Vertex AI on Google Cloud is an MLOps solution, used to build, deploy, and scale machine learning (ML) models with fully managed ML tools for any use case.
$0
Starting at
SAS Viya
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
An end-to-end platform for AI, data science, and analytics, used for modeling, as well as management and deployment of AI models.
N/A
Pricing
Vertex AI
SAS Viya
Editions & Modules
Imagen model for image generation
$0.0001
Starting at
Text, chat, and code generation
$0.0001
per 1,000 characters
Text data upload, training, deployment, prediction
$0.05
per hour
Video data training and prediction
$0.462
per node hour
Image data training, deployment, and prediction
$1.375
per node hour
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Vertex AI
SAS Viya
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
Optional
No setup fee
Additional Details
Pricing is based on the Vertex AI tools and services, storage, compute, and Google Cloud resources used.
Vertex AI seems to be a lot more accurate with image editing versus other competitors (including free one). We do a lot of image creation, especially of dogs in very certain scenarios. We use Adobe Stock to get us started, but many times we need some very specific edits done to the image. We've found Vertex can produce those with a lot more precision than other AI image generators.
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.
Vertex AI comes with support for LOTs of LLMs out of the box
MLOps tools are available that help to standardize operational aspects
Document AI is an out of the box feature that works just perfectly for our use cases of automating lots to tedious data extraction tasks from images as well as papers
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.
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.
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.
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.
It's not always instant, but understandable when it's under heavy load. It's not impressive nor disappointing, just what is expected. But when calling this platform through API's for it to do the actions requested there is minimal delay and wait time. It feels very responsive and quick when integrating it with a call center chat platform for example.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vertex AI is much more accessible to non-developers than IBM's product. Moreover, Vertex AI integrates well with other Google products, enhancing its capabilities. A big plus is its integration with cloud storage, that allows for better management and access of data. In all honesty, it wasn't much of a difficult choice to choose Vertex AI.
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.
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.
