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Informatica PowerCenter vs SAS Data Integration Server comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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

Informatica PowerCenter
Ranking in Data Integration
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Data Visualization (13th)
SAS Data Integration Server
Ranking in Data Integration
40th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of Informatica PowerCenter is 3.6%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Data Integration Server is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Informatica PowerCenter3.6%
SAS Data Integration Server0.9%
Other95.5%
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Hemanthreddy Vakiti - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Streamlined daily sales workflows have reduced team size and enabled earlier, accurate reporting
One of the best features I appreciate about Informatica PowerCenter is that anyone with minimal knowledge of ETL can easily use it. It has four different interfaces: Monitor, Repository, Designer, and Workflow Manager. With our use case, we can easily go to that particular interface and use it. Another valuable feature is the use of Mapplets; if we have one mapping created that we want to use again and again for other workflows, we can create a Mapplet and save it so that we can reuse the mapping, reducing our workload. Informatica PowerCenter has positively impacted my organization because, as I mentioned previously, the development team has been reduced to half since we moved to it due to its easy interface and the reusability of Mapplets. It has also saved us a lot of time; for example, it has saved nearly one hour per day on monitoring and workflow tasks. Saving one hour a day is key because it has led us to report the data to business users one hour earlier than the usual time. If there are any anomalies or defects in the data, we can easily rectify them within that hour, which reduces the chance of errors in the data. Regarding cost, the number of people working on the project has been reduced to half, thus significantly decreasing costs for our organization since we moved to Informatica PowerCenter.
NN
Works at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Offloads processes on the server side but needs better installation syntax
One area for improvement is the installation process. Another point could be the syntax, as it sometimes involves using syntax names that are not intuitive. For example, to calculate the difference between two dates, the general syntax in SAS is called the data difference or data net function. However, another name is used, such as NF and INK. Without knowledge of SAS programming, it becomes unclear what these functions mean. It is not good to define function names this way.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"UI-based ability to create data mapping."
"It works with any multi-databases, so it works with Sybase, SQL Server. Also, the performance is really good and it is easy to use."
"This is an old and reliable product, and I like the visual tool for data mapping and the workflow manager."
"When compared with other ETL or ELP tools, Informatica PowerCenter is the best for connecting to multiple sources, which is better when you have large loads."
"What I like most about Informatica PowerCenter is that it's the best tool in the market for data integration."
"In terms of the capability of data loading features, Informatica products are better."
"The features I find most valuable is that the solution is very user-friendly and the graphical design is very easy to understand."
"The most valuable feature is the new Data Lake feature, which provides the basic capabilities needed."
"A key feature allows us to enhance job performance by offloading processing to the server side, rather than processing on the server itself."
"The solution offers very good data manipulation and loading."
"The solution is very stable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its amazing capabilities in regard to data handling."
 

Cons

"The solution currently requires quite an established data center in place because there is no option for software as a service so the best option to install the platform is on-prem."
"Licensing is frustrating as you have to pay for some additional features."
"This solution needs the functionality to do batch processing of data. It also lacks connectivity to NoSQL, unstructured data sources."
"Improvement is needed in terms of some new transformation because API integration and all those things are very critical nowadays."
"The pricing could be improved."
"The product hangs and you can lose control for several hours. It works, but it hangs."
"In terms of innovation, creativity is not there in this solution. It is still an on-prem ETL tool."
"PowerCenter could integrate better with cloud applications. We had to do a lot of configuration work using API integrations to connect with cloud applications. Informatica Cloud Data Integration has a generic connector that you can use directly, so it's much easier."
"The initial setup of SAS Data Integration Server was complex."
"One area for improvement is the installation process."
"The transform tool has limited access. They should make it more flexible."
"The initial setup had issues, and even after using it for about one year, it was still not fixed."
"So I would like to see improved integration with other software."
"Something that could improve is writing SQL to integration studio because it is not that straightforward. There should be better integration with other software."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I consider this to be an expensive product."
"We have found the pricing very cost-effective. The licensing is CPU and data source-based."
"Its maintenance is expensive."
"Cost could be improved."
"Compared to other tools, I think PowerCenter is a bit expensive. When I compare it to Oracle, if you want to use Oracle databases, you can easily get an ODI tool, so it's easier to handle. Informatica is a standalone tool—it's an independent company—and there are no databases around them, so it's quite expensive to use. Generally, large companies use PowerCenter because of the price. If companies want to expand their usage areas, they try to consider if it's easy to implement and easy to understand the pricing. I think the pricing is a barrier for Informatica."
"Our customers pay a licensing fee yearly."
"According to what I've heard and read on various blogs, it's quite expensive when compared to similar competitive products."
"Price-wise, it's more expensive than SSIS, but it's a better tool, so it has more features. Licensing is on a yearly basis."
"It is an expensive program."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Integration solutions are best for your needs.
915,383 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user90069 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 20, 2014
Informatica PowerCenter vs. Microsoft SSIS - each technology has its advantages but also have similarities
Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Construction Company
13%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise76
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica PowerCenter?
Azure Data Factory is flexible, modular, and works well. In terms of cost, it is not too pricey. It offers the stability and reliability I am looking for, good scalability, and is easy to set up an...
Which is better - SSIS or Informatica PowerCenter?
SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free compo...
Which Informatica product would you choose - PowerCenter or Cloud Data Integration?
Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a real data governance strategy. Additionally, PowerCenter is able to manage huge...
What needs improvement with SAS Data Integration Server?
One area for improvement is the installation process. Another point could be the syntax, as it sometimes involves using syntax names that are not intuitive. For example, to calculate the difference...
What is your primary use case for SAS Data Integration Server?
I am involved in the ETR job. My role is focused on executing the ETR job.
What advice do you have for others considering SAS Data Integration Server?
I use it without further details. For example, if I use SAS to connect to a NetEazt database or purchase a shared asset to ODBC, I can connect to any database with ODBC connection support. The over...
 

Also Known As

PowerCenter
SAS Enterprise Data Integration Server, Enterprise Data Integration Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, LexisNexis, Rabobank
Credit Guarantee Corporation, Cr_dito y Cauci‹n, Delaware State Police, Deutsche Lufthansa, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, DSM, Livzon Pharmaceutical Group, Los Angeles County, Miami Herald Media Company, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, New Zealand Ministry of Health, Nippon Paper, West Midlands Police, XS Inc., Zenith Insurance
Find out what your peers are saying about Informatica PowerCenter vs. SAS Data Integration Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,383 professionals have used our research since 2012.