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IBM SPSS Statistics vs IBM Watson Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

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 SPSS Statistics
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Data Mining (3rd)
IBM Watson Studio
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
AI Development Platforms (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM SPSS Statistics is 2.7%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Laurence Moseley - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers reliable results for academic research and keeps you close to your data.
SPSS is perfectly adequate if all you want are some results. If you only need the results, you do not require the trail of evidence on how you obtained those results. I mainly used it for cross tabs, correlation, regression, chi-squared tests, and similar analyses often seen in published papers; I used it for my papers as well. For wider uses I find Knime keeps me in touch with my data, however much I transform them.
Abilio Duarte - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly robust and well-documented platform that simplifies the complex world of AI
The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use. Providing training sessions can be immensely helpful in helping users navigate and understand the tool's potential. This approach would empower users to explore and make the most of the tools and technologies at their disposal. Another area where IBM could enhance its offering is by providing more visibility to end users regarding the vast potential that Watson offers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"SPSS is perfectly adequate if all you want are some results."
"The best part is that they have an algorithm handbook, so you can open it up and understand how it works, and if it is useful, this is very important."
"It is a modeling tool with helpful automation."
"The most valuable feature of IBM SPSS Statistics is all the functionality it provides. Additionally, it is simple to do the five-way analysis that you can into multidimensional setup space. It's the multidimensional space facility that is most useful."
"It has the ability to easily change any variable in our research."
"The SPSS interface is very accessible and user-friendly. It's really easy to get information in it. I've shared it with experts and beginners, and everyone can navigate it."
"The most valuable features are the small learning curve and its ability to hold a lot of data."
"One feature I found very valuable was the analysis of variance (ANOVA)."
"The scalability of IBM Watson Studio is great."
"For me, the valuable feature of the solution is the one that I used, which was Jupyter notebooks."
"Watson Studio is the most complete tool for AI projects."
"The most important thing is that it's a multi-faceted solution. It's a kind of specialist, not a generalist. It can produce very specific information for the customer. It's totally different from Google or any search engine that produces generic information. It's specialty is that it's all on video."
"It is a very stable and reliable solution."
"Technical support is great. We have had weekly teleconferences with the technical people at IBM, and they have been fantastic."
"IBM Watson Studio consistently automates across channels."
"It is a stable, reliable product."
 

Cons

"I would like SPSS to improve its integration with other data-filing IBM tools. I also think its duration with data, utilization, and graphics could be better."
"The solution needs more planning tools and capabilities."
"It would be helpful if there was better documentation on how to properly use the solution. A beginner's guide on how to use the various programming functions within the product would be so useful to a lot of people. I found that everything was very confusing at first. Having clear documentation would help alleviate that."
"I know that SPSS is a statistical tool but it should also include a little bit of analytical behavior. You can call it augmented analysis or predictive analysis. The bottom line is it should have more graphical and analytical capabilities."
"In developing countries, it would be beneficial to provide certain features to users at no cost initially, while also customizing pricing options."
"It could provide even more in the way of automation as there are many opportunities."
"The product should provide more ways to import data and export results that are user-friendly for high-level executives."
"The technical support should be improved."
"We would like to see it more web-based with more functionality."
"The solution's interface is very slow at times."
"The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use."
"One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration."
"One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration."
"The decision making in their decision making feature is less good than other options."
"The initial setup was complex."
"Initially, it was quite complex. For us, it was not only a matter of getting it installed, that was just a start. It was also trying to come up with a standard way of implementing it across the entire organization, which had been a challenge."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"More affordable training for new staff members."
"Our licence is on a yearly renewal basis. While pricing is not the primary concern in our evaluation, as products are assessed by whether they can meet our user needs and expertise, the cost can be a limiting factor in the number of licences we procure."
"SPSS is an expensive piece of software because it's incredibly complex and has been refined over decades, but I would say it's fairly priced."
"It's quite expensive, but they do a special deal for universities."
"The price of IBM SPSS Statistics could improve."
"The price of this solution is a little bit high, which was a problem for my company."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"If it requires lot of data processing, maybe switching to IBM SPSS Clementine would be better for the buyer."
"The pricing is generally reasonable and straightforward but can vary significantly depending on the specific workloads in use."
"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
"IBM Watson Studio is an expensive solution."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM SPSS Statistics?
The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM SPSS Statistics?
SPSS is horrendously expensiver. On a laptop Knime is free of charge (Windows, Mac, Linux)
What needs improvement with IBM SPSS Statistics?
Better guidance both in producing programs and interpreting their output.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
The pricing of Watson Studio is justified by the benefits and power it offers.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration. There were also challenges with programming the network extension in the last p...
 

Also Known As

SPSS Statistics
Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

LDB Group, RightShip, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Capgemini Consulting, TEAC Corporation, Ironside, nViso SA, Razorsight, Si.mobil, University Hospitals of Leicester, CROOZ Inc., GFS Fundraising Solutions, Nedbank Ltd., IDS-TILDA
GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SPSS Statistics vs. IBM Watson Studio and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.