H2O.ai vs. SAS Viya

Most suited if in little time you wanted to build and train a model. Then, H2O makes life very simple. It has support with R, Python and Java, so no programming dependency is required to use it. It's very simple to use. If you want to modify or tweak your ML algorithm then H2O is not suitable. You can't develop a model from scratch.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

• Excellent analytical and prediction tool
• In the beginning, usage of H20 Flow in Web UI enables quick development and sharing of the analytical model
• Readily available algorithms, easy to use in your analytical projects
• Faster than Python scikit learn (in machine learning supervised learning area)
• It can be accessed (run) from Python, not only JAVA etc.
• Well documented and suitable for fast training or self studying
• In the beginning, one can use the clickable Flow interface (WEB UI) and later move to a Python console. There is then no need to click in H20 Flow
• It can be used as open source

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• Better documentation
• Improve the Visual presentations including charting etc

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

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.

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.

The overall experience I have with H2O is really awesome, even with its cost effectiveness.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

Both are open source (though H2O only up to some level). Both comprise of deep learning, but H2O is not focused directly on deep learning, while Tensor Flow has a "laser" focus on deep learning. H2O is also more focused on scalability. H2O should be looked at not as a competitor but rather a complementary tool. The use case is usually not only about the algorithms, but also about the data model and data logistics and accessibility. H2O is more accessible due to its UI. Also, both can be accessed from Python. The community around TensorFlow seems larger than that of H2O.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

• Positive impact: saving in infrastructure expenses - compared to other bulky tools this costs a fraction
• Positive impact: ability to get quick fixes from H2O when problems arise - compared to waiting for several months/years for new releases from other vendors
• Positive impact: Access to H2O core team and able to get features that are needed for our business quickly added to the core H2O product

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized