Top SAS Viya Alternatives & Competitors For 2024

SAS Viya is an AI-powered data management and visual analytics platform with a robust, scalable architecture. All users who reviewed data source connectivity said that it connects to multiple sources and integrates easily with business applications, giving a seamless user experience. With fast in-memory processing of big data sets, it leverages the power of R to enable visual statistics. All users who mentioned predictive analysis said that it enables automated forecasting through what-if scenarios, goal-seeking, text mining and decision trees. Citing ease of use, all users say that the platform is intuitive and enables easy data modeling and self-service visual analytics. All users who mentioned support said that they are responsive and knowledgeable. Around 71% of the users who comment on its functionality say that it is a robust, scalable and flexible platform that enables visualization and analysis of business data, though some users say visual statistics need improvement. On the flip side, all users who review its cost say that the tool is expensive. In summary, SAS Viya is an analytics tool that provides data management, visualization and AI-powered analytics to enterprises for improved decision making, though small organizations and startups might find it cost-prohibitive.

WebFOCUS offers a feature-rich business intelligence data and analytics platform that unlocks actionable insights and the power of decision-making for users throughout an organization. Rated highly for ease of use by most reviewers, it empowers self-service data discovery with a user-friendly UI that enables drag-and-drop data analysis and visualization; some users noted that this UI looks outdated, especially compared to those of competitors. The platform offers a wide range of prebuilt data visualizations that users can further customize if necessary. This platform excels at creating and designing reports, then distributing them either at-will or through the automated scheduling tool, as noted by a majority of users who reviewed reporting. Most notably, the platform has an outstanding support team - all of the users who reviewed its support expressed satisfaction with their proactive, responsive assistance, citing the vendor’s dedication to the success of their customers as notably apparent. Customers can tailor the platform to their needs, as its flexibility allows for customized solutions. Frequent updates add value over time, though some users remarked that these sometimes break features from older versions. Other performance issues noted in reviews include lags when performing complex queries, infrequent crashes, slow load times and issues when accessing the platform from specific devices or browsers. While easy to pick up and use, especially for the end-user, some reviewers said that there is a learning curve to master the many features of this tool — a few users noted that this learning curve lasted a few months for some team members in their organizations. Overall, WebFOCUS is a worthy pick for self-service data visualization and reporting, especially in the hands of an organization willing to invest the resources and time to make it shine.

SAP HANA is a multi-model database and analytics platform that combines real-time transactional data with predictive analytics and machine learning capabilities to drive business decisions quicker. Most of the users who mentioned analytics said that, with its Online Analytical Processing(OLAP) and Online Transactional Processing(OLTP) capabilities, the tool analyzes data faster with predictive modeling and machine learning. Many users who reviewed data processing said that the tool has a lean data model due to its in-memory architecture and columnar storage capabilities, and, paired with its compression algorithm, can perform calculations on-the-fly on huge volumes of data. In reference to data integration, many users said that the platform connects seamlessly with both SAP and non-SAP systems, such as mapping tools like ArcGIS, to migrate data to a consolidated repository, though quite a few users said that integration with media files and Google APIs is tedious. Most of the users who reviewed support said that they are responsive, and online user communities and documentation help in resolving issues, whereas some users said that the support reps had limited knowledge. A majority of the users who reviewed its speed said that the platform has a fast runtime, though some users said that it requires high-performing hardware infrastructure to do so and that memory management might be tricky with large datasets. The software does have its limitations though. Being in-memory, the tool is RAM-intensive, which can add to the cost of ownership, though some users said that data compression reduces the database size and saves on hardware cost. A majority of the users who reviewed its functionality said that it needs to be more mature in terms of flexibility and agility, though some users said that with easy updates and maintenance, it is a robust solution and increases efficiency and productivity. In summary, SAP HANA serves as a single source of truth for analysis of large volumes of data and uncovering consumer insights through planning, forecasting and drill-down reporting. However, it seems more suited for large organizations with complex data types and analytics workflows because of its costly pricing plans.

In online reviews, Spotfire emerges as a user-friendly big data platform. Most users found data exploration easy with a drag-and-drop interface. Some users said the UI was dated, though, and said it could use a revamp. Most users praised its interactive visualizations and dashboards, saying they helped them interpret data better. But, a few said they would love to have more visuals to choose from.A user mentioned they did the calculations in Excel and imported them into Spotfire for visualization. It's a common scenario when a steep learning curve slows down adoption, and teams fall back on Excel. Most users said Spotfire takes time to learn. You might have to opt for a balance of multiple platforms to balance your departmental and enterprise needs.Spotfire surpasses Excel in data management, especially data prep. Customizable visualizations and custom Mods give you enough freedom to work within the platform.Though 72% of reviewers were happy with the integrations, Spotfire lacks some standard connectors, such as for Apache Kafka, forcing users to rely on workarounds.A majority of users found its pricing structure complex, especially as users increased. In such cases, organizations often tend to opt for a cheaper alternative for less advanced use cases while using the pricier platform for the critical ones. We advise doing a deep dive into the vendor's pricing plans to avoid making your tech stack top-heavy.Ultimately, Spotfire's appeal lies in its balance. It's visually captivating and user-friendly for casual users while offering enough depth for seasoned analysts. However, its pricing and learning curve might deter organizations on a tight budget.

Alteryx is a data science solution that leverages the power of AI and ML to blend, parse, transform and visualize big business data to promote self-serve analysis of business metrics. Many users who reviewed data analysis said that the tool performs statistical, spatial and predictive analysis in the same workflow. Most of the users who reviewed data processing said that, with a lightweight ETL tool, the platform has strong data manipulation and modeling efficiencies, though some users said that it can be tricky to use SQL queries. Citing integration with Power BI, Tableau and Python, most of the users said that the tool connects seamlessly to data from databases and files, apps, and third-party data sources, among others, to expand the reach of search-based and AI-driven analytics. Most of the users who discussed ease of use said that the tool is intuitive with drag-and-drop functionality and a well-designed interface, though some users said error handling can be challenging for automated workflows. Most of the users who reviewed support said that online communities are helpful in providing answers to queries. Citing automated workflows, many users said that the tool helps save time, though some users said that these can be overly complex and need improvement. On the flip side, many users who reviewed pricing said that its expensive licenses and add-ons are cost-prohibitive, and cost per core is high for enterprises looking to scale. A majority of users who reviewed its visualization capabilities said that they need to export data to visually stronger applications, such as Tableau or Power BI, to make the reports presentation-worthy. Citing slow runtimes when executing complex workflows, especially with large datasets, many users said that performance-wise, the solution is prone to infrequent crashes. Most of the users who discussed learning said that with documentation not being in sync with latest releases, training is a must to optimally use the tool. Overall, Alteryx is a data science tool that, with its low-code approach and strong data wrangling capabilities, makes the journey from data acquisition to data insights seamless and promotes data literacy across organizations, though it might be better suited for medium- to large-sized organizations.