KNIME Reviews

This solution is primarily used for various data analytics in an enterprise environment. 

The reality of any data analytics project including Data Science is that 90% of the effort goes into data sourcing and preparation. Data usually comes from multiple sources including data warehouses, web scraping, Excel input, free text, etc. KNIME allows you to do the 90% plus other predictive functionality.

It is a free open-source tool that performs very similarly to other expensive tools. KNIME has been great for me over the years. It allows me to connect to various sources including data warehouses, then put the processing logic together (ETL-like), which can be quite complex and produce the required output. Ultimately, it would go into Excel or Tableau for presentation.

The features that I find most valuable are:

1. The visual workflow tools for custom and complex tasks always beat raw coding languages with the agility, speed to deliver, and ease of subsequent changes.
2. Unlimited volume of data; you are only limited by the machine you run on.
3. Python and R integration.
4. Predictive functionality and text analytics. If it is not enough then you can use custom Python and R scripts.
5. Looping functionality.
6. Variables allow you to parameterize your flows.
7. Run one node at a time, which is something that Alteryx users dream of doing.
8. Managing (collapsing) sub-flows, which is another thing that Alteryx container users also dream of.

The areas that I feel need improvement are:

• It needs support for a joiner node to have three outputs (left unmatched, matched, right unmatched), as competitors do (have not checked 2019/20 releases).
• I need the ability to add additional comparison conditions to a join. For example, in SQL you can specify only rows with a date fitting within a date range from the joined file. At the moment in KNIME, you should allow a join explosion to take place and filter what you need later, but sometimes the output becomes too big.
• It would be helpful to have more examples of Java code for nodes, like Java Snippet.
• I would like to have this solution show row counts on canvas, as it would improve the control and speed to build the workflow.
• The pseudo-code types could be rationalised into one (e.g. only Java).
• I would like to see better web scraping because every time I tried, it was not up to par, although you can use Python script.

I have been using KNIME for between four and five years.

My system occasionally may crash like other similar tools, although autosave is available.

Scalability is limited to a desktop application.

Obviously, as an open-source application, your options are limited but I have found answers on forums when I needed help.

Recently I have been using Alteryx so I have collected a few points on differences in both tools. Both are good, I can conclusively say I could go back to KNIME and be as effective data professional as I am with Alteryx.

I have to use Alteryx due to my client's tool choice, but I know that what I am doing with Alteryx right now could be done better in KNIME. Of course, Alteryx has its own advantages for certain areas.

It is a relatively simple install. You can even avoid installing it and run from a directory.

KNIME is free as a stand-alone desktop-based platform but if you want to get a KNIME server then you can find the cost on their website. The fact that KNIME is open source may create challenges from an IT security view in an enterprise environment.

For this review, I would include Alteryx and Lavastorm (the latter is no longer available).

If you need a good Visualisation functionality, you should use Tableau or something of that caliber. However, the data prep can be done KNIME, which would give you extra confidence that what goes into your Visualisation layer is correct.

Overall, KNIME is definitely worth considering.

As a university professor instructing courses on data mining and machine learning, I incorporate both KNIME and another software application into my teaching. This approach allows me to demonstrate various use cases effectively. I actively engage my students by having them utilize both software applications, providing practical hands-on experience in the areas of data mining and machine learning.

The most valuable is the ability to seamlessly connect operators without the need for extensive programming.

To enhance accessibility and user-friendliness, there is a need for improvements in the interface and usability of deep learning and large-scale learning languages.

I have been using it for more than ten years.

I would rate its stability capabilities nine out of ten.

It provides good scalability abilities, I would rate it eight out of ten. Currently, more than sixty individuals use it on a daily basis.

They are helpful and I am highly satisfied with their customer support services. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Positive

We use Orange as well.

The initial setup is straightforward.

While there are certain limitations in functionality, you can still utilize it efficiently free of charge.

I would recommend it, especially for those who prefer not to program or have limited coding intervention. Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

We are using KNIME for price prediction, privacy missions, the commander model, ETL, and a couple of algorithms we've developed.

One of the greatest advantages of KNIME is that it can be used by those without any coding experience. Even those with no coding background can use it. 

KNIME can be used by people without coding experience. It can be used by people who don't have an IT background and don't have coding knowledge. This is different from Python or R, which require coding experience to use.

When deploying models on a regular system, it works fine. However, when accuracy is a priority, hyperparameter tuning is necessary. Currently, KNIME doesn't have the best tools for this which they could improve in this area.

I have been using KNIME for approximately one month.

