk of data loss or errors. Its automation and integration capabilities also save time in managing databases and streamline overall workflows. ### 3. SQL Server: Reliable Performance, Strong Security, and Seamless Azure & Power BI Integration **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Yuvashree M. | Senior Data Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 20, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The best thing about SQL Server is its balance of performance, reliability, and ease of use. It offers features for handling large-scale data processing, strong security mechanisms, and integration tools with Azure, Power BI, and ETL platforms. It also includes advanced functionality such as indexing, partitioning, and query optimization, along with solid backup and recovery options. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** It requires significant system resources to handle high-performance workloads. As datasets grow or concurrency increases, tuning and query optimization can become complex, especially in large-scale systems. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helped me solve critical business problems related to data storage, management, and reporting. I’ve worked in the logistics business with large datasets, and it benefited daily operations by providing a reliable platform for building ETL processes. Indexing also helped with faster data processing. It also supported Azure integration and downstream Power BI reporting. ### 4. Easy-to-Use Database Management with Strong Error Handling and Debugging **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Bansi V. | Database Administrator, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 04, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** This app is used for storing databases and working with MS SQL language databases. Here, we can create a database, and then within the database we can create tables and do many more related tasks. It provides a very good interface, along with helpful troubleshooting, error handling, and clear support when issues come up. In my organization, we are storing our DB in the SSMS platform, and every day we are using this product. It's easy to use and understand. It gives the perfect error handling with line state number and how to solve this error and why it comes, and also gives SQL Server Profiler for debugging, and also provides backups and restores databases. when i am strating then i got some problem to understand but when i am using it day to day is it easy to handle. easy to intergrate. we can also perform try catch and transaction in ms sql for error handling .its gives the best performance some times when we are use this tools it will slow down our system and some times we got stucked and also takes too much timme to start .. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** It takes too long to start, and sometimes using this product slows our system down. As an organization, we use this tool with Red Gate, and the Red Gate extensions are costly. Also, it doesn’t provide an AI interface like other tools do. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Easy to manage project data,Saves a lot of time during development, bettwe result while performing developemnt of applications.less debugging time needed ### 5. Top-Notch UI/UX, Fast Performance, and First-Class Support **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stephen W. | Senior Systems Analyst: Digital Accessibility, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 13, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I've always liked the UI/UX far more than my experience with the alternatives, and I much prefer Microsoft's version of SQL. This has really helped when I've had to integrate with other systems, and I've been really happy by how quickly it performs. Pricing is always tricky, we'd all like to pay less than we do but thankfully I don't have to pay personally! Support has always been first class and I've never not been able to successfully develop. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Nothing really stands out and I cannot think of anything to suggest. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I originally learnt to develop databases using ORACLE, Delphi, and MS Access before moving to MS SQL Server. I use SQL Server for all my backend systems now because it allows for integrations with many systems, and the tools are there to enable me to work efficiently. ### 6. Easy ETL Integrations and Helpful Built-In Transaction Monitoring **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** VIGNESHWAR K. | Senior Data Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 22, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** We can easily integrate with ETL tools like ADF, Databricks, etc. We also have many inbuilt stored procedures available to monitor transactions. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** The issue I faced on my last project came up during an update query. When there were multiple records in the source for a single record in the target, the target table would get updated randomly with one of the records from the source table. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We can perform live streaming of data by making use of triggers in the table. This can be used to build the set in SQL Server. We can also schedule a SQL Server Agent job to run the job in SQL Server. ### 7. MS SQL Server Data Platform **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Financial Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 15, 2017 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Without a doubt, its simplicity in a large part of the tasks and operations on it. Robustness, the fact of supporting multiple workloads and types of data; constituting, along with Oracle, the best convergent databases. The family of advanced functionalities IQP (Intelligent Query Processing) has been introducing greater automation through the versions. Analytical functions for macro data environments and PSP (parameter-sensitive plans), which allows caching up to 3 plans per statement. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Your TCO, the licensing costs, or even as a service. **Recommendations to others considering Microsoft SQL Server:** Keep in mind and consider topics like scalability **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** The database provides support to certain satellite systems of the Organization, such as HR and the document management system. Both systems require minimal support intervention regarding the database. And it is used as a data platform for integration, consolidation, and data analysis. ### 8. Satisfied with MSQL **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Financial Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 18, 2019 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Overall experience with SQL server 2016 is very nice and excited in my perceptions due to Better support for memory optimzed tables, Built in JSON support, Stretch DB concepts, Query Store and dynamic temp db according to size and presence of CPU in the databases **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Only I know very least number of disadvantages this MS SQL server 2016 is having: 1. Enterprise pricing may be costly as some of the organisation cant afford for the count of data they are having. 