Azure SQL Database is a big step forward for us, as we no longer need to patch the database server or patch the operating system. It's a truely SQL-as-a-Service which allows dynamic up- and down scaling of the server. Gone are the tedious tasks to configure the DB, even Recovery is pre-configured.
Pros
Up- and Downscaling
Setup
Backup and Recovery
Cons
A SQL-Worksheet Tool in Azure Portal would be really nice
Likelihood to Recommend
Any e-Commerce Szenario where ad-hoc up- and down scaling is needed
Currently, we are using it for Microsoft PowerApps Business Applications and we prepared all the data models for Azure SQL Database. Its interface is easy to use and within less time we can create databases, add tables and prepare views, and immediately those databases are available for other applications which are already on the cloud.
Pros
Available all the time.
Robust database.
All apps easily connect with it.
Easy to create data models.
Easy management.
Cons
Table creation and addition of new columns.
Add more datatypes.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is best used for the Dot Net based and cloud-based applications where the user needs to connect with it immediately to start using with it.
The Azure SQL Database service offers premium performance and durability, powered by AI. It takes advantage of server less computing and hyperscale storage resources that free you from infrastructure management task. It solves the concern of space constraints and records with cloud flexibility. Speed, security along with other useful and practical features have made it one of the best options. Azure SQL Database server-less used by the executive projects development department and many of the company's clients in the financial and civil sector.
Pros
With managed SQL in the cloud, you can build applications tailored to your business needs.
Rapidly adaptable server less cloud computing and hyper-scale storage.
Cons
Define smart plans to determine the price according to the needs and type of each business so that startups and small companies can benefit from it better.
Develop more user-friendly UI wizard for migration SQL server
Likelihood to Recommend
Your upcoming app can be built faster on a fully managed SQL database and can be moved into Azure with a few to no application code changes. Flexible and responsive server less computing and Hyperscale storage can cope with your changing requirements and one of the main benefits is the reduction in costs, which is noticeable.
For the last year the company I work for is migrating to the cloud. This is a mega operation, and migration to SQL Database is just one of many things we're doing. SQL Database is used mainly for medium sized applications. Large applications use Oracle, while small applications would not benefit at all from SQL Database because it's rather expensive. What SQL Database is particularly good at is security and integration with other tools within Azure.
Pros
Maintenance is always an issue, so using a cloud solution saves a lot of trouble.
On premise solutions always suffer from fragmented implementations here and there, where several "dba's" keep track of security and maintenance. With a cloud database it's much easier to keep a central overview.
Security options in SQL database are next level... data masking, hiding sensitive data where always neglected on premise, whereas you'll get this automatically in the cloud.
Cons
On premise SQL database is much easier to manage with the "SQL server management studio." Especially adding users and roles is a bit of a hassle with Azure SQL Database. You can of course manage within "SQL server management studio," but is slow and does not have all options at your disposal.
I find it rather expensive up to a point where I can't "sell" my recommendation to use SQL Database to the management department. The simplest implementation (not for productional use) is already 380 dollar per month. When you have an existing on premise SQL Database environment, it's very hard to convince anyone to use the cloud option.
I find the management capabilities in the cloud rather disappointing. I would like a cloud version of SQL Server management studio, instead of using CLI or powershell for everything. The on premise SQL server management studio is too slow and lack functionality when it comes to SQL database integration.
Likelihood to Recommend
Small application that use their own database are better of on premise, since Azure SQL Database is simply too expensive. Like a factor 10 too expensive. These kinds of applications can grow in number throughout the years, and if they would all implement their own Azure SQL Database, we would simply not be making those applications anymore. If you have a (large) application that is highly integrated with other azure modules, like events, API's queues, functions and apps, then it makes sense to use SQL Database.
VU
Verified User
Team Lead in Information Technology (501-1000 employees)
Azure SQL Database service, two of our critical workloads are used for online structure serving our customers. Since we work both physically and online, the cloud infrastructure equivalent of the entire on-premise structure managed for physical retailing is Azure SQL Database service. On the online side, the important thing for us was to have a structure that we can stretch very quickly, and this service provides exactly that.
Pros
Scalability
Simplicity, ability to just focus on SQL, no need to manage anything else.
High speed and minimal down time.
Keeping data in the country you want.
Cons
In the traditional on-premise Microsoft SQL Database structure, while everything the database developer does is almost the same in Azure, the database administrator needs to be separated from the interfaces they are used to.
Job and Task manager work in different logic.
The maintenance structure is different, if only it could stay the way we are used to.
