IBM SPSS Statistics Reviews

I do use IBM SPSS Statistics, and even my students are using it for their projects and reports while working on PhD or Master's degrees. They are analyzing data using it.

In comparison with other software, I found IBM SPSS Statistics to be the best one from my perspective. It has some features, and especially the current version starts to add artificial intelligence techniques and facilitates the analysis. Every new version has new additions for some functions. I use it for whatever analysis is needed, not just a specific one. I use both IBM SPSS Statistics and IBM SPSS Modeler.

Predictive analytics is the most important part of analytics. There are four levels of analytics, starting with descriptive, then diagnostic, then predictive, and after that, there is prescriptive. Predictive is the main core of using statistical packages. Especially now in IBM SPSS Statistics, we start to have neural networks, support vector machines, classification trees, regression techniques, and generalized linear regression. This is the most important predictive analytics. Predictive analytics has four types: the statistical techniques, which is mainly regression; classification trees; neural or artificial intelligence techniques; plus the time series technique.

Syntax is very important, especially as it is now related to the Python language. This is important to use the syntax, especially if you have replication for the process of analysis. The syntax will be important in this case, whether for updating data or for future data. We use the syntax file.

The only function I may need to be added or hope to be added to IBM SPSS Statistics is how to treat unstructured data. This mainly exists with IBM SPSS Modeler, but I do not think it is able to treat something like videos and similar content unless you are using languages like Python inside IBM SPSS Modeler or inside IBM SPSS Statistics. For the menu itself, for the selection, it does not exist. Thinking of the future, I believe that the owners of IBM SPSS Statistics should think about improving the package itself to be able to treat unstructured data.

I started with version 6, so it is now version 30 or more. This was from the 1990s, maybe 1994. That is like 30 years.

In comparison with other software, I found IBM SPSS Statistics to be the best one from my perspective.

There is a package now called JASP that is trying to imitate IBM SPSS Statistics. It has an advantage of being open source or free. This will give competition with IBM SPSS Statistics. I did not try it with huge data. However, I used IBM SPSS Modeler for more than or almost 8 million records. With students now, we can use JASP as it is a free package and it is imitating IBM SPSS Statistics by using the measurement levels: nominal, ordinal, and scale. It is clearer for using this rather than other software, as they are not classifying the measurement level this way.

Data is now transferred from structured data to semi-structured data to unstructured data. IBM SPSS Statistics is mostly working with structured data. However, if you are having unstructured data, IBM SPSS Statistics is not able up to now to work with it. Here we have to use IBM SPSS Modeler as it is able to work with different kinds of data. However, I think for the future, these two packages need to improve or to give the ability to use unstructured data. This is the future of data now. You are now working with social data, such as Facebook and YouTube and similar platforms. This kind of data needs special treatment, which is not included in IBM SPSS Statistics as it uses only structured data.

IBM SPSS Statistics is working well with structured data like regular data from Excel and similar sources. However, when you start to use unstructured data or something such as videos and sound, in this case, you will be in need for a tool that is not able to be used with IBM SPSS Statistics. I would rate this review as an 8.

My main use case for IBM SPSS Statistics involves data cleaning and tabulation. I also use it sometimes for data validation.

I use IBM SPSS Statistics to perform correlations, check data, remove respondents, and create client files.

One of the best features IBM SPSS Statistics offers is that despite being somewhat slow, it can handle large data sets. Once I have access to it, it makes my work on data sets significantly easier.

IBM SPSS Statistics provides excellent data visualization features that other tools do not have. It makes it easier to see how data is being collected or how data is being rotated, and you can download it in other formats very easily. Other tools such as Quantum or Daisy do not allow this functionality, or when you download the data, it becomes disorganized. IBM SPSS Statistics allows downloading and using data easily.

In newer versions of IBM SPSS Statistics, the ability to save data in different file types makes the data easier to work on.

IBM SPSS Statistics has impacted my organization positively as it is used daily, particularly for cleaning, merging, or stacking data. Whenever we use it, it takes a longer time to run, and sometimes we have to use a higher-end machine. The software handles data properly, so we do not have to worry about data mismatches or duplicates because IBM SPSS Statistics automatically handles these issues. We can share data very easily via email, ensuring others do not face issues when opening IBM SPSS Statistics.

One of the main outcomes of using IBM SPSS Statistics in my organization is that it has very easy coding. The coding is simple and straightforward, making it an uncomplicated job to teach someone new who has experience with different software packages such as WinCross, Quantum, or Harmony. We have a template for everything, which makes changing things quickly possible. IBM SPSS Statistics is secure, and the fact that only licensed users can access it is beneficial. We do not have to worry much about security issues.