2 With the performance tuning, Microsoft SQL Server will be having some gobble resources **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are using Sql server in our organisation to create new databases and maintaining the existing ones. Data access is so simple and secure. If there is any business sensitive data then we use to encrypt the table columns data ### 9. Unmatched Reliability and Seamless Administration **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Bhavana K. | integration analyst, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I appreciate how Microsoft SQL Server securely consolidates our application data and delivers unmatched reliability. It also makes complex database administration and troubleshooting feel seamless and straightforward. The initial setup was easy, which was a real advantage for us. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I’m not a fan of the licensing costs or the portability limitations around SSMS. In my view, Microsoft SQL Server would be better if it offered truly cross-platform capabilities and did away with the restrictive 128 GB memory cap. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server helps us address data fragmentation by securely consolidating our application data in one place. The biggest benefit for us has been its unmatched reliability, and it also makes complex database administration and troubleshooting feel much more seamless. ### 10. User-Friendly, Powerful, and Seamless Integration with BI Tools **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rohit G. | Ecommerce Analyst, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 10, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server is easy to use, even for beginners. The interface in SSMS is simple, and implementation is straightforward with clear setup steps. It offers many useful features like views, stored procedures, and strong security. I also use it frequently because it feels reliable and stable. Another big advantage is how well it integrates with Excel, Power BI, and other Microsoft tools, which makes reporting and analysis much easier. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** One downside is that SQL Server can feel heavy during installation and requires a good system to run smoothly. Some features are only available in higher paid versions, which may not be ideal for small teams. Integration with non-Microsoft tools can sometimes need extra steps. Also, customer support can be slow unless you are on an enterprise plan. Overall, while it works well, the setup and advanced features can be a bit challenging for beginners. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server helps us manage large amounts of data in a structured and reliable way. It makes it easy to store, organize, and retrieve information quickly, which improves day-to-day reporting and decision-making. Its integration with Excel and Power BI helps us turn raw data into clear insights much faster. Overall, it saves time, reduces manual work, and helps maintain a single source of truth for our business data. ### 11. SQL Server Stored Procedures Handle XML Parsing Smoothly **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vigneshwar K. | Data Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** In my opinion, I used SQL Server’s inbuilt stored procedures to parse XML files, and they are very good at handling missing tags in xml files **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** When we query a table with a huge volume of data, it takes a long time to retrieve the results and can cause deadlocks on the table unless we use NOLOCK. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It optimizes query performance when working with large datasets. ### 12. My Favorite: Seamless Microsoft Integration and SQL Server on Linux **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Felipe M. | ServiceNow Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 17, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like how it integrates with other Microsoft products. Also, at least in Latin America, it’s basically the standard—if you literally don’t know SQL Server here, it feels like you’re not in tech, not in IT, and not a software engineer. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** nothing really, it's my favorite product of yours, I love it that from a couple of years ago it can be used on linux as well, and you can have a pretty good stack, lightweight, and then microsoft sql server on top of that **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** it's my main job, it stores the data and also stored procedures, so... business logic, of all the companies I work for ### 13. Practical and Intuitive, But Needs More Stability **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Victor M. | Especialista de Soporte TI **Reviewed Date:** February 05, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The truth is, what I like most about Microsoft SQL Server is how practical and intuitive it is to use. I think the performance panel is wonderful, as it shows real-time metrics about the server's status. I also greatly value the SQL agent, which allows me to execute pre-configured tasks like table backups. I use the activity monitor a lot, as it helps me detect when there is a query that is stuck and causing slowness for users. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Well, I recently upgraded to SQL Server 22.1.0 and sometimes when I try to check the performance panel, the application closes unexpectedly. It doesn't happen all the time, but it has happened to me a couple of times. I think the main thing is to make the application more stable, since the problem is that it consumes a lot of computer resources. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Microsoft SQL Server to edit tables and execute scheduled tasks. Its features, such as the SQL Agent for backups and the Activity Monitor, help me identify slow queries. Additionally, its performance dashboard displays real-time metrics. ### 14. Automates Financial Metrics with Ease, Needs More Functions **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Anastasiia M. | Data Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 07, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like Microsoft SQL Server's built-in functions and the possibility to write stored procedures and triggers. These features help me automate many processes and get relevant data on a daily basis, which is crucial because we update data and calculate metrics every day. I also appreciate that Microsoft SQL Server is more up to date compared to our previous solution. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** There are fewer code updates than in other databases. Some basic built-in functions are missing, like a delete duplicates function, and the ability to group by values calculated in the same select statement. