Alteryx
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Alteryx vs SAS Viya: A Comparative Analysis

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    Introduction

    Comparing Alteryx and SAS Viya is essential for professionals seeking powerful data analytics solutions. These platforms offer robust tools for business intelligence, each with unique strengths and capabilities.

    Alteryx is known for its user-friendly interface and strong data blending features, while SAS Viya provides advanced analytics with a focus on machine learning and scalability.

    This comparison will highlight key differences and help users determine the best fit for their data analytics needs. Additionally, we'll explore how Sourcetable offers a simplified, spreadsheet-like experience that seamlessly integrates with your data, presenting a streamlined alternative for reporting and data analytics tasks.

    Alteryx

    What is Alteryx?

    Alteryx is an analytics platform designed for analytic leaders to democratize analytics, providing self-service insights and enabling collaboration with business stakeholders. It aligns analytics with strategic goals, streamlines budgeting, enhances forecasting, and improves reporting processes.

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    What is SAS Viya?

    SAS Viya is an AI-driven, end-to-end platform designed to address complex data analysis challenges. It enables users to manage, cleanse, and transform data, as well as build and deploy machine learning models. SAS Viya is recognized for its performance, scalability, and the automation of key machine learning processes.

    • Core Capabilities

    • Facilitates access to data of any size or complexity.
    • Intuitive interfaces for data cleansing and transformation.
    • Enables creation of robust data pipelines.
    • Promotes data trust through lineage and transparency.
    • Supports rapid construction of high-performance models.
    • Deploys decision flows efficiently.
    • Automates performance monitoring and model tuning.
    • Performs automatic retraining of models.
    • Benefits

    • Accelerates the realization of value from data and AI investments.
    • Offers scalability that keeps pace with AI advancements.
    • Ensures verifiable and trustworthy results.
    • Delivers processing speeds up to 30 times faster than other solutions.
    • Provides exclusive automation for machine learning processes.
    • Target Audience

      SAS Viya serves data scientists and developers, providing a comprehensive and reliable platform for AI and machine learning tasks.

    Alteryx

    Key Features of Alteryx

    Search Platform

    Alteryx includes a search platform for quick data discovery.

    ETL/ELT Capabilities

    Alteryx supports extract, transform, load (ETL) and extract, load, transform (ELT) processes for data integration.

    Data Preparation

    Data prep capabilities in Alteryx enable efficient data cleaning and transformation.

    Data Enrichment

    Alteryx enhances datasets by appending additional data, providing richer analysis.

    Data Quality

    Alteryx ensures high data quality through cleaning and validation features.

    Data Analysis

    Robust analysis capabilities in Alteryx support comprehensive data examination.

    Geospatial Capabilities

    Alteryx includes geospatial functionality for location-based data analysis.

    AutoML Capabilities

    Automated machine learning (AutoML) in Alteryx accelerates predictive modeling.

    Reporting Capabilities

    Alteryx offers reporting tools for generating insightful data visualizations.

    Analytics App Capabilities

    Users can build and share analytics apps within Alteryx for collaborative data work.

    Data Storytelling

    Data storytelling tools in Alteryx help communicate data insights effectively.

    AI Generated Insights

    Alteryx employs artificial intelligence to uncover deep insights from data.

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    Key Features of SAS Viya

    Data Integration

    Import data from various sources including databases, Hadoop, Excel, social media, and others.

    Report and Dashboard Creation

    Quickly build reports and dashboards by dragging and dropping files such as Excel, CSV, or SAS data sets.

    Data Quality and Management

    Includes standard functions to manage and clean data such as case changing, conversion, renaming, removal, and column splitting.

    Custom Calculations and Transformations

    Create custom calculations and data transformations using code.

    Visualization

  • Utilize a variety of chart types like Bar, Pie, Donut, Line, Scatter, and Heat map.
  • Autocharting feature for optimal graph selection based on data.
  • Integration of web content and images into reports.
  • Geospatial data support with Esri integration.
  • Analytical visualizations including box plot, heat map, animated bubble chart, and more.
  • Collaboration and Sharing

    Enhance collaboration by adding comments, reusing report alterations, and sharing modifications.

    Templates and Alerts

  • Save pages as templates for future reports.
  • Create alerts for report objects.
  • Distribution and Export

  • Secure distribution of reports via PDF or email.
  • Schedule report distribution at recurring intervals.
  • Export reports to Excel for further analysis.
  • Forecasting and Custom Visualizations

  • Automated forecasting with included confidence intervals.
  • Custom visualization integration such as D3.js graphs and Google charts.
  • Alteryx

    Advantages of Alteryx for Business Intelligence

    Democratized Analytics

    Alteryx's ability to democratize analytics allows users across an organization to engage with data, fostering a data-driven culture.

