IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs SAS Data Integration Server comparison

IBM and SAS are both solutions in the Data Integration category. IBM is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.2, while SAS is ranked #36 with an average rating of 7.5. IBM holds a 1.8% mindshare in DI, compared to SAS’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of SAS users who would recommend it.

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Read 13 IBM Cloud Pak for Data reviews

2,778 Views
1,932 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

SAS Data Integration Server

Read 4 SAS Data Integration Server reviews

629 Views
538 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

SAS Data Integration Server

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

SAS Data Integration Server and IBM Cloud Pak for Data compete in the data integration sector. IBM Cloud Pak for Data has the upper hand due to its comprehensive features and modern deployment strategies.

Features: SAS Data Integration Server is notable for its data transformation, ETL capabilities, and extensive integration tools. IBM Cloud Pak for Data is recognized for its AI-driven analytics, hybrid cloud integration, and seamless data management experience. SAS emphasizes data processing, while IBM focuses on data collaboration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAS Data Integration Server uses a traditional deployment model with structured support channels. IBM Cloud Pak for Data offers a flexible, container-based architecture for hybrid cloud facilitation, with proactive customer service compared to SAS's reactive approach. Deployment strategies show IBM as more adaptable in modern IT environments.

Pricing and ROI: SAS Data Integration Server tends to have a lower setup cost with predictable licensing and support fees, ideal for simpler data requirements, leading to quicker ROI. IBM Cloud Pak for Data, though having higher initial costs, offers better long-term gains through its scalable architecture and advanced features, representing a more significant long-term value proposition.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SAS Data Integration Server Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SAS Data Integration Server

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Ranking in Data Integration

16th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Virtualization (3rd)

SAS Data Integration Server

Ranking in Data Integration

36th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is 1.8%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Data Integration Server is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Michelle Leslie

Data asset management engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Starts strong with data management capabilities but needs a demo database

What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated. There are so many components to data management, and more often than not, people understand one thing really well. They may understand DataStage and how to move data around, but they do not see the impact of moving data incorrectly. They also do not see the impact of everyone understanding a piece of data in the same way. I would love Cloud Pak to come with a demo database that illustrates the different components of data management in a logical way, so I can see the whole picture instead of just the area I'm specializing in. It would be great if Cloud Pak, from a data modeling point of view, allowed us to import our PDMs, for example. It would be ideal to import and create business terms in Cloud Pak. The PEA would be great to create the technical data. The association between the business and the technical metadata could then be automated by pulling it through from your ACE models. The data modeling component is available in Cloud Pak. Additionally, when it comes to Cloud Pak, even though it has the NextGen DataStage built into it, there is Cloud Pak for data integration as well. Currently, I do not think we have a full enough understanding of how CP4D and CP4I can enhance each other.

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reviewer2937544

Works at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Offloads processes on the server side but needs better installation syntax

One area for improvement is the installation process. Another point could be the syntax, as it sometimes involves using syntax names that are not intuitive. For example, to calculate the difference between two dates, the general syntax in SAS is called the data difference or data net function. However, another name is used, such as NF and INK. Without knowledge of SAS programming, it becomes unclear what these functions mean. It is not good to define function names this way.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM Watson Catalog and data pipelines are the most valuable features of the solution."

"What I found most helpful in IBM Cloud Pak for Data is containerization, which means it's easy to shift and leave in terms of moving to other clouds. That's an advantage of IBM Cloud Pak for Data."

"DataStage allows me to connect to different data sources."

"Cloud Pak is a very, very, very good system."

"I love the way that I can start at a very basic level with my data management journey by capturing my policies, justifying my data, and putting them into different categories to say this is data relating to individuals, for example, or data relating to geography."

"Cloud Pak's most valuable features are IBM MQ, IBM App Connect, IBM API Connect, and ISPF."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of IBM Cloud Pak for Data is the Modeler flows. The ability to develop models using a graphical approach and the capability to connect to various sources, as well as the data virtualization capabilities, allow me to easily access and utilize data that is dispersed across different sources."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data pros

"The solution offers very good data manipulation and loading."

"The solution is very stable."

"A key feature allows us to enhance job performance by offloading processing to the server side, rather than processing on the server itself."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its amazing capabilities in regard to data handling."

"A key feature allows us to enhance job performance by offloading processing to the server side, rather than processing on the server itself."