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Microsoft SQL Server to manage big data, automate daily data updates, and calculate financial metrics and KPIs, providing a complete overview for management. ### 15. Reliable, High-Performance SQL Server with Seamless Microsoft Integration **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Consumer Goods | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server offers reliable data storage, robust security features, and excellent performance for both transactional and analytical workloads, along with seamless integration with Microsoft tools. It also supports advanced querying, reporting, and business intelligence capabilities, while providing the scalability needed to meet growing business demands. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** SQL Server licensing can be costly, especially for enterprise editions. Managing large-scale deployments may require experienced administrators, and resource usage can be high. Some advanced configurations and performance tuning can also be complex for new users. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** SQL Server helps solve critical business problems by securely managing large volumes of structured data, supporting transactional systems, enabling accurate reporting, improving data accessibility, and powering analytics for operational and strategic decisions. It streamlines business processes, reduces data redundancy, ensures compliance, and supports applications across finance, supply chain, customer management, and enterprise operations. ### 16. Seamless Database Management with Robust Connectivity **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ritesh S. | Java developer intern , Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 01, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like that with Microsoft SQL Server, I can get any table data easily and perform any query effortlessly, whether it's a select, stored procedure, view, or function. The connection is good with no lag or discrepancy in the system. I appreciate having the backup and storage area available, which makes my work more reliable. The initial setup was also very easy if you know the credentials to your database. I find it helpful and even teach my colleagues how to use it. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** If I execute any query, it would be helpful if there is an option for rollback if I run the query by mistake. Sometimes, after reopening my application, the query page is lost. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Microsoft SQL Server to easily access different servers and manage database connections. It allows me to perform any query, backup, and rollback efficiently without lag or system discrepancies. ### 17. Continually Improving with Customer-Driven Updates **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Timothy L. | Medicare Broker, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 18, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The product continues to update and upgrade implementing many of the suggestions from customers to improve the product **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Many of the connections change over time and to upgrade loses those connections or requires removal of old connections. They have separated several pieces that are constantly used together like SSMS and SSRS that now are separate products making implementation more cumbersome. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** For smaller databases this is a proper tool to implement, manage and hold data that can later be used for analysis. ### 18. Reliable Performance, Seamless Integration, and Flexible Scaling with SQL Server **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sharin S. | Team Lead - Azure and Windows server, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 30, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** We are running Microsoft SQL Server on virtual machines, and it consistently delivers strong performance even under heavy performance loads. We have integrated with Microsoft Power BI and built a dashboard that pulls data from SQL Server, and users can interact with reports without needing to understand the backend. It comes with the great management tool Microsoft SQL Management Studio, which is one of my favorite admin tools. I used it daily for backup management and user permissions. We migrated some of the SQL Server workloads to Azure SQL database. The transition was smooth, and it gives flexibility to scale based on budget and workload. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Understanding the SQL Server licensing is complex, especially when mixing CALs and core-based models. Reporting and analysis workloads are resource-intensive. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** In my environment, Microsoft SQL Server resolves several key challenges related to data management, performance, and security. ### 19. Easy-to-Use, Production-Ready Database That Just Works **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 07, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Easy to use production ready database not made by Oracle, it's a total win. Easy to install and maintain. If you know Windows can you run SQL. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** For most prodcts I can list a number of things I dislike but not SQL. It's an good all around product that gets the job done when you need it to the most. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Information store for all Windows-based applications. We use it to power our backup software, as well as many other critical utilities. ### 20. A honest MSSQL Server Review **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ljupcho T. | Microsoft Certified Trainer, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 06, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I have been using MSSQL daily for over 15 years, and I can confidently say that it is designed to handle high transaction volumes and manage large datasets effectively. It offers a very stable and highly secure environment for data management, making it well-suited for both small applications and large enterprise systems. Depending on your requirements, you can select from several editions, such as Express, Developer, Standard, or Enterprise. Integration with other products like Azure, Excel, or PowerBI is straightforward and intuitive. While the general implementation process is simple, setting up high availability options can be more time-consuming. The documantation and technical support are excelent, there are many official guides, tutorials and free community resources that it makes easy to learn and troubleshoot. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Some features are still lacking or limited in SQL, which can make some tasks more difficult to complete.Additionaly the license cost can be quite expensive for enterprise level deployments. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** This product offers a reliable high availability solution for disaster recovery, and it integrates smoothly with data analytics tools such as Integration Services and Analysis Services, making it well-suited for database warehouse solutions. ### 21. Simple setup, powerful features and good supporting tool **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** divi k. | Embedded Hardware Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** what i like best about Microsoft SQL server is how simple it is to use and set up. Even if you are not a database expert, the interface feels friendly and easy to understand. Installing and implementing it doesn't take forever, and once it is running, it works smoothly without much hassle. there are lot of features that help with managing data, and I use it almost every day because it is so reliable. whenever i have needed help, the customer support has been always helpful and quick which makes the experience even better. overall, it is a solid tool that does what you need without making things complicated. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** The main thing I don't like about Microsoft SQL server is that it can feel heavy and resource-hungry, especially on smaller systems. Sometimes the licensing costs are high, which makes it hard for small businesses. A few advanced features can be tricky to learn if you are new, and upgrades or migrations take time and planning. It's a great tool overall, but it's not the budget friendly or lightweight option out there. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps us store and manage large amounts of data in one place without worrying about losing it. It solves problems like handling complex queries, keeping data secure, and making backups easy. Before using it, managing data across different systems was a headache, but now everything is centralized and organized. it also improves performance for applications that need quick access to data. The biggest benefit is reliable our data is safe, easy to access, and the system runs smoothly even with heavy workloads. ### 22. Microsoft SQL Server - Easy & Reliable **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vishal J. | Software Project Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 19, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server is one of the easiest databases to setup and use, especially if you are developing a .NET application using C# or VB. the visual editor available in Visual Studio makes it much easier to build relational databases. Configuring various constraints like Primary keys, Foreign keys, and mappings is quite straightforward. With respect to coding, integrating SQL Server data objects with C# is simple with the help of ADO.NET. Overall, a great product from Microsoft. I have used both the server version as well as the compact editions. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** You might have to struggle a bit to integrate Microsoft SQL server setup if you plan to use it with languages like PHP and Python. However, if you install the right driver, then it shouldn't be much of an issue. The pricing is a bit on the higher side, especially for the Enterprise Edition. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am using Microsoft SQL Server to store financial application data that I am developing using Microsoft Visual C# .NET. It helps a great deal in building relational database systems using MS SQL Server. ### 23. Reliable, High-Performance Platform with Strong MS Ecosystem Integration **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Consumer Goods | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 15, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It stand out for its reliability, performance, and strong integration with the MS ecosystem. What I appreciate most is the maturity of the platform: it provides robust tools lik SQL Server Management Studio that simplify administration, performance and troubleshooting **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** In my opinion the main downside is the licensing cost, which can become significant as you scale, especially for enterprise features like HA and advanced analytics. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Helps us centralize and manage critical business data in a reliable and secure way. ### 24. SQL Server Usage and Insights **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pulkit V. | Senior Associate, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 14, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Balance of performance, reliability, and ease of management. The integration of tool and features such as Query Store, execution plans, and indexing options make it easier to optimize and troubleshoot complex queries. it’s easy to use SQL Server frequently in day-to-day operations, Its consistency and predictability make it an excellent choice for both development and production environments. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Certain advanced tuning operations can become cumbersome — especially when working with large datasets or deeply nested queries. Customer support, while responsive, can be inconsistent in terms of technical depth **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server solves data management and performance challenges In my project. I work on ETL pipelines and SQL SERVER is managing all my data, by providing a reliable, easy-to-use platform for storing, transforming, and analyzing data. It helps me work more efficiently and deliver accurate, optimized results. ### 25. Mature Backup & HA, and Smooth Microsoft Ecosystem Integration **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 14, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It’s enterprise-grade stable with deep Microsoft integration and powerful T-SQL, so you get reliability, great tooling, and fast development in one stack. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Lower licensing cost, full feature parity on Linux, and better native JSON + dev tools for modern workflows. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** SQL Server delivers reliable, ACID-compliant data at scale, with built-in high availability and analytics tools. As a result, you can count on trusted insights and near-zero downtime. ### 26. SSMS Makes Monitoring SQL Server Insights and Execution Plans Easy **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ramesh Babu C. | Implementation Consultant, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 23, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** SSMS is a tool where we can monitor insights from the SQL Server instance and review execution plans. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Not on par with competitive AI tools; Co-Pilot still needs improvement. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Mainly, I’ve been having performance issues, and they’re being resolved. ### 27. Powerful, Reliable, and Seamlessly Integrated with Microsoft Ecosystem **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Aristeidis N. | Infra Transormation Assosiate, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 14, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** What I like most about Microsoft SQL Server is its combination of power, reliability, and ease of use. It’s a robust relational database system that handles both small and massive datasets efficiently, making it suitable for everything from single applications to large enterprise solutions. I appreciate its tight integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, including Azure, Power BI, and .NET, which makes reporting, analytics, and application development seamless. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** One of the main drawbacks of Microsoft SQL Server is its cost, as licensing can be expensive, especially for enterprise editions or large-scale deployments. It can also be resource-intensive, requiring substantial memory and CPU for optimal performance. While it now supports Linux, it has historically been Windows-centric, which can limit flexibility in some environments. Advanced features like Always On, replication, or partitioning are powerful but often complex to configure and maintain. Additionally, the different editions with varying feature sets can be confusing, and Microsoft’s licensing rules can sometimes be tricky to navigate, particularly in cloud or hybrid setups. Overall, SQL Server is powerful but can be costly, resource-heavy, and complex for advanced use cases. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server solves the problem of storing, managing, and analyzing large amounts of structured data efficiently and securely. It provides a reliable platform for handling transactional workloads, reporting, and analytics, while ensuring data integrity, high availability, and security. For me, this is beneficial because it simplifies data management, allowing me to focus on building applications, generating insights, and making data-driven decisions rather than worrying about data loss, inconsistencies, or downtime. Features like T-SQL for complex queries, automation via stored procedures, and integration with tools like Power BI make it easier to retrieve, analyze, and visualize data quickly. Overall, SQL Server reduces operational headaches, improves efficiency, and helps turn raw data into actionable insights. ### 28. Solid Performance and Total Control for Large Data Volumes **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Juan Pablo M. | Ingeniero de sistemas, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 06, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Performance and control in large volumes of data, seamless integration with .NET / C#. I like SQL Server because it is solid, predictable, integrates perfectly with .NET, and gives me total control when working with large data and critical processes. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Be heavy on RAM and CPU, expensive licenses in production **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** SQL Server allows me to execute complex queries, batch processes, and recurring jobs with stability and good performance, even under load. It gives me the peace of mind that the data is processed correctly and on time. ### 29. Strong Security and Flexible SQL Tools, but Coding Help and Speed Need Work **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Cun j. | Sr. Consultant, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 19, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Strong security protection. The embedded objects for automatic data management like triggers, task etc. Flexible sql scripts and SPs are great tools to extend the function. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** It didn’t provide smart coding, need to copy/paste from schema, table name to fields. And a bit slow when query large data. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We migrated all data from different systems and visualized using Power BI, that’s good part. ### 30. Reliable and Secure Choice for Enterprise Workloads **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rahul Kumar T. | Mulesoft Developer, Computer Software, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 23, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like Microsoft SQL Server's stability, performance, and strong security features. It handles transactional workloads very reliably and supports high availability with backup and recovery options. It also integrates well with enterprise applications and tools, making it a dependable choice for mission critical systems. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Licensing can be expensive for enterprises. Performance tuning and query optimization require experienced DBAs, especially as data grows. Scaling very large workloads can become complex compared to some newer cloud-native databases. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server manages large volumes of structured business data reliably and securely. It provides strong transaction support, fast queries, and high availability. It ensures data consistency, simplifies data storage, and optimizes performance for mission-critical workloads. ### 31. Microsoft SQL Server - Databases for all **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Michael W. | Technical Support Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 17, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I feel that ease of use and setup is key. That it's robust ability to handle large data sets and makes report running an ease. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I feel that SSMS is lacking some features that dbeaver for instance has and is taken for granted. For instance the ability to easily delete tables from a database so you can recreate them. In SSMS you have to drop the table through scripting and isn't as elegant of a solution. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Our backend software relies on MS Access which is great for small data sets. However, we leverage SQL for our highest edition and due to the fact that years and years of data can be stored for little sacrifice. It helps with reporting and tracking sales over time. ### 32. Robust Performance with Integration Capabilities **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Aayush R. | SQL Developer, Computer Software, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 28, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like Microsoft SQL Server for its 'Always On' feature, which enhances database durability and application performance by segregating read and write operations. Additionally, the SQL engine is a highlight for me. Its ability to support ASP.Net applications is great for fast transactions and speedy report retrievals. Setting it up was also easy. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I find the regular expression search lacking because there are minimal wild card options unlike Oracle. