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IBM Watson Studio vs SAS Visual 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
7.0
Organizations saw positive ROI from IBM Watson Studio due to improved efficiency, scalability, sales, and reduced staffing needs.
Sentiment score
6.3
Organizations saw varied ROI from SAS Visual Analytics, noting improved efficiency and financial tracking despite initial cost challenges.
The product offers a significant return on investment through its scalability and integration capabilities.
My customers have seen returns on investment through increased efficiency, automated calculations, improved accuracy in pricing, and reduced staffing needs due to the automation.
The enterprise subscription offers more benefits, ensuring valuable outcomes.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
IBM Watson Studio customer service is praised for efficiency and responsiveness, though support quality varies by subscription plan and community resources.
Sentiment score
6.8
SAS Visual Analytics customer service is mixed, with praise for technical support but noted gaps in business needs and regional availability.
The community access is weak, which limits the ability to engage in discussions and find documentation and examples of similar cases effectively.
The support quality depends on the SLA or the contract terms.
They provide callbacks to ensure clarity and resolution of any queries.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
IBM Watson Studio is scalable with excellent integration, but its resource intensity may increase costs for extensive scaling.
Sentiment score
7.8
SAS Visual Analytics effectively scales for large datasets and users, though high resource demands and expenses may concern some.
Watson Studio is very scalable.
I rate IBM Watson Studio seven out of ten for scalability because while it scales, it requires significant resources to do so, making it expensive compared to some competitors.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
IBM Watson Studio is praised for stability and reliability, comparable to or better than competitors, with effective optimization for large tasks.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAS Visual Analytics is generally reliable but can face performance issues with large data, often due to user practices.
Expertise in optimization is necessary to manage such issues effectively.
SAS Visual Analytics is stable and manages data effectively without crashing.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Watson Studio needs a more intuitive interface, better support, and reduced setup complexity for wider adoption.
SAS Visual Analytics is complex and costly, with challenges in integration, performance, user-friendliness, and external language support.
IBM should work on optimizing the user interface and enhancing the product's accessibility for medium and small enterprises.
One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration.
In terms of configuration, I would like to see AI capabilities since many applications are now integrating AI.
 

Setup Cost

IBM Watson Studio's pricing varies, offering a free light edition, yet considered expensive by some, especially in Africa.
SAS Visual Analytics is costly for small enterprises, but offers strong analytics and simplicity, though consulting and scaling add expenses.
IBM Watson Studio is considered rather expensive, with a rating of six or seven.
 

Valuable Features

IBM Watson Studio excels in automation, predictive analytics, and integration, offering comprehensive AI capabilities for diverse data-driven tasks.
SAS Visual Analytics excels in data visualization, advanced analytics, and user-friendly interface with rapid processing and seamless integration.
This capability saves a significant amount of time by automating processes that typically involve manual work, such as data cleaning, feature engineering, and predictive analytics.
It integrates well with other platforms and offers good scalability.
The ability to query information from our Excel data into SAS to view specific data is invaluable.
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Watson Studio
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Data Science Platforms (12th), AI Development Platforms (10th)
SAS Visual Analytics
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Data Visualization (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM Watson Studio is designed for Data Science Platforms and holds a mindshare of 2.1%, down 2.3% compared to last year.
SAS Visual Analytics, on the other hand, focuses on Data Visualization, holds 4.0% mindshare, down 6.0% since last year.
Data Science Platforms
Data Visualization
 

Featured Reviews

Abilio Duarte - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly robust and well-documented platform that simplifies the complex world of AI
The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use. Providing training sessions can be immensely helpful in helping users navigate and understand the tool's potential. This approach would empower users to explore and make the most of the tools and technologies at their disposal. Another area where IBM could enhance its offering is by providing more visibility to end users regarding the vast potential that Watson offers.
Danna Nemeth - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides ease of use and has advanced data visualization capabilities
The initial setup can be complex and depends on the specific environment and licensing. It typically requires some time and effort to configure properly. It can be deployed as a SaaS solution or on-premises. It typically requires an installer and someone knowledgeable in business analytics and data management. Generally, it does not require extensive maintenance, though occasional upkeep might be necessary.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
IBM Watson Studio is considered rather expensive, with a rating of six or seven. The pricing could be optimized relative to the features and capabilities of the product.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
IBM Watson Studio, while powerful, lacks user-friendliness. It is not easy to use, particularly for medium or small enterprises or less experienced staff. Another aspect that requires improvement i...
What do you like most about SAS Visual Analytics?
The most solution's notable aspect, in my view, is the ability to integrate various data sources and harness advanced technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. This helps w...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAS Visual Analytics?
It's about an average of five. It's easy to scale, but it comes with cost.
What needs improvement with SAS Visual Analytics?
In terms of configuration, I would like to see AI capabilities since many applications are now integrating AI. It may be that our current subscription does not include AI-enabled features, but I wo...
 

Also Known As

Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
SAS BI
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Staples, Ausgrid, Scotiabank, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Xcel Energy, and Triad Analytics Solutions.
Find out what your peers are saying about Databricks, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Knime and others in Data Science Platforms. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.