    User-Friendly Interface

    The platform's ease of use accelerates the adoption and learning curve, enhancing productivity in reporting and data tasks.

    Collaborative Environment

    Alteryx promotes collaboration, enabling teams to work together effectively on business intelligence projects.

    Scalability

    The scalability of Alteryx ensures it can grow with the enterprise, supporting expanding data analytics needs.

    Automation

    Automating every step of analytics, Alteryx streamlines workflows, saving time on manual tasks in the reporting process.

    Community Support

    An active community with over 500K members provides a rich resource for problem-solving and knowledge sharing.

    Skills Enhancement

    By helping to upskill employees, Alteryx contributes to a more capable workforce adept at handling complex business intelligence tasks.

    Award-Winning Excellence

    The recognition Alteryx has received through awards attests to its effectiveness in delivering robust business intelligence solutions.

    Time Savings

    Alteryx has a proven track record of saving customers thousands of hours, increasing efficiency in data analytics and reporting.

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    Disadvantages of Using Alteryx for Business Intelligence

    Cost and Scalability Concerns

    Alteryx's pricing is considered high, making it a significant investment for businesses.Difficulties with scaling Alteryx can limit its use in larger, growing enterprises.Automating workflows incurs additional costs, impacting return on investment.

  • Alteryx's pricing is considered high, making it a significant investment for businesses.
  • Difficulties with scaling Alteryx can limit its use in larger, growing enterprises.
  • Automating workflows incurs additional costs, impacting return on investment.
  • Data Handling and Performance Issues

    Data loading can be slow, affecting efficiency in data analytics tasks.Alteryx may not be the best choice for one-time or ad-hoc reporting due to its setup and operational demands.Challenges with chaining or scheduling workflows can complicate reporting processes.

  • Data loading can be slow, affecting efficiency in data analytics tasks.
  • Alteryx may not be the best choice for one-time or ad-hoc reporting due to its setup and operational demands.
  • Challenges with chaining or scheduling workflows can complicate reporting processes.
  • Usability and Functionality Limitations

    Users encounter vague error messages that can hinder troubleshooting.Some necessary tools and functionalities are absent, which can limit the scope of analysis.It is difficult to create new functionalities within Alteryx, potentially restricting customized analysis.The neural networking and forecasting tools are not intuitive, posing a learning curve for users.

  • Users encounter vague error messages that can hinder troubleshooting.
  • Some necessary tools and functionalities are absent, which can limit the scope of analysis.
  • It is difficult to create new functionalities within Alteryx, potentially restricting customized analysis.
  • The neural networking and forecasting tools are not intuitive, posing a learning curve for users.
  • Support and Training Deficits

    Support for databases other than MS SQL Server is lacking, which can alienate a segment of users.There is a scarcity of training materials, such as videos, which can impede user onboarding and ongoing education.

  • Support for databases other than MS SQL Server is lacking, which can alienate a segment of users.
  • There is a scarcity of training materials, such as videos, which can impede user onboarding and ongoing education.
  • Visualization and Cloud Deployment

    Alteryx is not optimized for data visualization, a key component of business intelligence.Absence of native cloud deployment options limits accessibility and flexibility for users.

  • Alteryx is not optimized for data visualization, a key component of business intelligence.
  • Absence of native cloud deployment options limits accessibility and flexibility for users.
  • Alteryx

    Frequently Asked Questions About Alteryx

    What is the Alteryx Marketplace?

    The Alteryx Marketplace is where you can find verified assets that have undergone rigorous validation.

    What can I find in the Community Gallery?

    The Community Gallery is for peer-to-peer interactions, examples, use cases, and more.

    Who can download Add-Ons from the Alteryx Marketplace?

    Users with an active Designer or Server license can download Add-Ons.

    What versions of Alteryx do the current Add-Ons in the Marketplace support?

    The Alteryx Marketplace currently supports Add-Ons for Alteryx Designer Desktop and Server versions 2021.4, 2022.1, 2022.3, and 2023.1.

    Are there any costs associated with downloading Add-Ons from the Alteryx Marketplace?

    Add-Ons on the Alteryx Marketplace are free to download.

