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Jay - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Delivery Team Lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Used to export data and provides good scheduling features
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's most valuable feature is the scheduling part."
  • "SAP Data Services should be made a web-based solution."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution to export data out of SAP environments.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable feature is the scheduling part.

What needs improvement?

SAP Data Services should be made a web-based solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SAP Data Services for 11 years.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is more suitable for enterprise businesses.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for scalability.

How are customer service and support?

The solution’s technical support is good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

What was our ROI?

The solution has helped our organization save time.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend the solution only to SAP customers.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Arindam_Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Innoverv
Real User
Top 20
Provides good features like extraction and data transformations
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of the solution are extraction and data transformations."
  • "Address validation in SAP Data Services is chargeable and should be made free."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the solution are extraction and data transformations.

What needs improvement?

Address validation in SAP Data Services is chargeable and should be made free.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SAP Data Services for more than ten years.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Alteryx is much more expensive than SAP Data Services. The enterprise version of SAP Data Services is free.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The enterprise version of SAP Data Services is free.

What other advice do I have?

The solution provides good data quality management features.

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

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Buyer's Guide
SAP Data Services
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP Data Services. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Functional Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
An easy initial setup, good pricing and very stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution offers very good integration capabilities."
  • "There should be some kind of enhancement that can be done on the admin side of certain sites where we can assign the roles and responsibilities. We should be able to control who is using the tool and how."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution as a tool to do the deployment for the reports.

While we deal mostly with banks, who do not need complex analytics (their reports are largely static). It's useful for telecoms or other sectors that need to monitor daily trends. However, once designed, the banks can use the same report on a daily basis to see their somewhat static results quite easily.

What is most valuable?

We really like this product. Whenever we have customers, no matter where they are in the world, we suggest this app and we implement SAP for them.

The solution offers very good integration capabilities.

It's a quality product.

After working with the tool for so many years, I can say that overall their services are a really good deal. They continue to enhance their services regularly and are always improving their offering.

The tools that are provided are some of the best on the market and the pricing is really great.

What needs improvement?

In terms of data integration or other tools, we have a road map and we send out requests for enhancements through our marketing team who is involved in the process.

There should be some kind of enhancement that can be done on the admin side of certain sites where we can assign the roles and responsibilities. We should be able to control who is using the tool and how.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used the solution for ten to 12 years. I myself started with SAP in 2006.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is excellent. There aren't bugs or glitches that I have seen. The system doesn't crash. Organizations can rely on its performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution is very good. If an organization needs to expand it further after implementation, they shouldn't have any issues. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We've never had to contact technical support. We have our own team in-house. If there are queries, we tend to resolve them ourselves or use SAP's portal.

We've never really faced any difficulty that would require us to involve SAP directly.

Initially, we did have a few issues around Arabic localization and Arabic values, but once we resolved it, we didn't find many other issues. Most of the reports, the layouts, the data headers, etc. are now in Arabic and it's no problem. 

How was the initial setup?

For myself, I find the initial setup quite simple. However, I have many years under my belt working directly with the product. Someone with beginner-level knowledge might find it a bit challenging. In general, however, it's easy, not difficult.

The length of deployment depends on the organization and requirements. It does take a few days, but some projects are longer than others. It really depends on the client's needs. Each situation is unique.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We're a technical team, so we aren't directly involved in the prices or cost of the solution. Our marketing department handles the details and negotiates prices with SAP. They try to get reductions to lower pricing in the contracts. I have no idea what the exact amount is our company pays on a monthly or yearly basis.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Currently, I am doing some research into an Oracle solution that a client is asking about. While we focus on SAP, they are interested in this Oracle tool. I've been doing some analysis into it to compare the two solutions in case the bank decides that they do indeed want to migrate from SAP to Oracle. 

What other advice do I have?

We are already an SAP gold partner. We have a significant level of partnership with SAP. We also used to do the reports for SAP. This is the only tool that we suggest to our clients and we do the implementation for banks in the Middle East. Nearly all customers have the same tool that we use. We are one of the leading banking software providers in the region.

