What customers value most in Microsoft Databases—from reliability to AI readiness

In this article What customers consistently value Turning customer feedback into innovation Thank you to our customers and community Every day, customers trust Microsoft Databases to power their most critical applications, business processes, and AI-powered experiences. Continuous customer feedback provides valuable insights into how these technologies perform in production and where we should continue investing. I’m honored to share that Microsoft Databases have received multiple 2026 PeerSpot Customer Choice / Tech Leader recognitions based on feedback from real practitioners using these technologies in production environments. This year, PeerSpot recognized: SQL Server as a Tech Leader in Database Management Systems (DBMS) (#1) and Relational Database Tools (#1) Azure SQL Database as a Tech Leader in Database as a Service (DBaaS) (#2) Azure Database for PostgreSQL as a Tech Leader in Open Source Databases (#1) Azure Cosmos DB as a Tech Leader in Managed NoSQL Databases (#1), NoSQL Databases (#1), and Vector Databases (#1) Learn more about our PeerSpot awards Customer feedback across Microsoft Databases consistently highlights five themes: reliability, scalability, operational simplicity, developer productivity, and AI readiness. These are the same priorities shaping our investments across SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, and Azure Database for PostgreSQL. The PeerSpot recognition reinforces that customers see value not only in the performance of our databases today, but also in how they are helping organizations prepare for the next generation of AI-powered applications. What customers consistently value SQL Server: Trusted reliability for mission-critical workloads For SQL Server customers, reliability, stability, and long-term data stewardship remain foundational requirements. Organizations continue to rely on SQL Server to support business-critical applications, analytics, and increasingly AI-enabled workflows. Hemanth Reddy Vakiti, a data engineer at Cognizant, wrote that “The backup and recovery allow us to easily access previous 10 to 15 years of data”, citing SQL Server’s ability to handle large datasets and support secure role-based access. Another SQL Server reviewer, Isseo Martinez from eGlobal, called out availability and stability, saying “We never have concerns about the database.” For many organizations, that confidence is the foundation for business-critical applications and long-term modernization strategies. Explore SQL Server 2025 Azure SQL Database: Simplifying modernization with cloud-scale SQL Customers regularly tell us they want the reliability and familiarity of SQL Server with the operational simplicity of a fully managed cloud service. Azure SQL Database helps organizations modernize applications, reduce infrastructure management, and scale with confidence. Fredrick Weinshenk, a cloud engineer at healthcare IT firm Med Tech Solutions, wrote that “The ease of deployment and scalability are significant reasons we push our larger clients to Azure,” and described the platform as “reliable” and “solid.” That feedback reflects a recurring need we hear from customers: modernize infrastructure, reduce operational burden, and retain the SQL skills, tools, and application patterns their teams already trust. Explore Azure SQL Database Azure Database for PostgreSQL: Open-source flexibility with enterprise reliability Customers choose Azure Database for PostgreSQL because it combines the innovation of the PostgreSQL ecosystem with the operational benefits of a managed service. Wesley Haakman, a principal architect at IT service provider Intercept, using the service across hundreds of customer scenarios, shared that “[the] organization’s database uptime has improved” and highlighted the ease of integration with other Azure services. Sathish Palanisamy, data engineer a