Both SAS Visual Analytics 9.5 and Amazon QuickSight Enterprise are powerful BI tools. SAS Visual Analytics 9.5 offers flexibility in deployment options and a wide range of data source integrations, but it comes at a higher cost. Amazon QuickSight Enterprise provides a scalable, cloud-based solution with a pay-as-you-go pricing model, making it a cost-effective option, especially for organizations already invested in the AWS ecosystem. The choice depends on specific needs, budget, and existing infrastructure.
| Attribute | SAS Visual Analytics 9.5 | Amazon QuickSight Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Data Visualization Capabilities | Versatile platform with an intuitive, interactive interface. Offers various chart types like bar charts, scatter plots, heat maps, and geographic maps. Visualizations are interconnected, enabling dynamic filtering and drilling down. Drag-and-drop interface. | Interactive data visualization with charts, graphs, tables, and maps. Drag-and-drop interface. AutoGraph visualization recommendation engine. |
| Predictive Analytics Features | Easy-to-use predictive analytics, enabling business analysts to assess possible outcomes and make data-driven decisions without programming. Smart algorithms reduce manual experimentation. Combines interactive, self-service BI and reporting capabilities with out-of-the-box advanced analytics. | Anomaly detection, forecasting, and natural language querying (NLQ). Integration with Amazon SageMaker for custom ML models. Amazon Q combines BI with an advanced ML framework. |
| Reporting and Dashboarding | Helps create interactive reports and dashboards to summarize key performance metrics and share them via the web and mobile devices. Intuitive drag-and-drop interface simplifies creating, customizing, and publishing interactive reports with diverse visual elements. | Interactive dashboards and paginated reports. Customizable dashboards that can be embedded. Email reports with custom branding. |
| Data Integration Capabilities | Designed to integrate data from multiple sources. Connects to relational databases, Hadoop systems, cloud storage, and SAS datasets. Offers self-service data preparation capabilities with embedded AI. | Connects to AWS services (Redshift, S3, Athena, RDS, Aurora), third-party databases (Teradata, MySQL, Postgres, SQL Server), SaaS applications (Salesforce, Square, ServiceNow), and file uploads (Excel, CSV, JSON). |
| Scalability and Performance | Built for scalability, handles large and complex datasets while maintaining high performance. Utilizes in-memory processing for rapid data analysis and visualization. Leverages in-memory computing and distributed processing for fast, scalable big data analytics. | Serverless architecture that automatically scales. SPICE engine for fast query performance, even with large datasets. Supports datasets up to a billion rows. |
| Ease of Use and User Interface | Designed to be easy to use, helping everyone gain insight into data for solving complex business problems efficiently. Features an intuitive, interactive interface. Drag-and-drop functionality simplifies the report-building process. | User-friendly and intuitive interface with drag-and-drop functionality. Quick access to visualizations, datasets, and sharing options. |
| Mobile Accessibility | SAS Visual Analytics Apps are available for iOS and Android, allowing users to view and interact with dynamic reports and dashboards on tablets and smartphones. The mobile app allows users to move through, filter, and dig deep into the data in the report using multi-touch gestures. | Mobile app support for accessing dashboards and insights on mobile devices. |
| Collaboration Features | Web-based interface enhances accessibility and collaboration, allowing reports and dashboards to be shared widely across an organization. Teams can collaborate effectively from anywhere with mobile-friendly interfaces and easy sharing options. | Secure collaboration through dashboard sharing with role assignments (Authors or Viewers). Real-time commenting and collaboration. |
| Security and Compliance | Includes advanced governance controls like role-based access and data security policies to ensure compliance with organizational standards and protect sensitive information. Offers several security features for passcode use, SSL/HTTPS, and device whitelisting. | Role-based access control, Active Directory integration, AWS CloudTrail auditing, single sign-on, VPC subnets, data backup, encryption at rest, and row-level security. Compliant with FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO, and SOC. |
| Customization Options | Provides the customization and flexibility needed with a variety of interactive reports, dashboards, graphs, and gauges. | Highly customizable dashboards and reports with themes. Custom visualizations using JavaScript and the QuickSight SDK. |
| Deployment Options (Cloud, On-Premise) | Can be deployed on-cloud or on-premise. Can be deployed on-site on a single server or in a distributed environment. | Cloud-based, leveraging AWS infrastructure. VPC connectivity for secure access to data sources within a private network. |
| Pricing Model and Total Cost of Ownership | Relatively expensive compared to other BI tools and requires a large amount of upfront fee which becomes an issue for smaller organizations. Significant computing resources are often necessary to unlock the software's full potential, impacting the overall deployment complexity and total cost of ownership. | Pay-as-you-go pricing model, with pay-per-session options for readers. Session capacity-based pricing for large-scale deployments. $250/month Amazon Q enablement fee for accounts with at least one Pro user or with at least one Amazon Q Topic. |