Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Data Warehouse solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs. Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"I like its performance. It is well-structured and offers a lot of practical options. Because of the visual design of the product, it is very easy to find icons and other visual elements. It took me more than two weeks to understand how it works. I had an intensive training session to understand it, which was enough. It was not hard to understand how it works.""It's scalable; you can scale up and scale down.""I like SQL post, which is for storage and distributed computing. Another good feature is the copy activity.""One central workspace to manage everything for your data warehouse including visualization.""The product is very user friendly.""The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is the capabilities, and the integration with other Azure resources, such as Data Factory, Databricks, and Spark for data processing. The overall ability to compose the solution with other Azure resources is valuable.""The architecture, including compute and storage, is good.""We have found that it is easy to develop and to do the analytics in the modules of data."

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"The UI is very simple and functional for my clients, most of the clients that use the solution are not experts.""One of the most important features is the ease of using MS SQL.""Tools like the BI and SAS are excellent.""We can store the data in a data lake for a very low cost.""Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse provides good firewall processing in terms of response time.""Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse integrates beautifully with other Microsoft ecosystem products.""The most valuable feature for me is querying.""​It has allowed fast daily loads and analysis of millions of rows of data, which eventually moved to near real-time.​"

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Cons
"Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics's overall integration within the Azure ecosystem could improve. The native Microsoft solution versus another solution, such as Databricks, there are areas where there could be some improvements.""I am pretty sure that there are areas that need improvement but I just can think of them off the top of my head.""Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics can improve by increasing the size of the files that we can load on the platform. We have some files that are too large to be loaded and it would be a benefit to us if the limit was increased. Additionally, the way we use the tool for generating reports can be made better. They should add some drag-and-drop rules without the need of programming these rules using some programming language. It would be helpful if we did not need someone that was technically advanced to be able to do it with, such as someone with no IT background. Having a reporting tool without code would be great.""The platform is not flexible, and the graphical user interface needs to be improved because the interface makes it hard for the end user to use it.""It would be ideal if the solution could be better used intuitively by the staff without having a great deal of training.""If I'm looking for something good in the cloud, I would want it to have better standard connectors.""It could be beneficial to focus on integration with various data sources and similar enhancements.""I'm not entirely happy with the billing model. I'm not entirely happy with how the enterprise services are pretty expensive, but that's about it."

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"I would like to see better visualization features.""​Concurrent queries are limited to 32, making it more of a data storage mechanism instead of an active DWH solution.""It could offer more development across the solution.""They need to incorporate a machine learning engine.""Some compatibility issues occur during deployment, so we need to build the product from scratch for some features.""The reporting for certain types of data needs to be improved.""The solution is expensive and has room for improvement.""The product must provide more frequent updates."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The price of this solution could be improved."
  • "The pricing is okay. You can pay as you go."
  • "This solution starts at €1000.00 a month for just the basics and can go up to €300,000.00 per month for the fastest version."
  • "When we are not using this solution we can simply shut it down saving us costs, which is a nice advantage."
  • "The licensing fees for this solution are on a pay-per-use basis, and not very expensive."
  • "All of the prices are available online."
  • "Our license is very expensive"
  • "They are cost aggressive, and it integrates well with other Microsoft tools."
  • More Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "I think the program is well-priced compared to the other offerings that are out in the market."
  • "Microsoft has an agreement with the government in our country, so our customers get their licensing costs from the Ministry. Whenever we work with any government, company, or government institute, which is mainly what we are doing, that license comes directly from the Ministry of Technology and Information."
  • "All the features that we use do not require any additional subscription or yearly fees."
  • "Technical support is an additional fee and is expensive."
  • "The solution's pricing is fairly decent for organizations with huge data sizes."
  • "The tool could be expensive if we need to manage a lot of data."
  • "They offer an annual subscription. The pricing depends on the size of the environments."
  • More Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Amazon Redshift is very fast, has a very good response time, and is very user-friendly. The initial setup is very straightforward. This solution can merge and integrate well with many different… more »
    Top Answer:It is a highly stable solution and it's easy to use.
    Top Answer:Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse provides good firewall processing in terms of response time.
    Top Answer:They offer an annual subscription. The pricing depends on the size of the environments.
    Top Answer:Sometimes, the product requires rolling back to its previous version during a software update. This particular area could be enhanced.
    Ranking
    2nd
    Views
    19,142
    Comparisons
    9,225
    Reviews
    37
    Average Words per Review
    462
    Rating
    8.1
    8th
    out of 33 in Data Warehouse
    Views
    638
    Comparisons
    516
    Reviews
    12
    Average Words per Review
    379
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Microsoft Azure SQL DW, Azure SQL Data Warehouse, MS Azure Synapse Analytics
    Microsoft PDW, SQL Server Data Warehouse, Microsoft SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse, MS Parallel Data Warehouse
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is an end-to-end analytics solution that successfully combines analytical services to merge big data analytics and enterprise data warehouses into a single unified platform. The solution can run intelligent distributed queries among nodes, and provides the ability to query both relational and non-relational data.

    Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is built with these 4 components:

    1. Synapse SQL
    2. Spark
    3. Synapse Pipeline
    4. Studio

    Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Features

    Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics has many valuable key features, including:

    • Cloud Data Service: WIth Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics you can operate services (data analytics, machine learning, data warehousing, dashboarding, etc.) in a single workspace via the cloud.

    • Structured and unstructured data: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics supports both structured and unstructured data and allows you to manage relational and non-relational data - unlike data warehouses and lakes that tend to store them respectively.

    • Effective data storage: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers next-level data storage with high availability and different tiers.

    • Responsive data engine: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics uses Massive Parallel Processing (MPP) and is designed to handle large volumes of data and analytical workloads efficiently without any problems.

    • Several scripting languages: The solution provides language compatibility and supports different programming languages, such as Python, Java, Spark SQL, and Scala.

    • Query optimization: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics works well to facilitate limitless concurrency and performance optimization. It also simplifies workload management.

    Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics include:

    • Database templates: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics offers industry-specific database templates that make it easy to combine and shape data.

    • Better business insights: With Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics you can expand discovery of insights from all your data and apply machine learning models to all your intelligent apps.

    • Reduce project development time: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics makes it possible to have a unified experience for developing end-to-end analytics, which reduces project development time significantly.

    • Eliminate data barriers: By using Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics, you can perform analytics on operational and business apps data without data movement.

    • Advanced security: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics provides both advanced security and privacy features to ensure data protection.

    • Machine Learning: Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics integrates Azure Machine Learning, Azure Cognitive Services, and Power BI.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics users who are currently using the solution.

    PeerSpot user Jael S., who is an Information Architect at Systems Analysis & Design Engineering, comments on her experience using the product, saying that it is “Scalable, intuitive, facilitates compliance and keeps your data secure”. She also says "We also like governance. It looks at what the requirements are for the company to identify the best way to ensure compliance is met when you move to the cloud."

    Michel T., CHTO at Timp-iT, mentions that "the features most valuable are the simplicity, how easy it is to create a dashboard from different information systems."

    A Senior Teradata Consultant at a tech services company says, "Microsoft provides both the platform and the data center, so you don't have to look for a cloud vendor. It saves you from having to deal with two vendors for the same task."


    The traditional structured relational data warehouse was never designed to handle the volume of exponential data growth, the variety of semi-structured and unstructured data types, or the velocity of real time data processing. Microsoft's SQL Server data warehouse solution integrates your traditional data warehouse with non-relational data and it can handle data of all sizes and types, with real-time performance.

    Sample Customers
    Toshiba, Carnival, LG Electronics, Jet.com, Adobe, 
    Auckland Transport, Erste Bank Group, Urban Software Institute, NJVC, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization30%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Healthcare Company18%
    Hospitality Company12%
    Pharma/Biotech Company12%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company21%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Insurance Company7%
    University6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise53%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise38%
    Large Enterprise47%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business34%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise51%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise66%
    Buyer's Guide
    Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs. Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs. Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is ranked 2nd in Cloud Data Warehouse with 38 reviews while Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is ranked 8th in Data Warehouse with 12 reviews. Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is rated 8.0, while Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is rated 7.6. The top reviewer of Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics writes "Multifeatured, has better performance over other solutions, and lets users manage structured and unstructured information, but the platform needs to be more user-friendly". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse writes "User-friendly UI and good support". Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics is most compared with Azure Data Factory, Snowflake, SAP BW4HANA, Amazon Redshift and Microsoft Analytics Platform System, whereas Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse is most compared with Oracle Exadata, SAP BW4HANA, Snowflake and VMware Tanzu Greenplum. See our Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics vs. Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse report.

    See our list of best Data Warehouse vendors and best Cloud Data Warehouse vendors.

    We monitor all Data Warehouse reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.