I'm not sure if it is stable, we'll have to see how KNIME performs with larger amounts of data, as I have heard it is not very reliable. With smaller data sets, however, it seems to be stable.

We will use this solution more in the future when we do not need people with coding experience.

We have two people who are using this solution in my organization.

I have not used the support from KNIME.

I used the open-source package and started experimenting with it in Python, R, and KNIME. For KNIME, I had to go through the KNIME forum for troubleshooting. I didn't get a response for any of the issues I encountered on the KNIME forum. As for other open-source languages, I haven't received a response for any of the issues I faced either.

The initial setup of KNIME is easy. It can be done with the interface within half an hour.

I had taken some online courses and read about KNIME, and I wanted to try out a drag-and-drop software. I was interested in evaluating KNIME, and this is why I am using it.

My advice to those who are new to data science and don't have any coding experience would be to use KNIME, along with some other programming languages. KNIME is great for creating visualizations and dashboards, and I have advised a few of my colleagues to use it for their own projects.

I rate KNIME a seven out of ten.

We use KNIME for two main reasons:

Automation: The main purpose of our utilization it to run scheduled workflows (such as CRM campaigns, business reports, etc.) on a recurrent basis. We have created ETLs to automate most of the recurrent tasks and we let it run via batch files.

Ad-hoc business cases: We leverage KNIME flexibility in order to query data from our database and manipulate them for any ad-hoc business case, before presenting results to stakeholders.

In addition to leveraging KNIME flexibility to query data from our database for ad-hoc business cases, the product is very easy to understand even for non-analytical stakeholders. Sometimes we provide them with KNIME workflows and teach them how to run it on their own machine. In some particular cases, my team builds the workflow and then we hand it over to the stakeholder, who can run it on his own by inserting a variable or changing a few settings in the workflows.

• Easy to connect with every database: We use queries from SQL, Redshift, Oracle.
• Easy to have a clear view of the data at every single step of the ETL process, with the consequent possibility of changing the flow according to your needs.

I think the data visualization part is the area most in need of improvement.

I’ve been using KNIME for more than four years now. I started using it in the company I was working for in Rome (Paddy Power Italy), then I moved to headquarters in Dublin (Paddy Power Ireland/UK) and started using it for their business. Eventually, I moved to the United States and started using it for my current company (TVG-Betfair) and it is currently the main analytics tool in both our offices (New Jersey and Los Angeles).

I would definitely rate it a nine out of 10. I am very happy with the product and it would be hard to find something better in the market.

We use the solution for data analytics and logic design.

The product is working fine with Oracle.

It is is written in Java. If they can output the Javascript, it will be much better. Also, it could be integrated with Visual Studio.

I have been using KNIME for three years.

20 users are using this solution. Scalability is quite easy, but handling many notes can become messy.

Most of the things is available in the community.

It's quite easy to setup.

I have a CSV reader. When I reset that CS reader, and It gave some error.

I have a CSV reader, and I encounter an error whenever I try to save. However, if I reset the CSV reader, I am able to save successfully. It’s a rare issue, but there's something wrong with the CSV reader. The error message doesn't provide a solution, only indicating a problem with the CSV reader.

I want to save the project but always face saving issues. If I reset the node, the saving works fine. The error message isn’t clear about what is wrong or how to fix it. I discovered on my own that resetting the CSV reader from green to yellow allows me to save the project. This issue is quite rare.

Last Friday, there was a widespread CrowdStrike issue, and I had to restart my computer. After restarting, I lost my entire project.

I recommend the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

I use KNIME for analysis-related purposes. I am currently in the process of developing some models for analysis.

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a user-friendly tool where a person doesn't have to get involved with codes since you just need to drag the nodes to create your model, which is a very easy process for me.

The most difficult part of the solution revolves around its areas concerning machine learning and deep learning. The aforementioned area can be considered for improvement.

I have been using KNIME since 2019. I am an end user of the solution.

It is a stable solution.

It is a scalable solution.

I am the only user of the solution in my company. I do provide training to other employees in my company on how to use KNIME.

I have experience with Excel, and I faced some limitations since my company had loads of data to analyze. Considering that my company had loads of data to analyze, I would say I find KNIME to be very useful.

My company has some problems related to the solution's updates. I don't know if there are some restrictions from my organization because of which I cannot update or install some extensions.

The solution can be deployed in a few minutes.

The solution is currently deployed only on my personal computer, which I use in my company.

Only one person or an IT administrator is required to take care of the installation phase of the product.

KNIME is a cheap product. I currently use KNIME's open-source version.