We do not work with the cloud. We do local installations only. We don't use anything on the cloud because banks normally have policies in place where they cannot share with the cloud for security and risk aversion reasons. 

It is one of the nicest tools on the market and people really should use it.

As compared to the other tools it is easier to implement and easier to understand. It's very efficient especially if you are looking at performance and stability. 

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. I'd give it perfect marks, but there is always room for some more enhancements.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Said BOULISFANE - PeerSpot reviewer
Said BOULISFANEFounder, Senior Solutions Architect and Full Stack Expert at Soft-ERP
User

Hi every one,
I think for that use case mentionned up, the two product will be comparables if in the side of ODI team is strongly competent in ODI knowledge and configuration.
For Gartner overall comparison I recommend this article
www.gartner.com

FranciscoSantos - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Pixel Studio PTY
Real User
Top 5
An easy-to-use solution that supports data warehousing, data migration, data quality and data integration.
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to use since it's a graphical tool. It also requires only low-level coding."
  • "The solution shows a lack of cloud support data services."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution to support data warehousing.

Also for data migration from any legacy system to S/4HANA.

Data Quality in legacy systems and from S/4HANA.

How has it helped my organization?

Data migration projects on time and on budget.

What is most valuable?

The solution is easy to use since it's a graphical tool. It also requires only low-level coding. 

What needs improvement?

The solution shows a lack of cloud support data services. It can be improved for cloud integration to on-premise environments.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for more than 30 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is a stable and mature tool. It is standardized in such a way that you don't have issues after upgrading it to new versions.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the product's scalability a nine-point five out of ten. The tool is intelligent enough to split the workload. 

How are customer service and support?

The support classifies your incidents as low priority, medium priority, and high priority. Usually, I am classified as a medium priority and get an answer in 24 hours. I get the fix in less than a week. Support has people who are very knowledgeable about the product. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No

How was the initial setup?

The product is simple to setup. If you are setting it up on Windows, then it's just a matter of a few clicks. 

What about the implementation team?

Both, the SI contracted has a good expertise level.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Informatica.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the product an nine out of ten. The solution suits medium to large enterprise organizations and it would be expensive for small companies. The product is very useful for SAP customers. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Provides effective mapping and integration processes
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "It will work fine only in an SAP environment. It could be said that the integration with other vendors could be better."

What is our primary use case?

Usually, when clients have agile requirements and want to bring historical data into the new HANA architecture, we use Data Services. This may involve multiple years of data from different systems. We need proper business use cases to map and set up the tools. Additionally, after the data is brought in, we perform reconciliation to show the before and after data transformation. This helps the business understand the changes that occurred during the transformation. 

Data Services, along with tools like Information Steward, allows the usage of machine learning and artificial intelligence to maintain business rules and mappings, making the process easier. When we want to handle data migration internally, instead of relying on external tools like Xfinity, we usually use Data Services.

How has it helped my organization?


What is most valuable?

I have worked with Data Services for a long time, and currently, I find the dashboarding and reporting part to be the most important function. Earlier, this function was not as advanced, but now it provides excellent dashboarding and reporting capabilities. After every data load for each object, we can identify and understand any errors. This helps us schedule and manage data migration projects effectively. It has improved significantly.

What needs improvement?

The only thing is that it's a very specific product. It works well only for our SAP clients. That is its limitation. There is a lot of competition in that regard. 

It will work fine only in an SAP environment. It could be said that the integration with other vendors could be better. It is built specifically for the SAP environment and follows best practices for SAP. When we want to work in a different environment, it becomes a bit more complex.

On adding additional functionality to improve artificial intelligence, machine learning, and integration, I think most of it is already considered in the roadmap.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with SAP Data Services for a very long time. I started using it at the time for business projects. We have extensively used it for data migration and other purposes.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a very stable product now because it has been around for many years. I would rate it a ten out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Data Services is a highly scalable product. I would give it a nine or ten.

Around two hundred users use Data Services.

