Likelihood to Recommend SAS Advance Analytics is well suited for data that is visual. Data where you want to see multiple graphs and models are good for this software. However, if your data is more descriptive this may not be the best program. SAS is well suited for data where you need to make comparisons on the feasibility of two different programs. Data that can be compared is perfect for this software.
Read full review It's well suited for companies who are working long-distance and who have lots of data to organize and present. My company does extensive field work collecting thousands of data points at a time, in many cases, so this is an excellent way to share data collected in the field with those still in the office so that reports can begin before our travels are really finished. It makes the office much more productive! Spotfire Data Science is less suited for companies with older employees or companies that are generally in one office and not doing distance work. It can be a little tricky for older people to grasp the interface and really utilize the program to its full potential so of course spending more time learning the software than using it effectively isn't a great use of time or money.
Read full review Pros SAS is can be used as query builder tool which can automate a lot of excel process. There are variety of statistical options available that tie up good visual analytics. There are inbuilt models available for different operations which doesn't require any coding and are easy to run. Read full review The interface is screen based and much easier for teams of non-experts to use. Can, however, directly utilize in scripts and/or programming languages, so best of both worlds. Has an extensive range of statistical methods, as well as extensive statistics around those methods. The interface consistent across all modules. Steve Wagner Director, Network Design and Logistics Analytics
Read full review Cons SAS Analytics does not have very good graphic capabilities. Their advanced graphics packages are expensive, and still not very appealing or intuitive to customize. SAS Analytics is not as up-to-date when it comes to advanced analytical techniques as R or other open-source analytics packages. Read full review Although the graphics can be copied into Word or Excel, the copying and pasting process is buggy. Sometimes I basically have to do a Capture Rectangle of a graphic and paste it as a jpg, rather than having an embedded and editable graphic in my Word document. The dialog boxes for some of the common tests, like multiple regression and ANOVA, use quirky terminology that is not intuitive to new users coming out of grad school with a more updated education. I have been using it for over ten years, and the dialogs have not updated in all of that time. The tests like NMDS and PCA are clunky and difficult to use and get the appropriate outputs, especially compared to specialized software like PRIMER. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Not only does SAS become easier to use as the user gets more familiar with its capabilities, but the customer service is excellent. Any issues with SAS and their technical team is either contacting the user via email, chat, text, WebEx, or phone. They have power users that have years of experience with SAS there to help with any issue.
Read full review The company is hesitant to spend this much on software. They are primarily an engineering firm, and they don't understand the use of analytical software for environmental professionals.
Read full review Usability If SAS Enterprise Guide is utilized any beginning user will be able to shorten the learning curve. This is allow the user a plethora of basic capabilities until they can utilize coding to expand their needs in manipulating and presenting data. SAS is also dedicated to expanding this environment so it is ever growing.
Read full review Reliability and Availability SAS probably has the most market saturation out of all of the analytics software worldwide. They are in every industry and they are knowledgable about every industry. They are always available to take questions, solve issues, and discuss a company's needs. A company that buys SAS software has a dedicated representative that is there for all of their needs.
Read full review Performance Although nothing is perfect, SAS is almost there. The software can handle billions of rows of data without a glitch and runs at a quick pace regardless of what the user wants to perform. SAS products are made to handle data so performance is of their utmost important. The software is created to run things as efficiently as SAS software can to maximize performance.
Read full review Support Rating SAS is generally known for good support that's one of the main reasons to justify the cost of having SAS licenses within our organization is knowing that customer support is just a quick phone call away. I've usually had good experiences with the SAS customer support team it's one of the ways in which the company stands out in my view.
Read full review In-Person Training SAS has regional and national conferences that are dedicated to expanding users' knowledge of the software and showing them what changes and additions they are making to the software. There are user groups in most of the major cities that also provide multi-day seminars that focus on specific topics for education. If online training isn't the best way for the user, there is ample in-person training available.
Read full review Online Training There are online videos, live classes, and resource material which makes training very easy to access. However, nothing is circumstantial so applying your training can get tricky if the user is performing complex tasks. When purchasing software, SAS will also allocate education credits so the user(s) can access classes and material online to help expand their knowledge.
Read full review Implementation Rating Ask as many questions you can before the install to understand the process. Since a third party does the installation your company is sort of a passanger and it is easy to get lost in the process. It also helps to have all users and IT support involved in the install to help increase the knowledge as to how SAS runs and what it needs to perform correctly.
Read full review Alternatives Considered SAS was the incumbent tool, and what the team knew. We did look into using Revolution Analytics enterprise version of R, but the learning curve on that caused us to stick with SAS. In my current position, I've opted for WPS over SAS. I can still leverage my SAS experience, but the price is about 15% of what SAS charges, with extra functionality, such as direct database access. I can supplement WPS with free software, such R for anything that it might be missing.
Read full review I prefer Spotfire Data Science's approach. It is more natural and fits the way I think. I prefer to use Spotfire Data Science's VB for writing macros. It is real code, meaning that I do not need to trick the software to do what I need and there are no implied loops over solving simple problems. The graphs are publication quality and can be edited by hand or using a macro if I am building hundreds of them. Spotfire Data Science had a user-friendly approach to building lengthy data processing streams (in its workspaces). It is just so fast for analyzing a dataset that you have never seen before and efficient for ongoing work on the same data.
Read full review Scalability It all depends on the type of SAS product the user has. Scaleability differs from product to product, and if the user has SAS Office Analytics the scaleability is quite robust. This software will satisfy the majority of the company's analytic needs for years to come. In addition, if SAS is not meeting the users needs the company can easily find SAS solutions that will.
Read full review Return on Investment SAS is pretty expensive, so a company would need to take that into consideration before purchasing a license. A lot of companies are now starting to use SAS Advance Analytics, it is great for sharing data between departments. Presentations come out better when using SAS, and estimates are more precise to the confidence interval. Read full review Our company has had the program for less than 1 year. We don't expected a positive return this year. The goal is for Data Science to led to defined projects by the end of the end of the year and implementation in the following two. Overall, we are planning on 4 years to fully recoup the cost of the software and the cost of implementing identified projects. Read full review ScreenShots Spotfire Data Science Screenshots