Azure Analysis Services vs. SAS Visual Analytics

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Analysis Services
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Azure Analysis Services delivers enterprise-grade BI semantic modeling capabilities with the scale, flexibility, and management benefits of the cloud. Azure Analysis Services helps transform complex data into actionable insights. Azure Analysis Services is built on the analytics engine in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services.N/A
SAS Visual Analytics
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
SAS Visual Analytics provides a complete platform for analytics visualization, enabling users to identify patterns and relationships in data that weren't initially evident. Interactive, self-service BI and reporting capabilities are combined with out-of-the-box advanced analytics so everyone can discover insights from any size and type of data, including text.
$0
Annual By Users: 5, 10, 20
Pricing
Azure Analysis ServicesSAS Visual Analytics
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
SAS Visual Analytics for SAS Cloud
Annual By Users: 5, 10, 20
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure Analysis ServicesSAS Visual Analytics
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details—SAS Visual Statistics and SAS Office Analytics are also available as add-ons.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure Analysis ServicesSAS Visual Analytics
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
Azure Analysis ServicesSAS Visual Analytics
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.7
10 Ratings
6% above category average
SAS Visual Analytics
8.3
12 Ratings
1% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports8.810 Ratings8.012 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.89 Ratings8.012 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.510 Ratings9.011 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.9
10 Ratings
9% above category average
SAS Visual Analytics
8.8
13 Ratings
8% above category average
Drill-down analysis9.08 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Formatting capabilities8.99 Ratings8.013 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages8.89 Ratings8.011 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration9.110 Ratings10.012 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.0
10 Ratings
7% above category average
SAS Visual Analytics
9.2
13 Ratings
10% above category average
Publish to Web9.110 Ratings9.012 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.99 Ratings9.013 Ratings
Report Versioning9.39 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.910 Ratings10.012 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers8.89 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.0
9 Ratings
11% above category average
SAS Visual Analytics
9.7
11 Ratings
18% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.38 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.19 Ratings10.011 Ratings
Predictive Analytics8.68 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.2
10 Ratings
7% above category average
SAS Visual Analytics
8.3
12 Ratings
4% below category average
Multi-User Support (named login)9.29 Ratings9.012 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model9.310 Ratings8.011 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.110 Ratings8.012 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)9.39 Ratings8.08 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.8
9 Ratings
10% above category average
SAS Visual Analytics
8.3
10 Ratings
4% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access8.58 Ratings10.010 Ratings
Mobile Application9.45 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.67 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.8
9 Ratings
10% above category average
SAS Visual Analytics
9.2
6 Ratings
15% above category average
REST API8.97 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Javascript API8.77 Ratings9.05 Ratings
iFrames9.06 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Java API8.98 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)8.36 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)9.25 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Azure Analysis ServicesSAS Visual Analytics
Small Businesses
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
Reveal
Score 9.9 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure Analysis ServicesSAS Visual Analytics
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(11 ratings)
9.0
(18 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(3 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure Analysis ServicesSAS Visual Analytics
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
We would have many technical issues and glitches with previous similar providers but found that Azure Analysis Services can simply handle our workload and memory better. I remember we lost an account due to cloud issues not fully saving or corrupting some files. Granted, this is rare with any cloud but haven't had that issue with the same load of memory with Azure Analysis Services.
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SAS
I was in a meeting with the client and there I have to show them some analytic data to them. But I was confused about how I will manage to show big data to clients with accuracy. But then the SAS Visual Analytics software helps me in presenting accurate data at the moment and it was very presentable and through that, I got the deal for that business.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • Providing role based access or we can say privilege based on the role to the user if it is integrated with Azure active directory and hence securing the access to sensitive data.
  • We use to run different type of analytics services to get the better result which is hectic if done manually or with human efforts.
  • We also use to collect bulk of data with the help of this tool and run customized test cases for better efficiency of result and better decision making. The result are very crucial and helps in taking big decision.
  • It supports different or we can say heterogeneous database vendors like the Oracle, SQL, and hence make the task easy.
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SAS
  • Provides the flexibility to the end user to slice and dice the data.
  • Anyone can make predictive models with the help of in-built algorithms without the need to write a single line of code or knowledge of what's under the hood of algorithms.
  • The feature to simply ask a question related to data and getting a response in form of text, chart or graph is amazing.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • Microsoft Azure Analysis Services is very costly solution and in that price we can get some better business intelligence tool with lot more of capabilities
  • The dashboard or we can say user interface is complex and need time to understand and gain expertise in order for proper working.
  • It needs continuation monitoring which is sometime a big task.
  • Sometime, the tool shows unusual behavior and become unstable, so we need to clear temp files for proper functioning.
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SAS
  • SAS is relatively expensive when compared to other BI tools and requires a large amount of upfront fee which becomes an issue for smaller organizations.
  • UI for the dashboards looks a little date in comparison to competitors like Tableau and Microstrategy.
  • Integration with other open source software like Python needs to be built in.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAS
SAS really is the cutting edge in Business Intelligence. That is all they do! They are constantly coming out with new products, product upgrades, and their tech support is second to none. In addition, their support of Education has made our ability to acquire their product possible.
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Usability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAS
SAS BI is good for creating reports and dashboards and then sharing it with the users. It also has ability to manage access to the reports and dashboards but somehow with most of the world moving to open source languages R, Python and Julia, SAS BI feels to be archaic in terms of feature set and integrations it allow[s]. Also, comparing it with other Business Intelligence tools like Tableau and Microsoft BI, the functionality of SAS BI is very limited and doesn't justify the pricing.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAS
When you call tech support, you are immediately routed to a person who can answer your question. Often they can answer on the spot. However, if they cannot, you are given a track number and then followed up with. There have been times when I have had multiple track numbers open and they will actually TRACK YOU DOWN to ensure that your problem has been resolved. Issues do not fall into black holes with SAS. They are also willing to do a WebEx with you to diagnose the problem by seeing your environment, which is always helpful.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
The best thing about it is the ability to create a query and drill down the data to a more granular level when needed. The best thing about Azure Analysis Services is. It provides secured access anytime from anywhere, it also provides REST API for this, which is very easy to use, and it provides video tutorials for beginners means you get the whole package of learning and implementation!!
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SAS
SAS Business Intelligence is not the cream of the crop for business intelligence applications, but it is not far behind. The software is generally easier to apply than most other business intelligence software. Additionally, SAS Business Intelligence runs smoothly in the background when making real-time updates. With that said, the software is not as efficient of many of the other business intelligence software applications that have been on the market for longer than this one.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Azure Analysis Service scale resources to match our business needs.
  • Helps us to govern, deploy, test and deliver our BI solution with confidence.
  • Stores our business data and clients data in a safe place where it's easy to access and visible to all our teams.
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SAS
  • SAS Visual Analytics licensing cost should be reduced to enable users to use it in mass scale.
  • More statistical and mathematical equations and theories should be converted into SAS functions for reusing.
  • Because of enriched ETL and reporting capabilities SAS Visual Analytics is most preferred by business users.
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ScreenShots

SAS Visual Analytics Screenshots

Screenshot of Explore your data using analytics and interactive data visualizations.