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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    SAS Visual Analytics

    Score7.8 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.N/A

    Tableau Desktop

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ATableau Desktop is a data visualization product from Tableau. It connects to a variety of data sources for combining disparate data sources without coding. It provides tools for discovering patterns and insights, data calculations, forecasts, and statistical summaries and visual storytelling.

    $1,380

    per year (purchased via a Creator license)

    Pricing
    SAS Visual AnalyticsTableau Desktop
    Editions & Modules
    SAS Visual Analytics for SAS Cloud
    $0
    Annual By Users: 5, 10, 20
    Tableau Creator License
    $115
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SAS Visual AnalyticsTableau Desktop
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsSAS Visual Statistics and SAS Office Analytics are also available as add-ons.All pricing plans are billed annually. A Creator license includes Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep Builder, and Tableau Pulse. Discounts sometimes available for volume.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SAS Visual AnalyticsTableau Desktop
    Considered Both Products
    SAS
    Chose SAS Visual Analytics
    I have used Tableau Desktop for which free access is provided for a limited time with limited features. Tableau is visually more appealing than SAS VA but SAS VA can handle data better. My use of Tableau with limited features may have effected my viewpoint.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAS Visual Analytics
    We already have lot of SAS products in our organisation like Base SAS, SAS Grid, SAS EG, SAS Studio and Office Add-in. SAS VA works best for our situation.
    Incentivized
    Tableau
    Chose Tableau Desktop
    Tableau Desktop is clearly one of the best in the business. It has incredible capabilities, and many features are extremely useful. The intuitiveness of the dashboards and the graphical nature of the visualizations are widely used features and super helpful. One of the other …
    Incentivized
    Chose Tableau Desktop
    It is easier to start with Tableau. The out of the box ready feel is more with Tableau than any of the other BI products. Product scalability is at a steep cost with Tableau but it gives the possibility to begin small and then grow as it proves its capability as compared to all …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Would buy again
    52 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Delivers good value for the price
    50 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    55 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    38 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    44 Answers
    Features
    SAS Visual AnalyticsTableau Desktop
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of SAS Visual Analytics and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    SAS Visual Analytics
    8.3
    11 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    175 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports8.011 Ratings8.0145 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards8.011 Ratings9.2174 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates9.010 Ratings8.1151 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of SAS Visual Analytics and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    SAS Visual Analytics
    8.8
    12 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    172 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Drill-down analysis9.012 Ratings8.6167 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.012 Ratings8.6170 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.010 Ratings8.1126 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration10.011 Ratings8.6165 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of SAS Visual Analytics and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    SAS Visual Analytics
    9.2
    12 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.5
    166 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Publish to Web9.011 Ratings8.1155 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.012 Ratings8.2154 Ratings
    Report Versioning9.09 Ratings8.6120 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling10.011 Ratings8.6128 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers9.06 Ratings9.078 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of SAS Visual Analytics and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    SAS Visual Analytics
    9.7
    10 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.4
    164 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)10.09 Ratings8.7162 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization10.010 Ratings8.6156 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics9.09 Ratings8.7131 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.87 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of SAS Visual Analytics and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    SAS Visual Analytics
    8.3
    11 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Tableau Desktop
    9.1
    149 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.011 Ratings9.1145 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.010 Ratings9.1125 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.011 Ratings8.9136 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.07 Ratings9.383 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.210 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of SAS Visual Analytics and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    SAS Visual Analytics
    8.7
    9 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    7.9
    141 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access10.09 Ratings8.6130 Ratings
    Mobile Application9.07 Ratings7.5101 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile9.08 Ratings7.5122 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of SAS Visual Analytics and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    SAS Visual Analytics
    9.2
    5 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    7.7
    67 Ratings
    1% below category average
    REST API10.04 Ratings8.459 Ratings
    Javascript API9.04 Ratings7.653 Ratings
    iFrames9.04 Ratings6.751 Ratings
    Java API9.04 Ratings8.048 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)9.04 Ratings7.154 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)9.03 Ratings8.548 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    SAS Visual AnalyticsTableau Desktop
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SAS Visual AnalyticsTableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (17 ratings)
    9.1
    (204 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.3
    (3 ratings)
    7.5
    (41 ratings)
    Usability
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.4