    Use Cases for Alteryx

    • Alteryx

      Generating personalized training recommendations for athletes using statistical metrics

    • Alteryx

      Enhancing corporate efficiency by streamlining data processes

    • Alteryx

      Aggregating data from various CRM platforms to inform dashboard and report creation

    • Alteryx

      Optimizing data science reports through A/B testing

    • Alteryx

      Predicting email open rates with machine learning algorithms

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    Advantages of SAS Viya for Business Intelligence and Data Analytics

    Cloud-Based Analytics and Reporting

    SAS Viya's cloud-based platform ensures that users have instant and flexible access to powerful statistical analysis and reporting applications. Its web-based environment simplifies programming, analysis, and reporting tasks, enhancing programmer productivity and facilitating easy deployment.

    Extensive Data Analysis Tools

    Users benefit from SAS Viya's advanced statistical analysis tools, wide range of statistical methods, and frequent updates to statistical procedures. The platform supports comprehensive data extraction, formatting, and analysis programming, allowing for the latest methodologies in analytics.

    Collaboration and Integration

    SAS Viya's collaboration capabilities and compatibility with Microsoft Office products streamline the integration of data science into business processes. The platform's ability to work with AWS and availability on the AWS Marketplace provides seamless scalability and integration options.

    Visualization and Mapping

    With SAS Viya, businesses can create a variety of business maps, charts, and plots, including 3-D relationship graphs. The platform's data visualization tools aid in the comprehension and presentation of complex data relationships.

    Advanced Features for Modern Analytics

    SAS Viya serves as a comprehensive solution for machine learning and AI analytics, supporting real-time decision-making processes. The inclusion of a workbench for AI model development and its low code/no code approach make it accessible to a broad range of users, from data scientists to business analysts.

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    Disadvantages of SAS Viya for Business Intelligence

    Accessibility for Smaller Businesses

    SAS Viya's complexity and cost structure may not align well with the needs and capabilities of small to medium-sized businesses. Its features and pricing are geared more towards larger enterprises.

    Usability Concerns

    The platform's steep learning curve and lack of beginner tutorials can hinder efficient adoption and proficiency, impacting productivity for businesses seeking to perform reporting and data analytics.

    Integration and Compatibility Issues

    SAS Viya does not integrate with popular open source tools such as Python, Julia, or R, which can limit flexibility and innovation in data analytics workflows.

    Technical and Support Challenges

    Users may experience difficulties with the installation process due to the large size of the software. Additionally, reports of poor customer support can further complicate resolution of technical issues.

    Functional Limitations

    The software's drill-down capabilities could see improvements to enhance the depth of analysis for business intelligence purposes.

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    Frequently Asked Questions About SAS Viya

    How is SAS Viya priced?

    SAS Viya may be priced by users, core capacity, total revenue, transactions, and more. It can also vary by SaaS, on-premises, cloud, and other factors.

    What is the starting price for SAS Viya?

    SAS Viya pricing starts at $1500 per user and $10,000 for core capacity for select offerings.

    How much can a full implementation of SAS Viya cost?

    SAS Viya pricing can go up to multiple millions for a full implementation.

    Can I get any discounts on SAS Viya?

    Students, educators, and researchers may get academic discounts for training and certification exams. SAS also offers a variety of discounts for training and certification exams.

    Who can help me determine the best SAS licensing option for my needs?

    A SAS account representative can help determine the best SAS licensing option for your situation.

    Use Cases for SAS Viya

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      Environments where SAS Viya and SAS Grid Manager provide complementary services in different steps of a project

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      Environments where SAS Viya feeds into SAS Grid Manager for further analysis

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      Environments where SAS Visual Analytics customers utilize SAS Grid Manager to enhance their business intelligence capabilities

    sourcetable

    Why Sourcetable is a Superior Choice for Business Intelligence

    Sourcetable offers a streamlined alternative to complex platforms like Alteryx and SAS Viya, focusing on ease of use for business intelligence tasks. Its spreadsheet-like interface provides a familiar environment for data synchronization and analytics.

    • Simplified Reporting and Analytics

      Sourcetable brings simplicity to reporting and analytics, reducing the learning curve associated with more complex systems. By centralizing data in a user-friendly interface, it enhances the accessibility of business intelligence.

    • Data Synchronization

      Effortless data synchronization across services is a hallmark of Sourcetable. It eliminates the need for intricate integration processes, offering a more efficient way to manage data within business ecosystems.

    • User-Friendly Interface

      The intuitive, spreadsheet-like interface of Sourcetable caters to a wide range of users, from data analysts to business stakeholders. This approach demystifies data manipulation, making it accessible to non-technical users.

    • Optimized for Efficiency

      Sourcetable's focus on efficiency streamlines processes such as budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. It not only improves accuracy but also minimizes the risk associated with data handling.

    • Enhanced Data Management

      With Sourcetable, data quality, governance, and security are easily managed. The platform's straightforward approach to data management supports IT leaders in their analytics initiatives.