How are customer service and support?

We seek technical support from SAP when we encounter errors that we can't resolve on our own, especially those related to standard master data. We have a support agreement with SAP, and our customer has maximum attention, so we get immediate assistance. It's been very good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I mainly work with SAP, but I do familiarize myself with competitor products to stay informed. There are reasons why competitors have an edge. Flexibility and scalability are areas where other vendors like Xfinity or SMP might perform slightly better. They are more heterogeneous in that regard.

How was the initial setup?

The setup process is not very complicated, and the integration is also straightforward. Connecting to systems and using prebuilt extractors through interfaces make it easier. So the setup is not very complicated.

Only one or two people are required from a system maintenance perspective because there aren't many technical problems. Additionally, there are four people dedicated to technical development. So, in total, it's less than five or six people handling the technical aspects.

What about the implementation team?

Usually, we work with the business team. Once they bring in the system, they install the best practices and such. Then they connect the system, and that's when I get involved to start the integration process, mapping, and working with tables. It's quite easy. I also do some test driving. So, I work with teams.

In our current project, we are using it in a hybrid manner. However, in other projects, I have worked with both on-premises and cloud deployments.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would give it around a three, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price. It's relatively expensive compared to other vendors, but it is competitive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I work with HANA, group reporting, analytics cloud, and other BW-related solutions as a functional architect. I've been working in SAP for more than 22 years. I primarily focus on finance and controlling.

What other advice do I have?

In general, I would give it a rating of nine or ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Data Services Consultant at Inch solution
Consultant
User-friendly, straightforward to set up, and can extract data at an ODP level
Pros and Cons
  • "We can extract data at a table level, extract data at the ETL level, and we can extract data at an ODP level."
  • "They could make it easier to work with web services."

What is our primary use case?

From an integration perspective, normally, we're using SAP Data Services, however, I can only use it from an ETL perspective.

This is used to extract business content from the system. It's the tool that allows you to extract business consent and for purposes of business intelligence; businesses use it for legally reporting requirements.

How has it helped my organization?

There is what you call a subsystem, however, the data within stuff itself is not flexible so that you would be able to use tools like Power BI with it as it is. In order to use Power BI tools and so on, you need data to be in a certain layout and to be extracted in a certain structure. This tool allows you to do that.

What is most valuable?

Having different ways of extracting data has been very useful. We can extract data at a table level, extract data at the ETL level, and we can extract data at an ODP level. 

The solution is very stable.

It's a user-friendly product.

The deployment is quick and it's straightforward to set up.

What needs improvement?

They could make it easier to work with web services. They need to make things like connecting to Google Databases, and so on, easier. They also have a data connection layer. If you could connect to those web-based data mixes with other vendors, web vendors, that should help.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Glitches are very, very few and far between. It's very user-friendly. I won't complain much there.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We've found the solution to be scalable. 

We have five or six people who are data analysts who use it. 

There are no plans to increase usage with their current model of work.

How are customer service and support?

Whenever we needed technical support services it's been there for us, however, we hardly have ever needed support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy. It takes about a day for implementation and setup. 

You only need one person to handle deployment and maintenance tasks.

What about the implementation team?

We used a consultant to assist us with the implementation process. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I cannot speak to the exact cost of the solution, however, in terms of if you look at the consulting fee, and you work up debt on a yearly basis, it might be $50,000 USD. There aren't additional costs beyond the standard fee.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did look at Informatica as well before choosing this solution.

What other advice do I have?

We are end-users. We provide services for the customer. I would not necessarily be the customer. I would provide services on behalf of the customer.

We've installed what we call a specific DDI. We use a hybrid setup.

I'd advise new users to know the product more before they implement it. It's important to be familiar with it before you commit.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten in the environment in which it's used, which is the best tool. In an environment where you've got theft as a source and you've got many targets, there are very few solutions that can match it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
BI & EIS Manager at Almarai Company Limited
Real User
A stable solution with a straightforward setup but cloud integration is not available
Pros and Cons
  • "The logic is also simple. It makes it easy to build your extraction."
  • "Scheduling of jobs in the sequence is not available. It's a very tedious process to do that particular task. If there was a tool to schedule in the sequence that would be extremely helpful."