    (73 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    1.0
    (57 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.4
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (34 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    9.6
    (11 ratings)
    8.4
    (115 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.8
    (11 ratings)
    7.9
    (115 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SAS Visual AnalyticsTableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    The best scenario is definitely to collect data from several sources and create dedicated dashboards for specific recipients. However, I miss the possibility of explaining these reports in more detail. Sometimes, we order a report, and after half a year, we don't remember the meaning of some data (I know it's our fault as an organization, but the tool could force better practices).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • An excellent tool for data visualization, it presents information in an appealing visual format—an exceptional platform for storing and analyzing data in any size organization.
    • Through interactive parameters, it enables real-time interaction with the user and is easy to learn and get support from the community.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Pricing should be more user-friendly and usage-driven
    • Making edits to the production reports is fairly tough and has a vast scope of additional capabilities
    • Tableau Desktop should be able to differentiate itself from the Tableau server else there is no major meaning of two different products being offered
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Our use of Tableau Desktop is still fairly low, and will continue over time. The only real concern is around cost of the licenses, and I have mentioned this to Tableau and fully expect the development of more sensible models for our industry. This will remove any impediment to expansion of our use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop has proven to be a lifesaver in many situations. Once we've completed the initial setup, it's simple to use. It has all of the features we need to quickly and efficiently synthesize our data. Tableau Desktop has advanced capabilities to improve our company's data structure and enable self-service for our employees.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    SAS
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    When used as a stand-alone tool, Tableau Desktop has unlimited uptime, which is always nice. When used in conjunction with Tableau Server, this tool has as much uptime as your server admins are willing to give it. All in all, I've never had an issue with Tableau's availability.
    Read full review
    Performance
    SAS
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's performance is solid. You can really dig into a large dataset in the form of a spreadsheet, and it exhibits similarly good performance when accessing a moderately sized Oracle database. I noticed that with Tableau Desktop 9.3, the performance using a spreadsheet started to slow around 75K rows by about 60 columns. This was easily remedied by creating an extract and pushing it to Tableau Server, where performance went to lightning fast
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    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.
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Tableau support has been extremely responsive and willing to help with all of our requests. They have assisted with creating advanced analysis and many different types of custom icons, data formatting, formulas, and actions embedded into graphs. Tableau offers a weekly presentation of features and assists with internal company projects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    SAS
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    It is admittedly hard to train a group of people with disparate levels of ability coming in, but the software is so easy to use that this is not a huge problem; anyone who can follow simple instructions can catch up pretty quickly.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    SAS
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    I think the training was good overall, but it was maybe stating the obvious things that a tech savvy young engineer would be able to pick up themselves too. However, the example work books were good and Tableau web community has helped me with many problems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    SAS
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Again, training is the key and the company provides a lot of example videos that will help users discover use cases that will greatly assist their creation of original visualizations. As with any new software tool, productivity will decline for a period. In the case of Tableau, the decline period is short and the later gains are well worth it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    SAS
    I have used Crystal Reports, Jaspersoft and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). I would recommended Business Intelligence over SSRS and Crystal Reports. SSRS is very SQL-centric and Crystal Reports is more of an end-user tool. I would recommend Jaspersoft over Business Intelligence for developing a seamless web-based reporting interface but I highly recommend Business Intelligence for end-user ad-hoc reporting.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I have used Power BI as well, the pricing is better, and also training costs or certifications are not that high. Since there is python integration in Power BI where I can use data cleaning and visualizing libraries and also some machine learning models. I can import my python scripts and create a visualization on processed data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    SAS
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's scaleability is really limited to the scale of your back-end data systems. If you want to pull down an extract and work quickly in-memory, in my application it scaled to a few tens of millions of rows using the in-memory engine. But it's really only limited by your back-end data store if you have or are willing to invest in an optimized SQL store or purpose-built query engine like Veritca or Netezza or something similar.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Tableau was acquired years ago, and has provided good value with the content created.
    • Ongoing maintenance costs for the platform, both to maintain desktop and server licensing has made the continuing value questionable when compared to other offerings in the marketplace.
    • Users have largely been satisfied with the content, but not with the overall performance. This is due to a combination of factors including the performance of the Tableau engines as well as development deficiencies.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    SAS Visual Analytics Screenshots

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