    • Marketing Insights

      Marketing leaders benefit from Sourcetable's ability to unify customer data and optimize campaigns. It provides actionable insights that are crucial for data-driven decision making in marketing strategies.

    Alteryx
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    Alteryx vs. SAS Viya Similarities

    Analytics Platforms

    Both Alteryx and SAS Viya are analytics platforms. They provide tools and capabilities for organizations to analyze and interpret data for business insights.

    AI-Enhanced Analytics

    Alteryx and SAS Viya use artificial intelligence to drive smarter, data-driven decision-making. AI features enhance the analytics process, making it more efficient and effective.

    Democratization of Analytics

    Alteryx and SAS Viya aim to democratize analytics by making it accessible to a broader range of users within an organization, not just data specialists.

    Self-Service Insights

    Both platforms enable self-service insights, allowing users to generate and access insights independently, without requiring extensive technical expertise.

    Support for Collaboration

    Alteryx and SAS Viya facilitate collaboration between data scientists and business stakeholders, ensuring that analytics align with strategic goals.

    Finance and Reporting

    Both platforms provide tools to help finance leaders streamline budgeting, forecasting, and reporting, improving accuracy, efficiency, and minimizing risk.

    Data Governance and Security

    Alteryx and SAS Viya address the need for data quality, governance, and security, ensuring that data management practices meet organizational standards.

    Marketing Optimization

    Marketing leaders leverage both Alteryx and SAS Viya to unify customer data, improve campaigns, and optimize spend, leading to more effective marketing strategies.

    Alteryx
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    Alteryx vs SAS Viya

    Analytics Platform Nature

    Alteryx is characterized as an AI and enterprise analytics platform that emphasizes self-service insights and democratizing analytics. It employs AI for smarter, data-driven decision-making across various roles such as data scientists, IT, finance, and marketing leaders.

    User Accessibility

    SAS Viya is known for its advanced analytics and is often associated with deep statistical analysis, catering to professional statisticians and data scientists. In contrast, Alteryx is more accessible to a broader range of business users, promoting self-service analytics capabilities.

    Collaboration and Governance

    While both platforms provide collaboration tools, Alteryx specifically aids in the collaboration between data scientists and business stakeholders. Alteryx also places a strong emphasis on ensuring data quality, governance, and security, which are key concerns for IT leaders.

    Finance and Marketing Optimization

    Alteryx is tailored to help finance leaders enhance budgeting, forecasting, and reporting processes and to assist marketing leaders in unifying customer data and optimizing campaigns. SAS Viya also provides capabilities in these areas but with a focus on advanced analytics.

    AI and Decision Making

    Alteryx incorporates AI to enable smarter, data-driven decisions across the organization, while SAS Viya leverages its analytics to provide powerful statistical insights, often requiring more specialized knowledge to operate effectively.

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    Comparison of Alteryx, SAS Viya, and Sourcetable

    Alteryx Overview

    Alteryx is an analytics and AI platform designed for enterprise analytics. It uses AI to facilitate smarter, data-driven decision making, democratizes analytics, and enables self-service insights. Alteryx supports collaboration between data scientists and business stakeholders and is used across various domains including finance, IT, and marketing to streamline processes and improve accuracy and efficiency.

    SAS Viya Overview

    SAS Viya is a cloud-enabled, in-memory analytics engine that provides a variety of advanced analytics capabilities, including machine learning and AI. It is designed to handle complex analytical challenges and deploy insights at scale across an organization. SAS Viya also supports coding in multiple languages and offers a visual interface for non-technical users.

    Sourcetable Overview

    Sourcetable is a spreadsheet-like tool designed for synchronizing data from various sources. It enables users to create live data tables and dashboards without the need for coding, making it accessible for users with limited technical expertise. Sourcetable focuses on combining ease of use with the capability to handle data from different platforms.

    Comparative Analysis

  • Analytics and AI Capabilities: Alteryx offers AI-powered analytics, while SAS Viya provides advanced analytics with AI and machine learning. Sourcetable, although not primarily an AI platform, allows for easy data manipulation and visualization.
  • Alteryx offers AI-powered analytics, while SAS Viya provides advanced analytics with AI and machine learning. Sourcetable, although not primarily an AI platform, allows for easy data manipulation and visualization.

  • User Accessibility: Alteryx democratizes analytics and enables self-service insights for technical users. SAS Viya caters to both technical and non-technical users with its coding and visual interfaces. Sourcetable appeals to non-technical users with a simple, spreadsheet-like interface.
  • Alteryx democratizes analytics and enables self-service insights for technical users. SAS Viya caters to both technical and non-technical users with its coding and visual interfaces. Sourcetable appeals to non-technical users with a simple, spreadsheet-like interface.