I have experience with Python. Compared to Python, KNIME is better because of the user-friendliness it provides. With KNIME, you don't have to get involved with codes. KNIME provides nodes, making it a very easy tool to use.

I have not received any response from my company, though I had proposed to my organization to buy KNIME so that we can use it on the servers since, right now, it is like a standalone tool used on my personal computer only. I am just a basic and not an advanced user of KNIME. I find KNIME to be a very useful tool.

Speaking about the maintenance phase of the product, I would like to say that I cannot update the solution. If a new version is released, I cannot update the product. I always have to request my organization and the IT team to download and install the product's new version for me.

I recommend others to use KNIME. I have recommended KNIME to my colleagues.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

KNIME is mainly used for developing workflows for machine learning and VA. We are using integrated Python scripts.

The solution has improved our company because it is economical as it is an open-source platform. There are not a lot of costs involved.

The most valuable features of KNIME are its ability to convert your sub-workflow into a node. For example, the workflow has many individual native nodes that can be converted into a single node. This representation has simplified my workflow to a great extent. I can present my workflow in a very compact way.

I want to access more of the popular deep learning libraries or frameworks as they have in other solutions, such as TensorFlow and PyTorch. There should be better integration, and a better way to use those libraries because they are very popular. Our company uses PyTorch and TensorFlow regularly to solve many computer vision problems. We expect better integration of those two tools.

KNIME could improve when it comes to large data markets.

I have been using KNIME for approximately one and a half years.

The solution is stable but it could improve.

I rate the stability of KNIME a six out of ten.

We have approximately 25 people using this solution in my company. The employees typically do business analytics with MLS and DLLs in their workflow.

We are not using the solution at its full capacity.

I rate the scalability of KNIME a six out of ten. 

I have not contacted the support from KNIME directly. We use online forums and blogs.

We used Alteryx prior to KNIME.

We do the deployment of the solution in-house. We have a team of approximately five to seven people who not only take care of these pipelines, and workflows in this solution, but also do a lot of AI and ML module developments.

This is a free open-source solution.

We selected KNIME rather than Alteryx because of the price comparison.

We usually only use the coding methods using Python. When people don't have much experience with coding, then we always recommend they choose the concepts of analytics and machine learning, mainly a no-code tool, such as KNIME or Alteryx. They become close to citizen developers. We will teach them coding aspects later. They always start with a no-code or a low-code tool, such as KNIME and Alteryx. Once they learn slowly, we switch them over to coding access.

I would recommend this solution for use cases that has a small amount of data and not a lot of code needed.

I rate KNIME a six out of ten.

I am a basic user, doing a data science course.

I am using Knime more from a study perspective, rather than a practical work application.

I am fairly competent with creating workflows and automating some basic things in Knime.

NA

From a user-friendliness perspective, it's a great tool.

I think some of the online training content could be better, although I have been able to find all of the information. At times they're quite lengthy, and for me to go through everything and then get a resolution takes a good amount of time.

They could have a more structured node-wise training model, where I can simply get into it. For example, if I need to understand a node to create pivot tables, I have to go through the training mode to understand what the functionality is.

If they had a more structured training model it would be very helpful.

It would be helpful to launch more certification programs online. 

There could be better marketing. The awareness of Knime is limited, especially for small organizations. When you compare with PowerBI, there is a lot of active marketing put into their product, also, having Microsoft associated with it is an advantage.

They have to step up on the marketing aspect and the ability to digitize using Knime. Many are aware of other tools such as PowerBI.

In the next release, I would like to see the certification available for active users.

Also the costing aspect of the certification, there could be more local impact time zone programs with a bit of costing dissension to encourage more active users in Knime who can then move to the server version in their organization.

I have been using Knime for approximately one year.

We are in the testing phase of this solution.

It is quite stable. I have not been faced with any issues since I have been using this solution.

Knime is a scalable product.

We have five power users who are test prototype users at the moment. We are trying to sell that prototype to the management so that we can deploy it on a larger scale.

I have never had the need to reach out to technical support.

At some point when I move on with the server versions, I might need some help.

The desktop version, it's more of an install and then just run it.

At this time, I am using the free version of Knime.

I did look at Tableau and was considering it to some extent. I felt Knime was more user-friendly and more versatile to automate tasks (most of them excel based).

I am quite supportive of this product. It has been helpful in automating a few of my accounting activities.

Digital groups such as Knime have great potential, but there needs to be more aggressiveness with marketing. There are many executives that do not know what Knime is.

My journey starts by explaining what Knime is and what the functionalities are.

I like Knime, and I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.