Cons

"There is a solution that is part of IBM Cloud Pak for Data called Watson OpenScale. It is used to monitor the deployed models for the quality and fairness of the results. This is one area that needs a lot of improvement."

"One thing that bugs me is how much infrastructure Cloud Pak requires for the initial deployment. It doesn't allow you to start small. The smallest permitted deployment is too big. It's a huge problem that prevents us from implementing the solution in many scenarios."

"Cloud Pak would be improved with integration with cloud service providers like Cloudera."

"The solution's catalog searching or map search needs to be improved."

"What I would love to see is an end-to-end, almost a training demo database of some sort, where one of the biggest problems with data management is demonstrated."

"The solution's user experience is an area that has room for improvement."

"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 product must improve its performance."

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data cons

"The transform tool has limited access. They should make it more flexible."

"One area for improvement is the installation process."

"The initial setup had issues, and even after using it for about one year, it was still not fixed."

"So I would like to see improved integration with other software."

"The initial setup of SAS Data Integration Server was complex."

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."

"The solution's pricing is competitive with that of other vendors."

"Cloud Pak's cost is a little high."

"I think that this product is too expensive for smaller companies."

"The solution is expensive."

"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."

"It is an expensive program."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

27%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

26%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

12%

Insurance Company

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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

The setup cost is very expensive. The cost depends on the pieces of the solution I'm using, how much data I have, and whether it's on the cloud or on-prem.

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What needs improvement with IBM Cloud Pak for Data?

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What do you like most about SAS Data Integration Server?

The most valuable feature of the solution is its amazing capabilities in regard to data handling.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAS Data Integration Server?

I don't handle the cost and budget part. From the tool's perspective, I can say that it is an amazing product.

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What needs improvement with SAS Data Integration Server?

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM InfoSphere DataStage vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 42% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 18% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 12% of the time

Denodo vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 11% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs IBM Cloud Pak for Data

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Cloud Pak for Data Competitors

SSIS vs SAS Data Integration Server

Compared 27% of the time

Azure Data Factory vs SAS Data Integration Server

Compared 27% of the time

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) vs SAS Data Integration Server

Compared 20% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs SAS Data Integration Server

Compared 14% of the time

AWS Glue vs SAS Data Integration Server

Compared 12% of the time

More SAS Data Integration Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

April 2025

Download IBM Cloud Pak for Data product report

Buyer's Guide

Data Integration

March 2025

Download SAS Data Integration Server product report

Also Known As

Cloud Pak for Data

SAS Enterprise Data Integration Server, Enterprise Data Integration Server

Overview

IBM Cloud Pak® for Data is a fully-integrated data and AI platform that modernizes how businesses collect, organize and analyze data to infuse AI throughout their organizations. Cloud-native by design, the platform unifies market-leading services spanning the entire analytics lifecycle. From data management, DataOps, governance, business analytics and automated AI, IBM Cloud Pak for Data helps eliminate the need for costly, and often competing, point solutions while providing the information architecture you need to implement AI successfully.

Building on the streamlined hybrid-cloud foundation of Red Hat® OpenShift®, IBM Cloud Pak for Data takes advantage of the underlying resource and infrastructure optimization and management. The solution fully supports multicloud environments such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud™ and private cloud deployments. Find out how IBM Cloud Pak for Data can lower your total cost of ownership and accelerate innovation.

IBM

SAS Data Integration Server is a powerful, configurable and comprehensive solution that can meet a wide variety of data integration requirements, from small tactical projects to strategic business initiatives. It can access virtually all data sources, support data warehousing, migration, synchronization, federation and provisioning initiatives. It can support both batch-oriented and real-time master data management solutions. It can create reusable data integration services in support of service-oriented architectures and data governance and extract, cleanse, transform, conform, aggregate, load and manage data.

SAS

Sample Customers

Qatar Development Bank, GuideWell, Skanderborg Music Festival

Credit Guarantee Corporation, Cr_dito y Cauci‹n, Delaware State Police, Deutsche Lufthansa, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, DSM, Livzon Pharmaceutical Group, Los Angeles County, Miami Herald Media Company, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, New Zealand Ministry of Health, Nippon Paper, West Midlands Police, XS Inc., Zenith Insurance

Buyer's Guide

IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SAS Data Integration Server

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SAS Data Integration Server

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Cloud Pak for Data vs. SAS Data Integration Server and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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