  • Enterprise Focus: Both Alteryx and SAS Viya are enterprise-focused, offering solutions for large-scale analytics initiatives and robust data governance. Sourcetable is more suited for smaller teams or businesses that need a more straightforward data integration and visualization tool.
  • Both Alteryx and SAS Viya are enterprise-focused, offering solutions for large-scale analytics initiatives and robust data governance. Sourcetable is more suited for smaller teams or businesses that need a more straightforward data integration and visualization tool.

  • Data Governance and Security: Alteryx and SAS Viya emphasize data governance and security, with features designed to support IT leaders in these areas. Sourcetable focuses less on governance and more on the integration and visualization of data.
  • Alteryx and SAS Viya emphasize data governance and security, with features designed to support IT leaders in these areas. Sourcetable focuses less on governance and more on the integration and visualization of data.

  • Collaboration: Alteryx facilitates collaboration between data scientists and business stakeholders, while SAS Viya provides collaborative features through its cloud-enabled platform. Sourcetable offers collaborative features similar to other spreadsheet programs.
  • Alteryx facilitates collaboration between data scientists and business stakeholders, while SAS Viya provides collaborative features through its cloud-enabled platform. Sourcetable offers collaborative features similar to other spreadsheet programs.

  • Domain-Specific Solutions: Alteryx provides tailored solutions for different leaders like finance, marketing, and IT, similar to SAS Viya. Sourcetable, on the other hand, offers a more general approach suitable for various business functions without specialized tools.
  • Alteryx provides tailored solutions for different leaders like finance, marketing, and IT, similar to SAS Viya. Sourcetable, on the other hand, offers a more general approach suitable for various business functions without specialized tools.

  • Scalability: SAS Viya is built for scalability across large organizations, whereas Alteryx also caters to enterprise-scale analytics but with a strong emphasis on AI. Sourcetable is more suitable for smaller scale operations.
  • SAS Viya is built for scalability across large organizations, whereas Alteryx also caters to enterprise-scale analytics but with a strong emphasis on AI. Sourcetable is more suitable for smaller scale operations.

    Conclusion

    Alteryx and SAS Viya are robust enterprise analytics platforms with AI capabilities and strong data governance features, catering to both technical and non-technical users. Sourcetable serves as a user-friendly tool for data synchronization and visualization, ideal for users seeking simplicity over comprehensive analytics.

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    Frequently Asked Questions About Sourcetable

    What is Sourcetable and who typically uses it?

    Sourcetable is a spreadsheet application that allows users to access data from most 3rd party applications, query data, and build live models that automatically update. It is used by growth teams and business operations teams, and is designed for anyone who needs to centralize, analyze, and model data that updates over time.

    How does Sourcetable replace traditional tools like Excel and Google Sheets?

    Sourcetable replaces workflows that are typically done in Excel, Google Sheets, and Business Intelligence tools by providing a centralized platform for accessing and modeling data without the need for coding, and with automatic updates to data and models.

    How much does Sourcetable cost and is there a trial available?

    Sourcetable costs $50 per month for the starter plan and $250 per month for the pro plan. All plans come with a 14-day free trial period.

    How often does Sourcetable update data from integrations?

    Data integrations update every 15 minutes on the regular plan and every 5 minutes on the pro plan.

    Do users need to know how to code to use Sourcetable?

    No, Sourcetable does not require coding, allowing users to easily access, query, and model data.

    Alteryx

    Alteryx Pricing Overview

    • Alteryx Designer Cloud Cost

      The Alteryx Designer Cloud Professional Edition starts at $4,950 USD.

    • Alteryx Designer Desktop Pricing

      Alteryx Designer Desktop is available at a price of $5,195 USD.

    • Additional Fees for New Customers

      New customers are subject to a separate platform fee. Moreover, new customers are required to purchase a minimum of three users.

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    SAS Viya Cost

    SAS Viya is available for purchase on the Azure Marketplace. This allows for seamless integration with Azure's cloud services.

    Conclusion

    In comparing Alteryx and SAS Viya, it's evident that both platforms offer robust business intelligence capabilities tailored to diverse analytics needs.

    Alteryx provides an intuitive workflow for data blending and advanced analytics, while SAS Viya offers a comprehensive suite of tools for complex data analysis in a cloud-ready environment.

    Sourcetable, on the other hand, streamlines business intelligence by offering real-time data syncing across services in a user-friendly spreadsheet interface, positioning itself as a simplified alternative for data integration and analysis.



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