One of the frustrations I have with IBM SPSS Statistics is the licensing, which is more of a company issue because we have limited licenses and have to ask someone to get off IBM SPSS Statistics so we can use it. Another issue is that it does not handle very large data sets well. When there are 100,000 respondents, it does not manage effectively and crashes more often when the data set becomes very large or while merging yearly waves such as 2018, 2019, 2020 to 2026. It does not handle merging effectively and automatically cancels the data set, even if it was running for a whole day, ultimately indicating it cannot handle the data set merging.

Regarding the user interface of IBM SPSS Statistics, I do not have much concern with it because it is not loaded with options, which makes it easy to navigate. However, it appears to have been designed in the 1990s or 2000s, so improving it could be beneficial. Currently, it works adequately.

I have been using IBM SPSS Statistics for more than four years throughout my entire career.

I have not worked with the AI capabilities of IBM SPSS Statistics yet, but once I do, I will share my thoughts on its accuracy and reliability of output.

IBM SPSS Statistics is deployed in my organization on-premises, where IBM SPSS Statistics is installed on our systems. We connect through the main network to access IBM SPSS Statistics.

I would advise others looking into using IBM SPSS Statistics not to worry much about it. When working on it, try to test it first. Whenever I work on IBM SPSS Statistics, I first create a dummy example and work on it to ensure that the syntax I will write for the main project does not affect the data set at all.

IBM SPSS Statistics is a very easy tool to use, and anyone can use it once they have guidance. I rate this product an eight out of ten.

Our customers' main use cases for this solution are everything that needs statistics calculations, then we do it there.

I use the Custom Tables module in IBM SPSS Statistics.

The government office of education is one of my customers for IBM SPSS Statistics, but basically, every enterprise in the country almost uses IBM SPSS Statistics.

Regarding the ability to handle large data sets, the tool has that ability, as we are using very large data sets.

I'm not using the reporting feature of IBM SPSS Statistics; I'm using Cognos on IBM SPSS Statistics data to build the reports.

There are so many features of the tool that are the most useful, such as decision trees, which we can't live without.

Decision trees help by making all of our decisions in the company, such as deciding whether to go on a specific technology or to try and sell different products. Every decision we make we do with the decision trees.

Custom Tables helps to enhance data analysis capabilities by basically recreating all the tables that you have from your current data; it's replacing a semantic layer for BI, so the same thing for IBM SPSS Statistics. It's designing the metadata.

The biggest benefit of the IBM SPSS Statistics tool for my customers and me is that it's very old, meaning they have more experience. When the tool was first released, we had customer service that created surveys with the customers asking which way they wanted to go, what they would see within the tool, and what would be helpful. IBM basically created the tool according to this knowledge. It's very suitable, and they're very experienced, so there are no bugs, it's working great, and it's even implemented in every school here that teaches statistics.

It provides efficient and accurate analytics, with quantifiable metrics.

I have faced some challenges with IBM SPSS Statistics; you need to know what you're doing because it's not very user-friendly. It's not something a person can come and intuitively work with.

The basic knowledge takes about a week to learn how to use the tool, but if you want to dive deeper, then it takes longer.

To make IBM SPSS Statistics better for the future, I think just the interface needs improvement, as the engine on the back is amazing.

I've been working with IBM SPSS Statistics for two to three decades now.

It's very stable. When I sell the licenses, I'm also providing support, and this is one of the few tools that customers never have issues with.

Regarding scalability, it's easy to scale the solution as you can always add more.

I've had a chance to work with the IBM support, and my impression is that it's fine; it's similar to all other vendors. I'm business partners with other vendors, but it's not the best support I've ever had.

If I were to rate the support from one to ten, I would give it a seven.

To achieve a ten for support, I think they should improve the levels of support; the first level of support is where technical knowledge is not sufficient, and the ticket must go through first level, then second level, then third level.

It is easy to set up the solution; just click through the installation process.

If I were to rate the setup from one to ten, I would give it a nine, meaning it's very easy.

They see value for their money, meaning a return on investment with this tool.

They see the value in that it saves time when using the decision tree, as it helps you get the right decision and saves a lot of money.

I think the price of the solution is very reasonable.

The cost depends; you have the option for subscription or you can purchase the license. Most of our customers are paying every year for a type of subscription, a yearly subscription.

I have evaluated other solutions as well of the same category from different vendors, but it was a while ago.

I recommend to those who plan to use IBM SPSS Statistics to use it because it's a really good tool.