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Microsoft SQL Server to support ASP.Net applications, ensuring fast transactions, quick report retrievals, and efficient OLAP cube creation for Power BI dashboards. The 'Always On' feature enhances database durability and application performance by segregating read and write operations. ### 33. Microsoft SQL Server is a very easy to use and robust relational database server **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Transportation/Trucking/Railroad | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 17, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server is pretty easy to install and configure, and is very easy to use in conjunction with using Microsoft SQL Management Studio as the database client integrated development environment (IDE). I use Microsoft SQL Server daily for my work, and it is robust and highly available in our production environment. I use the Microsoft SQL Server JDBC driver to connect to SQL Server from a Java-based application, and that driver performs well. I previously encountered a defect with a specific version of that driver, and my interaction with Microsoft customer support to get that defect fixed was perfect, providing a fix in a timely manner and back-porting the fix to a previous driver version. I also use the free edition called SQL Server Express locally on work laptop to facilitate my software development activity, and it is also easy to install, administer, and use. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Not being an open source database there are licensing costs associated with using Microsoft SQL Server depending on the features you need. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Microsoft SQL Server to provide the database management system that hosts the relational database required to run the applications I develop. I use the highly-available features such as Always On and Availability Groups to ensure a very high uptime in production for my applications (99.997%), and use the Express edition locally on my work laptop to facilitate local software development. I have used Microsoft SQL Server to provide the databases for my applications for the last 25 years, and it has only become more and more feature rich, robust, and security focused in that time. ### 34. Always my reliable and robust choice for data management **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Anurag Y. | Consultant, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I have been using it for past three years in my current organization for our client . I love the reliability even with the large dataset specially for our client base which holds thousand of data and i have to query for them and there is a daily migration which requires at least once to query a large part of it. It is also very user friendly with its shortcuts and simplified database administration **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Not much but I have to say it would b its licensing cost which can be quite high for our client . Also while i love the user friendliness it sometime feels a little slow and the learning curve is a little steep apart from that great tool. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are utilizing it for our client data storage and data holding. We process thousand of that data to supply to the Machine learning model for prediction and sometime to show in our monday.com UI for the business. Mostly we have it for our sales data and the existing product that the client deals with. It is such a great tool to have a quick look at what data need and what need to be processed and help the business visualize by querying and showcasing it in the monday UI. Also it easily integrate with our backend using the npm packages. ### 35. SQL Server: Enterprise-Grade Power Without the Headaches **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** What I like best about Microsoft SQL Server is how reliable and user-friendly it is compared to other enterprise databases. The performance is rock solid, and the tools like SSMS make it really easy to manage even complex environments. I also love how well it integrates with Power BI and the rest of the Microsoft ecosystem — it saves a ton of time when building reports or connecting data across systems **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** What I dislike about Microsoft SQL Server is mainly the cost — the licensing fees for the enterprise edition are really high, which makes it harder for smaller companies to justify. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server is helping us centralize and manage large volumes of data in a secure, reliable way. It solves problems like handling complex queries, ensuring high availability, and integrating data with reporting tools like Power BI. This benefits us by giving the business fast, accurate insights, reducing downtime, and making data management much easier for both developers and analysts. ### 36. Seamless Microsoft Ecosystem Integration Makes Analytics and Cloud Migration Effortless **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 10, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server’s strongest asset is its seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, particularly Power BI, Excel, and Azure. This makes data visualization and cloud migration significantly more efficient than with fragmented stacks. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Resource intensity, platform lock-in, the cost. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server addresses the primary challenge of managing data at scale while ensuring it remains secure, consistent, and accessible. ### 37. Real Cloud Native and futuristic scalable Enterprise Database Product **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** RaviShankar S. | Senior Enterprise Cloud Architect, Information Technology and Services, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 21, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQl Server is really scalable, secured, Highly available Database Product for Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure. Fully Supported by Microsoft in Azure to host the Database in traditional Virtual server IaaS model, and lot of options in PaaS (Managed DB Instance, SQL Elastic Pool, SQL Serverless models) **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Renewal , purchase cost is very high for Enterprise Edition, Need more training to support 24/7 enterprise operations. Support timelines now takes some time to resolve issues. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Day to day workload handling in Supply chain Software Solutions, High availability, Enterprise level Encryption through TDE which is fully compliant as per the NIST,CIS,HIPAA regulatory standards for Information security. ### 38. Use products based on MSQL for 20 years **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tom A. | VP, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** MS-SQL has incredible performance. Logical and easy ways to view data. Most importantly, easy to connect to and interact with user facing products. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** The actual interface of MS-SQL itself can be a not intuitive at times. Global searches of data could be quicker and easier to access. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** MS-SQL is the central data hub for our core solutions. In addition to storing the data that drives our enterprise software, it allows for easy links to other software products so our customers can easily use the data outside of the system in a way that is customized to them without additional burden on our development resources. ### 39. Microsoft SQL Server is one of the most robust DB servers available! **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Fernando F. | CEO / Consultant, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 26, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server is a powerful database server. