SAS VA vs Tableau

[yannis]

Is there a good article that states the major difference and advantages of SAS VA vs TABLEAU. 

[jakarman]

Not very extensive resrearched but the information looks correct: Compare SAS Visual Analytics vs Tableau | IT Central Station

Seeing this: Understanding Functional Differences Between OLAP and Relational Data Source Connections | Tableau S...

That is different with SAS-VA as avoiding cube building http://www.sas.com/software/visual-analytics/demos/explore/SAS-Visual-Analytics-Quickstart-Guide.pdf

And than finding others are on the same direction: Got SAP HANA? Get Tableau! (redux) | Tableau Software

[Reeza]

I haven't worked with SAS VA, but with Tableau.

It's sort of nice but not great in my opinion. I don't know how my issues would compare to VA either, and these are from working on the desktop version.

1. Difficult to share work between colleagues - need to have reader installed or Server version

2. Mapping isn't where I'd like it to be, can't display both points and polygons

3. Fully point and click interface - no programming

4. No style themes. If you have to implement a corporate theme you have to do it every time manually. Hopefully this has changed.

Things I like:

1. They have a fully free version with a way to post things to the public for free so you can learn

2. Makes it easy to display multiple dashboards from a single view.

3. Easy to get started because of desktop availability

[PeterWijers]

Hi reeza,

please check the free sas va web testversion on the sas website.

1 Full web based, no problem sharing work.

2 Check the demo or the documentation for your expectations.

3 No programming, everything there in the web application.

4 Yes corporate theme can by integrated for everyone at once.

1 There is a viewer user setup that only allows viewing via the web, so no problem.

2 No problem with sas va, even over multiple tabs. (Check te demo version)

3 Easy to start because of web availability.

go for the demo version or invite sas for a demo. please do not expect objective compares, this can only be done by your self because every ones expectations and/or needs are different.

I am a VA user and never regretted this, but that can be different for other users.!!

Greetings and good luck.

[cmwillis02 · Accepted solution]

We switched from a Tableau deployment to SAS VA and other products about 2 years ago.  I think Tableau is still out in front in the visualization space and they do offer a server option for an enterprise deployment.  Where SAS really differentiates is the wealth of integrated back end data management and processing functionality through Enterprise Guide.

If you are looking for a tool to specifically create visualizations off of point and click or SQL queries then Tableau is a great tool.  Its very easy to use but doesn't sacrifice depth.  It can create visually sophisticated reports but is limited when dealing with large and complex data warehouses.  I still have several Tableau licenses, but I use them more in one off instances and sometimes as a training tool when someone is learning our data structure.

If you are looking at an enterprise solution for Analytics and data management and visual is a big component of that for you, then SASVA is the better choice.  Currently SAS is on a very aggressive 6 month cycle for new releases in VA and have been able to add a wealth of functionality with each release without detracting from the reliability and usability of the tools.  For us, it is a mission critical tool and it continues to improve.

[Akas_wankha]

Can anyone confirm how much data (in size) rows we can process in SAS VA and what are the challenges?

[AnnaBrown]

Hi Akas_wankha,

I'm cross-posting the other topic/thread on this subject here for reference:

https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Visual-Analytics/SAS-Va/m-p/387688

Thanks!

Anna

[Ronny_Dsouza]

Hi,

Working in an organization wherein we deal with Tableau, Qlik, Spotfire,

Simple comparison

Tableau

-  Visualization, Light weighted, , pretty lean learning curve ( download ,install and use tutorial),  I believe it allows a lot of flexibility via programming and that applies to its integration with third party.

SAS

-  Power packed with loads of functionality ( Compared to SAS EBI)

- Mostly GUI driven.

- Additional visualization one needs to resort to SAS STP.

let me know if there is some more details needed.

Cheers

Ronny

[DavidJoseph]

Hi Yannis –

Neutral, third-party articles can be difficult to find, but industry analysts often serve as excellent resources for this sort of question. 

The BI Scorecard Strategic and Product Summary - Q4 2014 provides a good comparison of strategic considerations and key capabilities in solutions offered by vendors in the BI/Data Visualization space.  The author, Cindi Howson, performs extensive and rigorous hands-on product reviews.  We think it’s a fair representation of both the scope (breadth) and the capabilities (depth) of several BI offerings. 

Another very good source of comparative information would be The Forrester Wave™: Agile Business Intelligence Platforms, Q3 2014, by Boris Evelson.  The scores found on page 10 of that report might likewise provide valuable context.

I hope these reports are helpful!

All the Best,

David

[novinosrin]

Good morning Everybody, Years away from this thread. However, feeling intrigued to chime in as we had a team meeting at my place of work. My Boss apparently had a meeting with his superiors and it looks like all our visualizations would be migrating to Tableau. Not a happy news for a SAS enthusiast like me and that too only at a time I was contemplating to learn ODS/VA.

A brief background :

I work a mid-sized bank in  North east USA. We are a pretty big SAS shop(hmm at least what I know)  and have been doing ODS reporting and utilizing a lot of SAS capabilities. The last couple of months, it's been decided we would be pursueing SAS only for heavy lifting-data processing and SAS STAT components and all the reporting/graphics/charts/dashboards would be done it Tableau.

Does this mean SAS is losing ground in the end user space?

Is it showing serious declining trend in this space while I am hopeful in data heavy lifting will remain a leader?

Some near-term, long term ideas will help from anyone who's been following the trends

Finally, Are there any points you may have to counter the Tableau move in support of SAS for the same area where Tableau is good at?

PS

I am not sure if I posted this in the right thread. If an expert or moderator feels this post can be directed to more appropriate area, please do so. I'd most appreciate it. Thank you!