Microsoft SQL Server

First released way back in 1989 Microsoft SQL while Microsoft SQL might not be as old as Oracle (released in 1997!) it is still one of the most reliable and powerful databases and we use it extensively across a wide range of applications. It also has some very neat replication features, allowing us to real-time copy data between multiple servers over the Internet.

Microsoft SQL was originally a very expensive product. Now with the advent of Microsoft SQL Express Edition which is free and still very powerful Microsoft is hoping to claw back more users who shunned Microsoft SQL in favour of MySQL. Furthermore Microsoft has taken steps to integrate with PHP (an open source programming language) by offering free SQL server drivers for PHP.

What it's good for

Speed

Store, index and search billions of rows of data.

Robust backups

Flexible data backup options with built in encryption.

Secure

Transparent data encryption.