I would recommend using it because it's very good, and I really have no issues with it, especially compared to other tools.

On a scale of one to ten, I rate IBM SPSS Statistics a nine.

I used SPSS mainly for tasks such as cross tabs, correlation, regression, and chi-squared tests, which are commonly seen in published papers. I also utilized it for my published papers a long while ago, but nowadays I tend to use Knime. It helps me to ensure good quality data.

It is quick and easy to use. However, it rather distances you from your data. So, although it is fully featured on the statistical front, it is less useful for machine learnong, where Knime has the edge.

SPSS is perfectly adequate if all you want are some results. If you only need the results, you do not require the trail of evidence on how you obtained those results. I mainly used it for cross tabs, correlation, regression, chi-squared tests, and similar analyses often seen in published papers; I used it for my papers as well. For wider uses I find Knime keeps me in touch with my data, however much I transform them.

Better guidance both in producing programs and interpreting their output.

I have been using SPSS for about 40 years or more, since the first month it was released. For Knime, about 4 years.

I cannot recall any significant stability issues. SPSS has usually been pretty reliable over the years.

Outstandimg, although it is rarely needed. I have had to pose only 2 queries, both were answered within 24 hours. Both worked.

Positive

Recently, I have moved away from SPSS and started using KNIME since it is particularly easier for students. It is also better for data munging.

I did not have to perform the initial setup as it was handled by the university's tech people. There was no problem for me during the setup. Similarly for Knime, which has very strong support, education, lots of pre-built modules available as drag-and-drop, videos, an active Consultation Hub and many extensions which are simple to install and which just seem to work.

In house.

Not calculated.

SPSS is horrendously expensiver. On a laptop Knime is free of charge (Windows, Mac, Linux)

I am currently learning to use R with a front end called RStudio, which is widely used by scientists. For beginners, KNIME is easier. This is based on my participation in a webinar by UK data service on R programming language.

I suspect that SPSS is used by many in universities or other organizations with budgets for it. In that context it is often free of charge to end users, with costs covered by the organization, not the individual researcher. This represents a significant financial saving for researchers. After thery graduate, it is different.

I have not been involved in purchasing it for a long time since it is provided by the university where I work. 

On an SPSS functionality scale I'd rate the solution six out of ten.

I have used IBM SPSS Statistics primarily for survey analysis. It did what was necessary, including crosstabs, correlation, regression, chi-squared, and similar analyses that you see in published papers. These are the types of analyses I have used it for in my research.

Using IBM SPSS Statistics allowed me to conduct necessary survey analyses for research, including cross-tabs, correlation, regression, and chi-squared analyses, which are often utilized in published papers.

IBM SPSS Statistics is good for obtaining necessary results like cross tabs, correlation, regression, and chi-squared analyses. It is perfectly adequate if all you need are the results and not the trail of evidence.

IBM SPSS Statistics does not keep you close to your data like KNIME. In KNIME, at every stage, you can see the resulting file and annotate your trail of evidence. It takes you further from your data than KNIME does.

I have used IBM SPSS Statistics for several decades, over 40 years or more.

IBM SPSS Statistics has been pretty reliable for many years.

IBM SPSS Statistics is widely used in universities or organizations with a budget for it, so scalability issues are more about financial constraints than technical ones.

Recently, I have moved away from IBM SPSS Statistics and have been using KNIME instead. It's easier, particularly for students. I've been using R alongside KNIME as well.

I did not have to do the initial setup for IBM SPSS Statistics since it was managed by the university.

The university's tech team handled the implementation and setup for IBM SPSS Statistics.

The cost of IBM SPSS Statistics is managed by organizations, not individual researchers. It is a very expensive product, despite being good.

Besides IBM SPSS Statistics, I have used KNIME and recently started using R, which is free of charge and more powerful but cumbersome. RStudio is its front end, making it useful to scientists.

While IBM SPSS Statistics is a good product, it is very expensive and might be a better fit for those with a sufficient budget. KNIME provides a desktop version free of charge, which helps users get started.

We use it for data management and analysis.

The team can simultaneously calculate multiple datasets efficiently through the user-friendly interface of IBM SPSS Statistics. By avoiding legacy scales for container data collection, they can harness its capabilities for streamlined data analysis using SPSS. As a faculty member, I appreciate how IBM SPSS optimizes my resource allocation, making it one of the best investments in terms of time and money for conducting research.

The most valuable features mainly include factor analysis, correlation analysis, and demographic analysis. I find the user interface to be intuitive and improved compared to earlier versions. IBM periodically updates their products, which enhances their usability and performance. Smoothness is crucial for researchers when using software, and in this regard, IBM SPSS is highly recommended.

I believe that offering short-term SPSS licenses, perhaps when customer sourcing is available, could make it more affordable. These licenses shouldn't include features tailored for universities or large sales organizations. Instead, they could offer discounts or additional facilities for smaller entities to access the software. In developing countries, it would be beneficial to provide certain features to users at no cost initially, while also customizing pricing options. For example, offering basic features to the first hundred users can help them become familiar with the software and its capabilities. This approach encourages users to upgrade to higher tiers as they become more experienced and require additional functionality.

I have been working with it for over ten years.

It provides good stability.

While it is scalable, there is room for further enhancement.

I didn't require any support from them so far. But, I've heard from others that their service is excellent.

Positive

In the past, I utilized SmartPLS. IBM is a renowned software company known for continuously developing and updating its products. In comparison to other software options, IBM stands out as a reliable solution. IBM's commitment to product development ensures that its offerings meet the evolving needs of users.

The initial setup was straightforward.

Deployment is swift and straightforward, typically taking only a few minutes. Maintenance is hassle-free and not burdensome.

In terms of return on investment, both time and money are crucial for success. Collecting and analyzing data, preparing reports, and making decisions based on that data all require significant resources. Therefore, efficient data collection and analysis are essential. IBM software helps me streamline this process, saving time and money compared to other platforms due to its user-friendly interface and smooth performance.

While the pricing of the product may be higher, the accompanying service and features justify the investment. However, to address pricing concerns, I suggest customizing pricing options for developing countries. For instance, students and educators in these regions may struggle to afford full-priced licenses. Our license is on an annual basis.

I believe it's suitable for anyone to confidently use for research purposes, given its wide range of capabilities. Overall, I highly recommend it due to its user-friendly interface, making it accessible to all. Overall, I would rate it ten out of ten.

I use it to analyze questionnaire surveys related to a product, solution, or application, such as open data services, which I provide to consumers and end-users. These surveys contain evaluation assessments, and I use SPSS to analyze the responses.

The most valuable feature is its robust statistical analysis capabilities.

Improvements are needed in the user interface, particularly in terms of user-friendliness. Implementing features like drag-and-drop functionality would enhance the overall experience. Enhancing the ability to generate output files after analyzing data, and having the option to create output documents in formats like Word would be highly beneficial.

I have been working with it for one year now.

It provides robust stability capabilities. I would rate it ten out of ten.

It offers exceptional scalability abilities. I would rate it ten out of ten.

I used traditional tools where I would prepare data, click through menus, and use SQL Server for data visualization. We switched to IBM SPSS because it offers strong certification and aligns well with the standards we prioritize in our surveys. In terms of popularity, it stands out as the top choice in the market, especially in the research and university domains. Many different organizations and institutions use SPSS for statistical analytics. While there are other tools like MCLab and similar options available, SPSS is the most renowned and widely used among them.

The initial setup was straightforward.

The deployment process lasted about three days. I thoroughly explored the system and learned how to use the tool efficiently, covering various aspects of analytics. After gathering data from external sources, I loaded this data into SPSS. The next steps involved creating variables, which included assigning values to variables based on the survey responses. For instance, I utilized a rating scale from one to five, where five indicated "Strongly Agree" and one represented "Strongly Disagree." This required adding descriptions to these variables. Once the data was prepared, I proceeded with the analytics. Initially, I examined the survey's scalability to determine if it was consistent and afterward, I conducted analyses such as cross-tabulations and various measurements like standard deviation. These analyses aimed to uncover relationships between the survey questions and demographic data, helping identify patterns and trends among different demographics. The last phase in the process involved taking the analysis results and seamlessly integrating them into Word or PowerPoint documents.

There is a physical return on investment (ROI) involved in this process. It includes conducting assessments, catering to end-users needs, and fulfilling specific requirements requested by government organizations, universities, and various entities. SPSS is employed to generate routine reports, which could be on a monthly or quarterly basis. By using SPSS for this purpose, there is no need to contract with external companies to produce these reports. This results in a significant ROI, estimated at around 50 percent.

It is an outstanding solution, and I highly endorse it. I would rate it ten out of ten.

One feature I found very valuable was the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Also, when it comes to result presentation, being able to present your results in graphs is important. Additionally, when discussing hypotheses and calculating probabilities, it's helpful to make a note of any significant differences in your tests. This information can improve your business processes for that team.

The same goes for full ANOVA and multiple ANOVA. Those are the features that I found very useful, especially when it comes to presenting demographic information.

