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IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs SAS Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cloud Pak for Data
Ranking in Data Integration
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (3rd)
SAS Access
Ranking in Data Integration
57th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 1.7%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Access is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Murali B - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides IBM Watson Catalog and data pipelines, but catalog searching needs to be improved
If people are with the existing stuff, I would definitely suggest they go with IBM Cloud Pak for Data. I usually recommend the solution for the financial sector, where I worked for about ten years. I worked with IBM for almost eight years. Unless they want to migrate to a new product completely, I recommend IBM Cloud Pak for Data to explore current business. It is easy to integrate the tool with other solutions. Except for metadata queries, metadata validations, and metadata integrations, I don't see any issues with the solution. I would recommend the solution to other users if it supports their existing infrastructure. Some people don't want to put their data in the cloud because they are concerned about how the data is secured with encryption and decryption. For such cases, we have listed out all the pros and cons of the solution to suggest them to users. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Robert Heck - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution is stable, scalable, and flexible
I rate the solution eight out of ten. The number of people required to maintain the solution is dependent on the other applications running. The solution in itself does not require a lot of maintenance. The solution is flexible and I recommend it when you have more complex applications with special requirements.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."
"The most valuable features are data virtualization and reporting."
"You can model the data there, connect the data models with the business processes and create data lineage processes."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten."
"The most valuable features of IBM Cloud Pak for Data are the Watson Studio, where we can initiate more groups and write code. Additionally, Watson Machine Learning is available with many other services, such as APIs which you can plug the machine learning models."
"Its data preparation capabilities are highly valuable."
"It is a scalable solution, and we have had no issues with its scalability in our company. I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten."
"Cloud Pak's most valuable features are IBM MQ, IBM App Connect, IBM API Connect, and ISPF."
"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the ease of access to the data in those databases."
"The most valuable part of SAS/ACCESS is what it is made for: connecting to remote systems that are not part of your physical SAS environment."
"The most valuable feature is you have native access to the external databases."
 

Cons

"The solution's catalog searching or map search needs to be improved."
"The interface could improve because sometimes it becomes slow. Sometimes there is a delay between clicks when using the software, which can make the development process slow. It can take a few seconds to complete one action, and then a few more seconds to do the next one."
"The tool depends on the control plane, an OpenShift container platform utilized as an orchestration layer...So, we have communicated this issue to IBM and asked if it is feasible to adapt the solution to work on a Kubernetes platform that we support."
"The solution's user experience is an area that has room for improvement."
"Cloud Pak would be improved with integration with cloud service providers like Cloudera."
"One challenge I'm facing with IBM Cloud Pak for Data is native features have been decommissioned, such as XML input and output. Too many changes have been made, and my company has around one hundred thousand mappings, so my team has been putting more effort into alternative ways to do things. Another area for improvement in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is that it's more complicated to shift from on-premise to the cloud. Other vendors provide secure agents that easily connect with your existing setup. Still, with IBM Cloud Pak for Data, you have to perform connection migration steps, upgrade to the latest version, etc., which makes it more complicated, especially as my company has XML-based mappings. Still, the XML input and output capabilities of IBM Cloud Pak for Data have been discontinued, so I'd like IBM to bring that back."
"The product must improve its performance."
"The solution could have more connectors."
"The solution can provide access to the newer databases that come out sooner."
"I can't really recall any missing feature or general improvement that is needed. We don't really add too many new kinds of databases and therefore our needs are already met."
"The pricing model needs to be reconsidered and adjusted."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't have the exact licensing cost for IBM Cloud Pak for Data, as my company is still finalizing requirements, including monthly, yearly, and three-year licensing fees. Still, on a scale of one to five, I'd rate it a three because, compared to other vendors, it's more complicated."
"For the licensing of the solution, there is a yearly payment that needs to be made. Also, since it is expensive, cost-wise, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten."
"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."
"It's quite expensive."
"IBM Cloud Pak for Data is expensive. If we include the training time and the machine learning, it's expensive. The cost of the execution is more reasonable."
"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."
"The solution is expensive."
"I think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."
"The pricing model is complex and is based on modular packages as well as the size of the applicable environment."
"The solution's pricing and licensing are expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
24%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors. The pricing also depends on the number of users.
What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?
Previously, we used to extract the information in the DSX and the XML formats. IBM Cloud Pak for Data exports information mostly on the ISX, which is an encrypted format. The only challenge with th...
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Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data
SAS/Access
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival
Los Angeles County, West Midlands Police, Credit Guarantee Corporation, Canada Post, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SAS Access and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.