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** MS SQL Server does come with a bit of a learning curve. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server assists us in managing and maintaining control over our data. ### 40. God father of data base **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Soundararajan A. | Buyer, Renewables & Environment, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 27, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It can be integrated with Microsoft products, which makes it very useful. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** SQL Server is primarily integrated with other Microsoft products, which can be limiting if you need to work with tools outside the Microsoft ecosystem. Additionally, using it effectively often requires more training and skill. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It has helped me a lot in creating dashboards for management MOR presentations, allowing me to work with large amounts of data in a much smarter way. ### 41. Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Review **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Shreeram R. | Senior Consultant, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 07, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It is one of the best databases which can be easily implemented on Windows platform and in terms of other competitors databases, it is least priced with all requried feautures available. It is easily integrated to most of the compatible applications. It is one of the best databases for daily usage. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** There is nothing to dislike about the product apart from the which lack in autonomous features. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** The MS SQL is well suited for any small organizations to the largest enterprise with all required features as well the cost efficient. It solves the purpose of all type of organizations with well suited tailored feaures and cost. ### 42. 9/10 recommended Sql for financial services **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Akshat S. | Credit Manager, Financial Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** One of the most amazing features of Microsoft SQL Server without any doubt is its enterprise-grade security and compliance features.​ For us at Sabkaloan.com, keeping customers' financial data safe is not only a nice-to-have feature; it is our legal and moral responsibility. Microsoft SQL Server offers a set of tools which ensure our peace of mind. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** On the one hand, Microsoft SQL Server is a great tool. However, my primary dislike for it is one simple but very influential business-related factor: the cost and complexity. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server is a means to the major challenges of data chaos and slow, risky decision-making.​ What I get is the power to make quick, sure, data-backed decisions that maintain both security and scalability. ### 43. SQL Server is great. Gets the job done, doesn't crash, and has been completely reliable for us **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 19, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like the easy to understand user interface. Database hierarchy on the left, and any scripting or other windows on the right. It's easy to code stored procedures, see the layout of databases, and other information at my fingertips. I use it all the time in conjunction with SQL Management Studio. It was superbly easy to set up and use. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I've never been a fan of the intricacies of database security - I leave that for the database administrators. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use it as the backbone for mission critical systems that need to stay up and running. All of our servers are on premise, which makes it easy to administer and not having to worry about internet or cloud lags. ### 44. Widely used for its robust features, scalability, and integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gunawant B. | Analysis Master Trainer, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 19, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Security: SQL Server offers comprehensive security features, including encryption, row-level security, dynamic data masking, and integration with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), ensuring data protection from unauthorized access. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Cost and Licensing Complexity: SQL Server can be expensive, particularly for large-scale deployments or those requiring advanced features. The licensing models can also be intricate and challenging to navigate, leading to higher total cost of ownership compared to open-source alternatives. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Solves the problem of efficiently storing, managing, and accessing large volumes of relational data by providing optimized performance, robust security, high availability, and seamless integration with Microsoft and cloud services. ### 45. Microsoft SQL Server, more than a RDBMS **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Miguel F. | Tech Lead - .NET Software Architect & Cloud Solutions Architect, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 05, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The capabilities to manage not only relational data, but documents like XML or JSON. Great for DR, with nice RTO and RPO. Awesome for replication like read replicas with log shipping. Flexible for user administration and robust permission sets. Great integration with OS, Windows, obviously. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I only dislike the prices and the integration with Linux, no capabilities to execute commands. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Keep relational data in a reliable state make it perfect for OLTP applications and give the ability to separate read replicas for OLAP purposes. Nice capabilities for ETL/ELT with polibase, making data warehousing/lake housing a easy reality. ### 46. Reliable, High-Performance Data Management with Seamless Integration **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rajan S. | Product Support Analyst II, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 01, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like Microsoft SQL Server for its reliability, strong performance, easy integration with other Microsoft tools, and powerful features for managing and analyzing data **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** At times, it can feel a bit heavy, and the licensing costs may be quite high, particularly for smaller teams or projects. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server helps me store, manage, and analyze data efficiently, which improves reporting, speeds up decision-making, and keeps everything organized and accessible. ### 47. I regularly use this database for integration with Power BI and storing the data **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pranay Kumar M. | Business Intelligence Analyst, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The user-friendly, GUI, dedicated SQL dialect for more advanced queries. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** To see the output, we have to select the entire query and click execute. The syntax is not straight forward like MySQL. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is used to store large amount of data and information retrieval by using the SQL queries and I mainly used this to integrate with Power BI. ### 48. Microsoft SQL Server is more than a user-friendly and easy-to-manage relational database. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sergio C. | I.T. Officer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 17, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It seamlessly integrates with my ASP.NET and PHP applications, making it my preferred choice for development. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I don't like that it takes a long time to load. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It provides a robust, centralized platform for my applications, e.g. addressing challenges that are common in managing systems like employee leave and purchase requisitions. ### 49. Microsoft SQL Server Review: Powerful and Scalable Data Management **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vaishali R. | Associate software engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** What I like best about Microsoft SQL Server is its robust performance, scalability, and advanced security features. The platform offers excellent tools for data management, backup, and recovery, along with seamless integration with other Microsoft products. Its intuitive interface and strong support for complex queries make it ideal for large enterprises managing high volumes of data. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** What I dislike about Microsoft SQL Server is its high licensing costs, which can be a barrier for smaller businesses or startups. Additionally, it can be resource-intensive, requiring significant hardware and infrastructure for optimal performance, especially in large-scale environments. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server solves problems related to data storage, management, and scalability by providing a reliable, high-performance database solution. It streamlines complex queries, supports real-time data analytics, and ensures data security. This benefits me by enabling efficient management of large datasets, seamless integration with other systems, and the ability to scale as needed while maintaining consistent performance. ### 50. The best enterprise database engine in the market **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jorge Y. | Software developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 26, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Everything. It is the easiest to use, the most powerfull in the market, it allow you manage the database, the users, etc. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** One of the worst thing about Microsoft SQL Server is that you need to pay to use it in all of their functions **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We need a powerfull database server, and we think that Microsoft has the most powerful in the market. It allow you to apply differents roles to every user, so you can. You can secure your databases as much as you want. You can manage all of the features of the server ## Microsoft SQL Server Discussions - [how did you import a MySQL database?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-did-you-import-a-mysql-database) - 3 comments, 2 upvotes - [How can I work on the same query if the connection is lost (timeout) and then I reconnect?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/15675-how-can-i-work-on-the-same-query-if-the-connection-is-lost-timeout-and-then-i-reconnect) - 4 comments, 2 upvotes - [What is Microsoft SQL Server used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/microsoft-sql-server-what-is-microsoft-sql-server-used-for) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [Best features in SQL](https://www.g2.com/discussions/24528-best-features-in-sql) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [How to handle duplicate data from a database and a course on related databases](https://www.g2.com/discussions/como-manejar-datos-duplicados-de-base-de-datos-y-un-curso-sobre-base-relacionadas) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [View Microsoft SQL Server pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews?section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-05-24+03%3A48%3A22+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=2047bcd5-9b6d-44a2-90b7-8ce1cf5981cd&secure%5Btoken%5D=b01ab070ecb8bd8033fa458987c58b5c05da0ef806f9b67dfbe70f5604490328&format=llm_user) ## Microsoft SQL Server Integrations - 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[IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews) - [Internet Information Services (IIS) for Windows Server](https://www.g2.com/products/internet-information-services-iis-for-windows-server/reviews) - [Jet Analytics](https://www.g2.com/products/jet-analytics/reviews) - [Microsoft Defender for Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-defender-for-cloud/reviews) - [Microsoft Excel](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-excel/reviews) - [Microsoft Fabric](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-fabric/reviews) - [Microsoft Power Apps](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-power-apps/reviews) - [Microsoft Power BI](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-microsoft-power-bi/reviews) - [Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services to Alation](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server-integration-services-to-alation/reviews) - [monday Work Management](https://www.g2.com/products/monday-com/reviews) - [MuleSoft Anypoint Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/mulesoft-anypoint-platform/reviews) - 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Data Types - Languages - Operating Systems **Integrations** - Hadoop Integration - Spark Integration **Security** - Data Encryption - User Access Control **Security** - Database Locking - Access Control - Encryption - Authentication **Platform** - Machine Scaling - Data Preparation - Spark Integration **Performance ** - Disaster Recovery - Data Concurrency - Workload Management - Advanced Indexing - Query Optimizer **Processing** - Cloud Processing - Workload Processing **Building Reports** - Data Transformation - Data Modeling - WYSIWYG Report Design - Integration APIs **Database Features** - Storage - Availability - Stability - Scalability - Security - Data Manipulation - Query Language **Platform** - Mobile User Support - Customization - User, Role, and Access Management - Internationalization - Sandbox / Test Environments - Performance and Reliability - Breadth of Partner Applications ## Top Microsoft SQL Server Alternatives - [Teradata Vantage](https://www.g2.com/products/teradata-teradata-vantage/reviews) - 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