I feel that when it comes to conducting multiple analyses, there could be more detailed information provided. Currently, the software gives a summary and an overview, but it would be beneficial to have specific details for each product or variable. For example, if we're comparing different flavors of ice cream like strawberry, milk, and chocolate, instead of just providing comparisons, they could offer a more detailed analysis for each flavor.

Additionally, in terms of graphical presentation, there is room for more innovation. It would be great if the software could provide more creative and visually appealing options, similar to tools like Tableau. Instead of just simple black and white bar or line charts, there could be more options to enhance the visual representation of data.

Overall, these improvements would allow for more in-depth business process reengineering and enhance the overall user experience.

I have been using SPSS since September last year. So, it's been a couple of months.

In terms of performance, if we compare it to other business solutions, it's fair. On its own, the performance is not bad. It's easy to analyze and understand. I would rate the performance at around seven out of ten.

In terms of scalability, I would rate it around eight out of ten. It provides a good capacity because it directs you to the main points you need to focus on without having to search around. The functionality is capable, and it helps in business development and making informed decisions.

During my master's degree, everyone in the business intelligence department used SPSS Statistics, and also in my previous work, it was mainly the technical business analyst team and probably around ten people in the strategy department. So, it's between five and ten users in my experience.

The initial setup was not hard. It's not hard to install the solution. By following the installation instructions, you can easily install it on your system. I would rate it an eight, where ten is the easiest. The whole deployment process took around 40 minutes. 

In my experience with SPSS, I have worked with both straightforward and complex setups. The complexity depends on the analysis you're conducting.

Another solution we used for business intelligence is the Arena tool. However, I find it quite different from IBM SPSS Statistics. It's more like running a model, listing and analyzing the data, especially when it comes to statistics or features from different sources.

My advice would be to be open-minded and have critical thinking skills. One thing with SPSS is that the analysis itself is easy to use by following instructions and manuals. But once you have the results, you should be able to think outside the program and critically analyze what needs to be done to improve business processes. It's not just about using the tool; it's about understanding how to interpret and apply the results to your organization. So, I would advise anyone using IBM SPSS to be open-minded and think expansively about how to apply the insights gained from the analysis.

Overall, I would rate the solution a six out of ten. The reason for giving it a six is because I feel like it provides a general overview of what is happening and where to look. However, if you want to go into the details and access the actual root cause of the bottleneck, you would need some additional products. 

So, I believe that in order to obtain more comprehensive results, it depends on the type of issues you are dealing with. Some issues may require the general knowledge that IBM SPSS provides to help you solve the problem, while sometimes, it may require additional tools for in-depth analysis. But because it establishes a foundation for analyzing business processes, it does have some basic importance. So, I'm giving it a six overall.

We use the product to conduct multiple and diverse statistical analyses across various datasets.

The software offers consistency across multiple research projects helping us with predictive analytics capabilities.

The product’s most valuable capability is to handle large datasets and ensure robust analysis simultaneously. We can write, save, and reuse the scripts for further procedures. We do not have to run the program file again on the different datasets.

In some cases, the product takes time to load a large dataset. They could improve this particular area.

We have been using IBM SPSS Statistics for nine years. At present, we use the latest version.

It is a stable platform. We only encounter issues while working on a computer with low RAM. Otherwise, it works perfectly fine.

We have more than 100 IBM SPSS Statistics end users including the data processing team in our organization.

IBM SPSS’s website provides multiple documentation for technical support and guidance. It is easy for new users to learn because of user-friendly designs consisting of drop-down menus. The users can select if they want to run a statistical analysis or hypothesis testing easily. Additionally, we can write the script using the programming language.

The initial setup is easy. We download wizard installation through IBM’s website to conduct the process.

It requires some training or following a few tutorials on YouTube to understand the product functionality. If you are already interested in learning new languages, it offers more versatility and comprehensive data analysis.

It is an expensive tool. For individual users, especially non-students, there might not be a free option available. It has a subscription-based model without an option for one-stop payment. Certain areas need some guidance and learning for users to understand the functionality. However, it is a great tool in terms of versatility and types of analysis.

I rate it an eight out of ten.

I use IBM SPSS Statistics for business and management data. We also use it to analyze the questionnaires of cross-sectional studies. 

IBM SPSS Statistics depends on AI. 

The solution needs to improve forecasting using time series analysis. 

I have been using the solution for 30 years. 

I rate IBM SPSS Statistics' stability a ten out of ten. 

I rate the tool's scalability an eight or nine out of ten. 

The tool's deployment is not hard. 

I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten. 

I rate the solution a nine out of ten.