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IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs SAS Data Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

IBM InfoSphere Information ...
Ranking in Data Integration
34th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (8th)
SAS Data Management
Ranking in Data Integration
27th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Data Quality (8th), Data Governance (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of IBM InfoSphere Information Server is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Data Management is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAS Data Management1.2%
IBM InfoSphere Information Server0.9%
Other97.9%
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

MI
Senior Data Engineer at Mohammed Mansour Alrumiah
Faced challenges with customer support and documentation but have benefited from reliable data integration over the years
As for utilizing the platform's metadata management feature, I have not worked on that feature yet, but personally, I have done that. To evaluate the effectiveness of IBM InfoSphere Information Server's data integration capabilities, if IBM is providing all the solutions we are using, then it is definitely a helpful thing. Mostly, the other thing is that it is a big area including data governance, data lineage, data management, and metadata, but every customer is not putting that much effort and money on that. They mostly migrate the data, use it, and forget it, but slowly things are changing. I am working in Saudi Arabia, so here also data governance, data management, and those kinds of things are getting attention. Regarding how scalable IBM InfoSphere Information Server is, I need to learn how to tune performance and scalability on the cloud. I am familiar with localized hardware, but on the cloud, I still have to do the work around it. In the beginning, we estimate the load and based on that, we put the hardware, but if there is continuous increase, I believe IBM also faces problems. Scalability needs to be improved because once the demand comes, you should be able to improve it, but for that, documentation on how to add hardware or resources to the software needs to be proper. I do not have much hands-on experience with that.
Namanjbaraiya Baru - PeerSpot reviewer
Biostatistician at Lambda Therapeutic Research Ltd.
Data management has ensured compliant clinical trial datasets and supports reliable analysis
SAS Data Management's best feature is first, data reliability because SAS Data Management is a very trusted platform. The other valuable feature is data cleaning and the compliance that SAS Data Management provides. I can connect SAS Data Management with other SAS applications, as I am using SAS Viya, SAS 9.4, and SAS Enterprise Guide. The data query functionality of SAS Data Management is also very useful. Since I am using SAS Data Management, and SAS Data Management is well trusted by all regulatory authorities, the audit trails and security checks are very good. It is very reliable, very time-saving, and the chances of error are minimal.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration with different technologies is the most valuable feature."
"Over the years of working with IBM InfoSphere Information Server, I see basically the strength of the tool, capability, and load balancing, which I see is really good."
"Deploying the solution is straightforward for me."
"This solution is extremely flexible and scalable."
"The initial IBM InfoSphere Information Server is straightforward and you can choose what type of installation you want, such as a customized installation, with clear-cut documentation that, if followed, works fine and the installation has not given us issues."
"This solution has reduced the time it takes for ETL. We took an existing Teradata ETL application from three days to eight minutes."
"IBM InfoSphere Information Server is stable."
"Reduces the loading and development time for Datawarehouse ETL."
"The solution is very stable. We haven't faced any issues with glitches or bugs. We haven't had any crashes."
"The data integration tools with SAS Data Management were quite good because they allowed me to do all lineage, to manage and see all the variables, find the libraries where the data is, and understand the data in just one tool."
"Previously our business users would have to write complex SQL or issue requests to the technical team in order to get the information needed, and they find it much easier using the Dataflux product to access the information stored in the database for the type of analyses they have to do on a day to day basis."
"National Quality Knoledge Base Matching features QPI (Quality Performance Indicator) analysis approach"
"The platform's robust data governance capabilities ensure strong compliance with regulatory standards."
"I think the product is very stable, I think it's a marvelous product, it is very widely used by many people and I never hear people complain."
"Reliable data plus less human intervention and less error have made a significant difference."
"The SAS Data Management software has enabled us to have a single source of truth for any data that was earlier being fetched from multiple source systems at multiple times."
 

Cons

"Their technical support needs improvement."
"This solution would benefit from the engine being made more lightweight."
"There are certain shortcomings in the cloud side of the solution, where improvements are required."
"Unlike other tools, IBM tools do not provide much help from the internet, so additional support should be available."
"Customer Service: It's poor."
"We have decided to decrease the usage of metadata management because we did not see any significant advantages."
"Heavy use of scratch disk which sometimes leads to failure."
"IBM InfoSphere Information Server should be more scalable. It should have the option to change the configuration to run on a single, non-multiple node, or multi-threading processing."
"Customer Service: When DataFlux was a standalone company, the customer service deserved an A+ rating. Now that it is a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS, and just one piece of a giant software conglomerate, I would give them a C+."
"The pricing of the solution needs to be improved. They need to work to make it more affordable."
"We implemented it a while ago, and we are trying to improve the data delivery performance. We are looking into how to get faster and automated reporting. We would need better designs and workflows."
"For the amount of features that we use, the licensing is expensive."
"The stability could be a bit better. It's lacking in this area right now."
"There is significant room for improvement, especially with regard to using a hybrid approach that involves both CAS and persistent storage."
"Costly. Not great for non-ETL use cases."
"The solution could use better documentation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost of IBM InfoSphere Information Server depends on how many users there are."
"While it is even free for personal use on the cloud, it can be expensive for desktop installations and enterprise use."
"The solution is expensive."
"The licensing model for vCenter is a perpetual license with yearly payments."
"The tool is a bit expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM InfoSphere Information Server?
We are using the on-premises version of IBM InfoSphere Information Server, but we feel that all new development is mainly for the cloud. We receive corrections of errors, but we do not see new func...
What is your primary use case for IBM InfoSphere Information Server?
My usual use case for IBM InfoSphere Information Server is ETL, where we take data from one source to another data warehouse solution.
What advice do you have for others considering IBM InfoSphere Information Server?
We are about to change our platform from IBM AIX to SUSE Linux, as our whole platform is changing, so everyone should change from IBM to SUSE Linux. It would be very difficult for us to have a diff...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAS Data Management?
From my experience, SAS Data Management is an expensive tool.
What needs improvement with SAS Data Management?
SAS Data Management can be improved in terms of the learning curve.
What is your primary use case for SAS Data Management?
My main use case for using SAS Data Management is data cleaning for my clinical trial data because my data is very large, and I need clean, reliable, and regulatory compliance data. My data comes f...
 

Also Known As

InfoSphere Information Server, IBM Information Server
SAS Data Management Platform, Data Management Platform, DataFlux
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Canadian National Railway Company, Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce, Swedish Armed Forces, BG RCI, Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd., University of Arizona, Biogrid Australia
Data Management, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Absa, Aegon, Allianz Global Corporate & SpecialtyAusgrid, Bank of Queensland, Bell, BMC Software, Canada Post, Ceska pojistovna, Chantecler, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Credit Guarantee Corporation, Cr_dito y Cauci‹n, Delaware State Police, Deutsche Lufthansa, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, DSM, Enerjisa, ERGO Insurance Group, Florida Department of Corrections, Generali Hellas, Gitanjali Group, Gloucestershire Constabulary, GS Home Shopping, HealthPartners, IAG New Zealand, iJET, Invacare, Livzon Pharmaceutical Group, Los Angeles County, Miami Herald Media Company, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, New Zealand Ministry of Health, Nippon Paper, North Carolina Office of Information Technology Services, Orlando Magic, OTP Group, PITT OHIO, Plano Independent School District, RWE Poland, Spanish Air Force, Stockholm County Council, Telus, The Travel Corporation, Transitions Optical, Triad Analytic Solutions, UNIQA, US Census Bureau, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, West Midlands Police, XS Inc., Zenith Insurance
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM InfoSphere Information Server vs. SAS Data Management and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.