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SAS Access vs SSIS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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

SAS Access
Ranking in Data Integration
57th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SSIS
Ranking in Data Integration
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of SAS Access is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SSIS is 7.9%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

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.
BobAmy - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust and does a good job of handling overload conditions
We purchase an add-on called task factory primarily to allow bulk delete, update, and upsert capability. I'd like to see this be part of the standard package. I believe there are ways to build a model and set variables so that it can be a generic process. In my next system, I would like to have a generic process that would handle all the logging and processing in a model that can be modified and enhanced as the need for a better process, or different statistics to be logged is discovered. I'd want this in a way that the model can be changed and all the processes, with their unique parameters, could all be changed with the model upgraded. I believe they should add some features that help to create the code using a model. This would allow for continuous improvement of the model uses and easy replication of all the different programs that use the model.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is you have native access to the external 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 aspect of the solution is the ease of access to the data in those databases."
"The most important features are it works well and provides self-service BI."
"The UI is very user-friendly."
"Built in reports show package execution and messages. Logging can also be customized so only what is needed is logged. There is also an excellent logging replacement called BiXpress that provides both historical and real-time monitoring which is more efficient and much more robust than the built-in logging capabilities. And none of this requires custom coding to make it useful unlike many other ETL tools."
"SSIS is an easy way to do data integration from various data sources. It doesn't matter whether it's a database, flat files, XML, or Web API. It can talk to the and join them all together."
"The most valuable features for our company are the flexibility and the quick turn around time in producing simple ETL solutions."
"Overall, it's a good product."
"The interface is very user-friendly."
"You can get data from any data source with SSIS and dump it to any outside source. It is helpful. Getting, extracting, converting, and dumping data doesn't require much effort because we can do everything in the user interface. You drag and drop, then give the required input. It's intuitive."
 

Cons

"The pricing model needs to be reconsidered and adjusted."
"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."
"SSIS is stable, but extensive ETL data processing can have some performance issues."
"SSIS is cumbersome despite its drag-and-drop functionality. For example, let's say I have 50 tables with 30 columns. You need to set a data type for each column and table. That's around 1,500 objects. It gets unwieldy adding validation for every column. Previously, SSIS automatically detected the data type, but I think they removed this feature. It would automatically detect if it's an integer, primary key, or foreign key column. You had fewer problems building the model."
"Involving a data lake or data engineering aspects would be useful. While it is there, we need more features included."
"Video training would be a helpful addition."
"SSIS is not stable."
"A change in the metadata source cripples the whole ETL process, requiring each module to be manually reopened."
"SSIS can improve by the minimum code requirements in stored procedures and exporting data is difficult. They could make it easier, it should be as easy as it is to import data."
"SSIS doesn't have a very good user interface, but if you can work with it, it'll provide you with almost all of the functionality."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"SSIS' licensing is a little high, but it gives good value for money."
"I'm not involved in licensing details, but SSIS provides value to our organization by simplifying data management tasks."
"The solution comes free of cost."
"We have an enterprise license for this solution."
"t's incredibly cost effective, easy to learn the basics quickly (although like all ETL tools requires the traditional learning curve to get good at) and has an immense user base."
"All of my clients have this product included as part of their Microsoft license."
"Depending on the arrangement that a certain company has with Microsoft, it may supply the permanent license that is included in the SQL server license, or it may be a time-bound license if it is a partner license or other enterprise license."
"If you don't want to pay a lot of money, you can go for SSIS, as its open-source version is available. When it comes to licensing, SSIS can be expensive."
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Comparison Review

it_user90069 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 20, 2014
Informatica PowerCenter vs. Microsoft SSIS - each technology has its advantages but also have similarities
Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
Which is better - SSIS or Informatica PowerCenter?
SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free compo...
What do you like most about SSIS?
The product's deployment phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SSIS?
Utilizing SSIS involves no extra charges beyond the SQL Server license. It's an economical choice for my clients.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SAS/Access
SQL Server Integration Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Los Angeles County, West Midlands Police, Credit Guarantee Corporation, Canada Post, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
1. Amazon.com 2. Bank of America 3. Capital One 4. Coca-Cola 5. Dell 6. E*TRADE 7. FedEx 8. Ford Motor Company 9. Google 10. Home Depot 11. IBM 12. Intel 13. JPMorgan Chase 14. Kraft Foods 15. Lockheed Martin 16. McDonald's 17. Microsoft 18. Morgan Stanley 19. Nike 20. Oracle 21. PepsiCo 22. Procter & Gamble 23. Prudential Financial 24. RBC Capital Markets 25. SAP 26. Siemens 27. Sony 28. Toyota 29. UnitedHealth Group 30. Visa 31. Walmart 32. Wells Fargo
Find out what your peers are saying about SAS Access vs. SSIS and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.