SAS Business Intelligence Reviews

PROS: I think that SAS BI is the jack of all trades, and I used to think this even when the product was simply SAS's compute engine. I see serious improvement now, especially since I started using their amazing storage capacity, the portal, and the information road map. For me, SAS BI means that I can create websites on any topic, at any time; and I want prospective users to understand that this is a tool that will make them more powerful!

CONS: Even if SAS BI provides for managing data and content, the overall process is not synchronized. I miss an organized workflow as the one a system administrator is supposed to have, and I wish less administrative tasks were performed by me (sometimes, I don't even feel like I'm benefiting from the system). Together with the lack of consistency, I mind not having a bird-eye on employees and information, and I don't see too much effort on promoting governance (maybe just Metadata and OS Security). Being familiar with SAS for years, I understand why all of this is happening: SASs are made for individuals, not teams, and the developers obvioulsy saw no reason to change this in BI.

PROS: SAS Business Intelligence is very powerful, having in mind all those beautiful and advanced tools you get to use against a modest price. The thing that makes it shine, however, is the speed of performing complex analytics and drafting statistical reports, and of course the flexibility that allows you to customize it to work for the specific needs of your business.

CONS: Building queries is awesome, but I can't say the same about sharing. I dislike sharing as an option, and I think there should be less people involved in working with sensitive information.

PROS: I think SAS BI is a fantastic product, and I am especially grateful for the Data Visualization Package they are offering. Being able to have an eye on all data was a blessing for my work, due the fact that I'm holding a representative position, and I have to deliver multiple presentations and reports every day. The shift from traditional SAS software to this one was not as difficult as I expected it to be, and I learned how to use the program very fast.

CONS: I was honestly overwhelmed by features at the beginning, and it scared me. I gues this happens to every novice users, advanced coders shouldn't have an issue with it.

PROS: SAS has a lot to offer compared to similar business intelligence products, which is why it ranks so high in this industry. I've seen it perform marvelously, and I can guarantee that it is capable of performing all actions between tricky ETL work and the final creation of information boards. I'd recommend it to large companies in particular, because I believe it can do some serious metadata management, and to display and screen every semantic layer and structure at the very moment when such thing is requested.

CONS: I was a little bit unmotivated when I heard the licensing price, and I believe such thing will push away a lot of small/mid-sized companies looking for their first BI software. Another annoying thing you will meet in this program is talent shortage, even if providing such is essential for every business intelligence tool. I am already using it, and I don't want to look back, but I am absolutely convinced that installation was more difficult than it would be with any similar product. I think that some serious SQL knowledge is necessary here to cover the problem.