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Apache Spark vs Pentaho Business Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.1
Apache Spark enhances machine learning, cutting operational costs by up to 50%, with efficiency reliant on resources and expertise.
Sentiment score
5.4
Pentaho Business Analytics mixed ROI perceptions highlight efficiency gains but unclear returns compared to competitors like QlikView and Tableau.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Apache Spark support feedback varies, with mixed reviews on community forums, vendor support, and documentation adequacy.
Sentiment score
6.5
Pentaho Business Analytics receives mixed reviews for customer support, with users relying heavily on forums and community assistance.
I have received support via newsgroups or guidance on specific discussions, which is what I would expect in an open-source situation.
Data Architect at Devtech
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Apache Spark excels in scalability, efficiently handling large data workloads with ease, though it requires skilled infrastructure management.
Sentiment score
7.0
Pentaho Business Analytics is scalable with good performance but occasionally needs professional help for complex data handling.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Apache Spark is generally stable, trusted by companies; newer versions enhance reliability, though memory issues may arise without proper configuration.
Sentiment score
6.5
Pentaho Business Analytics is stable but may face Java caching issues, impacting performance and requiring careful cache management.
Apache Spark resolves many problems in the MapReduce solution and Hadoop, such as the inability to run effective Python or machine learning algorithms.
Data Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Without a doubt, we have had some crashes because each situation is different, and while the prototype in my environment is stable, we do not know everything at other customer sites.
Data Architect at Devtech
It can handle large datasets.
DBA at Federal University of Uberlândia
 

Room For Improvement

Apache Spark requires improvements in scalability, usability, documentation, memory efficiency, real-time processing, and broader language support for better performance.
Pentaho Business Analytics lacks an intuitive interface, robust integration, self-service features, and requires technical expertise, limiting usability.
Various tools like Informatica, TIBCO, or Talend offer specific aspects, licensing can be costly;
Data Architect at Devtech
Pentaho Business Analytics is hard to learn and not suited for initial users as it requires knowledge of operating systems, Java, and other technical skills.
DBA at Federal University of Uberlândia
 

Setup Cost

Apache Spark is cost-effective but may incur expenses from hardware, cloud resources, or commercial support, impacting deployment costs.
Enterprise buyers find the free Pentaho Community Edition cost-effective, while the Enterprise Edition offers value with support and features.
Pentaho Business Analytics is priced similarly to other competitors such as QlikView and Tableau.
DBA at Federal University of Uberlândia
 

Valuable Features

Apache Spark offers fast in-memory processing, scalable analytics, MLlib for machine learning, SQL support, and seamless integration with languages.
Pentaho Business Analytics provides easy data integration, customizable dashboards, extensive connectivity, and supports efficient data transformation and delivery.
Not all solutions can make this data fast enough to be used, except for solutions such as Apache Spark Structured Streaming.
Data Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
The solution is beneficial in that it provides a base-level long-held understanding of the framework that is not variant day by day, which is very helpful in my prototyping activity as an architect trying to assess Apache Spark, Great Expectations, and Vault-based solutions versus those proposed by clients like TIBCO or Informatica.
Data Architect at Devtech
It is a stable product, and it can handle large datasets.
DBA at Federal University of Uberlândia
 

Categories and Ranking

Apache Spark
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
Hadoop (1st), Compute Service (5th), Java Frameworks (2nd)
Pentaho Business Analytics
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (20th), Cloud Operations Analytics (2nd), Reporting (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Apache Spark and Pentaho Business Analytics aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Apache Spark is designed for Hadoop and holds a mindshare of 13.9%, down 18.2% compared to last year.
Pentaho Business Analytics, on the other hand, focuses on BI (Business Intelligence) Tools, holds 0.6% mindshare, up 0.5% since last year.
Hadoop Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Spark13.9%
Cloudera Distribution for Hadoop15.1%
HPE Data Fabric14.9%
Other56.1%
Hadoop
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Pentaho Business Analytics0.6%
Microsoft Power BI9.4%
Tableau Enterprise6.7%
Other83.3%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Devindra Weerasooriya - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Architect at Devtech
Provides a consistent framework for building data integration and access solutions with reliable performance
The in-memory computation feature is certainly helpful for my processing tasks. It is helpful because while using structures that could be held in memory rather than stored during the period of computation, I go for the in-memory option, though there are limitations related to holding it in memory that need to be addressed, but I have a preference for in-memory computation. The solution is beneficial in that it provides a base-level long-held understanding of the framework that is not variant day by day, which is very helpful in my prototyping activity as an architect trying to assess Apache Spark, Great Expectations, and Vault-based solutions versus those proposed by clients like TIBCO or Informatica.
JB
Founder at SJT Consult
Solution enables effective ETL processes and exhibits high satisfaction
From an integration perspective, Pentaho Business Analytics is not the best tool on the market. There are things done by Apache that are better, though I am not the one implementing them, so this is based on what I have heard about novelties in the market. I do not see the need to extend the coverage of Pentaho Business Analytics's domain. For things that it does not do, there are better solutions on the market, and it would be costly to implement them. Pentaho Business Analytics is a very great tool for very specific standardized scenarios. If you need more complex elastic solutions because the process is different, there are better tools available.
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Comparison Review

it_user6978 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder at Helical IT Solution (Jaspersoft, Pentaho, Talend, Kettle, DWBI, ETL, Ctools, iReport, Jasper Report)
Jun 10, 2013
Jaspersoft vs. Pentaho – Which one to use & is there any need to purchase the commercial edition
Any company (be it technology, manfucaturing, human resource, ecommerce, SME etc) always has the need for Business Intelligence to some or the other extent. If cost is one of the consideration factor, then the 2 BI tools which are at the forefront are Pentaho and Jaspersoft. But, often the same…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise32
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Spark?
We use Spark to process data from different data sources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Spark?
Apache Spark is open-source, so it doesn't incur any charges.
What needs improvement with Apache Spark?
Areas for improvement are obviously ease of use considerations, though there are limitations in doing that, so while various tools like Informatica, TIBCO, or Talend offer specific aspects, licensi...
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
There are many...It would rather depend what System BI architecture or Enterprise legacy you have at your end...I would recommend as follows: 1) If you have legacies of SAP, Oracle - look for SAP...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pentaho Business Analytics?
Pentaho Business Analytics offers the best value for money. While improvements can be made in some areas, particularly with more cloud-based solutions, it is not in their domain because they do not...
What needs improvement with Pentaho Business Analytics?
From an integration perspective, Pentaho Business Analytics is not the best tool on the market. There are things done by Apache that are better, though I am not the one implementing them, so this i...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Pentaho, Kettle, Hitachi Pentaho Business Analytics
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NASA JPL, UC Berkeley AMPLab, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, UC Santa Cruz, TripAdvisor, Taboola, Agile Lab, Art.com, Baidu, Alibaba Taobao, EURECOM, Hitachi Solutions
Cargo 2000 Lufthansa, Marketo, ModCloth, Cardiac Science, Telefonica, ExactTarget, Active Broadband Networks, and Brussels Airport.
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache, Cloudera, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Hadoop. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.