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SAP Data Services vs SAP Information Steward comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

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

SAP Data Services
Ranking in Data Quality
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (11th)
SAP Information Steward
Ranking in Data Quality
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Data Quality category, the mindshare of SAP Data Services is 15.7%, up from 13.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Information Steward is 3.4%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Quality
 

Featured Reviews

RambabuMandala - PeerSpot reviewer
Responsive support, scalable, and beneficial integration
The BA reporting tools, such as Data Services, and ETL tool in SAP Data Services are the most valuable. When we had in-memory requirements, we used HANA. HANA is most preferably for most the customers for in-memory. SAP is the first company that created the in-memory concept. There are a lot of SAP applications and they have good integration with SAP packages. In the next release, they should be more advanced cloud functionalities and web services. More integration with other applications including SAPs and other applications. They should not switch to a complete solution but provide better integration with other applications.
FranciscoSantos - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides accurate data that is validated against a personalized reference tool
For most SAP customers, Information Steward is enough because it is able to build quality data rules to detect issues in the source systems like SAP HANA, Business Warehouse, or other systems. A business user can first organize their data into several data domains. For example, procurement, human resources, and logistics setup. The domains can build data quality dimensions where you can describe the kind of rule that you are going to use. The user then can immediately see if something is wrong with their data using traffic lights. Another great feature of SAP Information Steward is the accuracy that the content is followed by validating against the reference tool. With the solution, you are creating data quality dimensions. Within these dimensions, you are creating business data quality rules that are looking for specific fields. From these rules, you can create a scorecard. The scorecard will highlight the percentage of good data and ensure the user can feel confident that the data is accurate within predetermined limits. SAP tables have field names that are very cryptic, making them hard to understand the meaning of the fields. Metapedia helps describe these fields in business terms.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The basic functionality is quite good as is the basic logic and data information."
"The feature of SAP Data Services has enhanced our company's business processes because we are able to run around 800 jobs in areas like data extraction and transaction objects."
"The solution is easy to use since it's a graphical tool. It also requires only low-level coding."
"The fact that it's built on SQL, it makes it easy to write code. The database and the connection are quite smooth."
"I have worked with Data Services for a long time, and currently, I find the dashboarding and reporting part to be the most valuable function."
"The most valuable features of SAP Data Services lie in its ability to effectively observe and interpret the information within data related to people or facts, stands out."
"The API tool in this product is very valuable; it is very easy to onboard and use."
"We can extract data at a table level, extract data at the ETL level, and we can extract data at an ODP level."
"Setup is straightforward."
"Data insight is the most valuable feature."
"The Data Cleansing and the scorecard dashboard are very valuable. Additionally, the financial aspect of SAP Information Steward is very good. When a rule is incorrect then it will show how much is it costing the business. These features are very valuable."
"Ability to collect information, monitor user access and to plan storage capacity."
"The most valuable features are data quality insight, metadata management, and metadata dictionary."
"The data profiling was excellent, as was the ease of generating the dashboards."
"Initial setup was straightforward."
"The solution is very fast."
 

Cons

"SAP Data Services should be made a web-based solution."
"The solution should offer more machine learning and automation."
"We would like the different tools offered within this solution to be available as standalone entities, rather than having to purchase the entire package when we only require a few features."
"The skillset of data engineers matters a bit to use all the functionality of this solution. Otherwise, the delivery speed won't be faster."
"Newer feature integration is lagging behind the company acquisitions and the product could do more to service a broader range of devices."
"I want some more business intelligence applications. People need to know more and more about data, including the transformation rules, etc. Informatica is a better product for data cataloging. SAP should update the data catalog."
"The migration of the solution between different environments is quite complex."
"The solution could improve the overall features. There is a lot that can be done in the solution, therefor there are areas where it can improve. Additionally, there is a need to make it easier for one to create connections to other non-SAP systems. The flexibility to connect to other non-SAP systems is needed."
"We'd like to see some manipulation techniques included in SAP Information Steward."
"Performance could be improved."
"The support team is not very responsive."
"The user experience of metapedia could be improved."
"A problem with the solution is that it does not allow us to review the results of Information Stewards for other analogies."
"Needs to be more powerful on rules."
"The solution could improve by incorporating other applications, such as Power BI to show more visualization. More interaction with other solutions would be a good benefit."
"SAP Information Steward could be improved by offering a cloud version of the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Speaking about prices, Oracle and SAP are market leaders. So, the prices are more."
"At the entry level, if you're using it only for data integration, it is a little bit cheap. However, for large organizations it can be expensive. There are additional costs apart from the license."
"There is a one time purchase fee plus annual maintenance."
"The license price is expensive but medium to large-scale companies, should be able to afford it. Other solutions, such as Talend are easier to afford for smaller companies. Depending on the sources of the data where you are receiving your data you could be paying for more than one license."
"Pricing is good, there is no problem."
"The enterprise version of SAP Data Services is free."
"It's relatively expensive compared to other vendors, but it is competitive."
"Its pricing is as per the enterprise agreement and not a concern for us."
"SAP Information Steward is an expensive solution compared to others."
"A bit pricey, and better tools are available for a lower price."
"Smaller-sized organizations may not be able to invest in SAP Information Steward because of the cost."
"I do not know if there were additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How do you evaluate the ratio of price to quality for SAP Data Services?
I believe the license for the product is fair, even though some competitors offer similar services at lower prices. The difference between the Edge edition and the next one up is significant in pr...
Would you recommend SAP Data Services to complete beginners?
I think after some preparation, a beginner will be able to use SAP Data Services, however, if you are completely unprepared, you may have some issues. I think that in particular you will need a mo...
How has SAP Data Services helped your organization?
SAP Data Services has helped our whole staff understand the data across various sources and systems within the company. Not everyone who works at my organization is an IT expert - most just have av...
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Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects Data Services, SAP BusinessObjects Data Integrator, BusinessObjects Data Integrator
Information Steward, SAP Data Insight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

EMC Corporation, LivePerson, Eldorado, Mozzart, The VELUX Group, AOK Bundesverband, Hilti Group, Nissha Printing Company Ltd., Asian Paints, Aareal Bank Group, Migros Group
American Water, Graphic Packaging International, OSRAM Licht AG, Maxim Integrated
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Data Services vs. SAP Information Steward and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.