Likelihood to Recommend
The most important feature of Azure SQL Database is that it is a service. There is no virtual machine to manage, no operating system to run on, no updates or security work for this operating system or virtual machines. Therefore, you can only focus on SQL service. It is almost unclear when the online world will gain speed/acceleration, especially in the covid-19 process, an unpredictable increase in online services may occur due to restrictions. Azure SQL server, which works on the cloud side, can keep the system automatically in accordance with every condition exactly as it should be, and you can do all the work on a single service and simple screens.
VU
Verified User
Professional in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees)
Currently, my organization is working on moving to cloud. we are trying to convert our products to SaaS products, so that we can provide them as a service on various clouds. Microsoft Azure SQL Database is one of many services that we are using in our organization. It is a primary tool for storing data up in the cloud. I am working on IoT based ERP system and I am using Azure SQL database to store data in the cloud. It is very easy to setup SQL server on Azure.
Pros
It is fully managed and secure SQL database.
It is highly available and scalable.
It provides automatic backup and restore.
Documentation of Azure SQL is perfect with all best practices.
Cons
I would love to see some new sizes of databases for compute and storage.
prices related to different size can be improved.
performance can be improved to reduce the latency.
Likelihood to Recommend
It is best suited if your company is making a transition from on-prem to cloud and if your product is based on SQL then it is best service to go for. It is highly available and secure. There might be some performance issues when using it as an external database with kubernetes cluster. There might be some latency while performing database operations from a containerized app.
We have an online application that is used by most employees, this online application depends on several SQL Databases for storing and accessing information, we needed a [cloud-based] DBaaS service to host the databases of the solution and provide a cost-effective way of scaling up and down based on our application usage since after hours the utilization is incredibly low, Azure SQL did the job quite nicely with the auto-scale capability and helped reduce the costs and optimize the performance.
Pros
An excellent option for cloud-based database hosting
Great if you already have on-premises SQL Databases that you want to migrate to the cloud
Cost-effective solution for cloud DB hosting with great scaling capabilities
Cons
Although it's a great option for migrating on-premises SQL DBs, it lacks some of the features of the on-premises SQL Server Instances
Server Collation is limited to SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS
Logs support only [the] Full Recovery Model, which doesn't scale well for databases that contain logs/audit trail, or databases that contain engine jobs such as HangFire DBs
Doesn't Support CLR, so certain on-premises databases with CLR are not compatible, so you are most likely left with the AzureSQL Managed Instance for this functionality
Likelihood to Recommend
Azure SQL is great for migrating already on-premises SQL Databases considering the compatibilities between the two, however, some limitations can interrupt the migrations and require some structure/schema changes to the database which can be [time-consuming]. Overall, if you are building your solution from scratch, and prefer to use [...] familiar technology, Azure SQL is a great option, that is secure, flexible[,] and scalable, however, if you are migrating from on-premises, the decision to use Azure SQL Database depends on how compatible your current database is with it and whether its features are sufficient for your requirements or not. It is a recommended solution though, and a very [cost-effective] one indeed!
VU
Verified User
C-Level Executive in Information Technology (201-500 employees)
The Azure SQL Database solution we use is currently focused on supporting marketing analytics functions. Eventually, the database will support the entire business intelligence ecosystem. We are finding that a lot of new software companies are popping up that are able to deliver data straight into the blob storage container within the Azure ecosystem. This helps our engineer avoid writing custom python code against and API. It's a nice time saver!
Pros
Azure SQL Database does a really nice job connection to the Power BI business intelligence service without the need for a data gateway for report refreshes.
Azure SQL Database has a very easy upgrade path from a database to a data warehouse.
Azure SQL Database has a simple billing structure.
Cons
The Azure platform can be a little confusing sometimes with all the different options. Such is the Microsoft way.
If you forget to put rate limits on your jobs, it's possible that your cost could explode.
Learning the new Azure data tools to replace SSIS takes a while.
Likelihood to Recommend
If your company uses the Power BI business intelligence tool, then sticking with a Microsoft database offering is the way to go. The major benefits here are that you don't need a data gateway for report refreshes like you would with a typical on premise SQL server solution. The ASDB solution is not well suited for very low data volumes.
My organization within the company basically runs an online trading platform and we have several Azure SQL Databases involved in this. If the databases go down or get slow, our organization isn't making money. Availability is a priority and Azure SQL Database handles that very well for us, without the management overhead.
Pros
Handling the software updates so we don't have to.
Handling the availability so we don't have to.
Cons
There are limits to the size of the database that I'd like to see go away.
We don't have access to the server level counters that I miss but understand why we cannot get them.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you have multiple terabytes of data, the standard Azure SQL Database won't work for you. You can spend more to get this, but I'd rather have it at the lower price point. For pretty much everything else, I'd use it in a heartbeat.
VU
Verified User
Employee in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees)