What is most valuable?

SAP Data Services is a very general tool for SAP as a source and SAP as a destination. It can also connect to any source and any destination. This is a very valuable aspect of the solution.

The logic is simple. It makes it easy to build your extraction.

You can also do data transformation any way you want to. You can do any kind of transformation to your data and you can change the data.

What needs improvement?

There is a new tool that is going to replace this one, which will be more for platform integration data services. This is a close-knit tool that SAP is suggesting for different solutions. There's a lot lacking in it. You cannot do a lot of transformations. We are facing a lot of issues from that. As a whole, Data Services, is good, but not the platform integration of the Data Services aspect.

The preview for on-prem data services needs more information. The scheduling is also weak. Scheduling of jobs in the sequence is not available. It's a very tedious process to do that particular task. If there was a tool to schedule in the sequence that would be extremely helpful. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for 3.5 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The system is very stable. We have not faced any challenges since implementation.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is not an issue with this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have not used a single technical support call for SAP, which is great. As a whole, technical support was good, but recently we have been facing a delay because unless you raise a call with a very high priority there is a delay in the support. A very high priority means you have a financial loss or your computer system is not accessible. I would say the quality of support has been degrading as of late but we are somewhat satisfied with support overall.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward. It's not too complex.

What about the implementation team?

SAP services handled the implementation. It was part of a larger implementation called a Systems Operations Planning Tool.

What other advice do I have?

We use the on-premises version of the solution. We have started using the Cloud Platform Integration with the CPA Data Service. It's a hybrid: both on-premises and cloud.

SAP Data Services has a tool, but it is not a cloud-capable solution. I would advise users thinking about integrating this solution to look at your entire landscape. If you have any cloud systems as part of your landscape, then you need to have a clear understanding of what BODS is capable of doing. BODS Data Services is not good for the cloud.

I would rate this solution seven out of ten because cloud integration is not available and the scheduling part is very immature at this point.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Functional Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Flexible with good reliability and good dashboards
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is not complex."
  • "There needs to be multi-language support, however, my understanding is they are working on multi-language now."

What is our primary use case?

We're primarily using it at a customer's company. It's used in the banking sector. We use it for dashboards and reporting.

What is most valuable?

It's a good product overall. 

The dashboard is great. It allows us to drill down on data. 

It offers good flexibility.

The solution is doing some good R&D. We have found the technology to be quite good in general.

The initial setup is not complex. 

The solution is stable.

It is scalable.

What needs improvement?

There is some room for improvement across the product, however, for the most part, we are happy with it. 

We have had some language issues. There needs to be multi-language support, however, my understanding is they are working on multi-language now.

It is expensive. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about 15 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. I'd rate it eight out of ten. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. If you want to expand it, you can expand it, depending on how the customer is using it.

We have various customers using the solution. It's suitable for both small and enterprise-level companies. 

How are customer service and support?

We get proper support. It is in English and we'd like different language options, however, their responsiveness and help are fine. Whenever we open a case, we get support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used various different solutions.

How was the initial setup?

It is easy to initially set up. If we do have questions, we're always able to reach out to them to get support.

The implementation timelines depend on the customer. Sometimes clients know what they want to do quickly. Others are more slow and steady and take their time. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is okay, however, you do pay a lot. It's expensive. The costs vary from client to client. There are different mechanisms for licensing, including user and CPU-based licensing. 

That said, I don't directly deal with licensing and can't get into specifics. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I've evaluated other options, however, we do use this tool as we have an agreement with SAP.

What other advice do I have?

We are SAP partners.

The solution can work for big or small banks. 

I'd advise users to try this product, however, it needs to be implemented well with requirements taken into consideration properly. However, it does work very well.

I would rate the solution eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
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Download our free SAP Data Services Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free SAP Data Services Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.