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Azure Data Factory vs SAS Data Integration Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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

Azure Data Factory
Ranking in Data Integration
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Warehouse (3rd)
SAS Data Integration Server
Ranking in Data Integration
37th
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 May 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of Azure Data Factory is 8.9%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Data Integration Server is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

Joy Maitra - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates seamless data pipeline creation with good analytics and and thorough monitoring
Azure Data Factory is a low code, no code platform, which is helpful. It provides many prebuilt functionalities that assist in building data pipelines. Also, it facilitates easy transformation with all required functionalities for analytics. Furthermore, it connects to different sources out-of-the-box, making integration much easier. The monitoring is very thorough, though a more readable version would be appreciable.
NN
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

"Data Factory itself is great. It's pretty straightforward. You can easily add sources, join and lookup information, etc. The ease of use is pretty good."
"It has built-in connectors for more than 100 sources and onboarding data from many different sources to the cloud environment."
"Data Flow and Databricks are going to be extremely valuable services, allowing data solutions to scale as the business grows and new data sources are added."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Data Factory is that it has a good combination of flexibility, fine-tuning, automation, and good monitoring."
"The data factory agent is quite good and programming or defining the value of jobs, processes, and activities is easy."
"I enjoy the ease of use for the backend JSON generator, the deployment solution, and the template management."
"I like its integration with SQL pools, its ability to work with Databricks, its pipelines, and the serverless architecture are the most effective features."
"Our stakeholders and clients have expressed satisfaction with Azure Data Factory's efficiency and cost-effectiveness."
"The solution offers very good data manipulation and loading."
"The solution is very stable."
"A key feature allows us to enhance job performance by offloading processing to the server side, rather than processing on the server itself."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its amazing capabilities in regard to data handling."
"A key feature allows us to enhance job performance by offloading processing to the server side, rather than processing on the server itself."
"A key feature allows us to enhance job performance by offloading processing to the server side, rather than processing on the server itself."
 

Cons

"Some known bugs and issues with Azure Data Factory could be rectified."
"Real-time replication is required, and this is not a simple task."
"For some of the data, there were some issues with data mapping. Some of the error messages were a little bit foggy. There could be more of a quick start guide or some inline examples. The documentation could be better."
"There's no Oracle connector if you want to do transformation using data flow activity, so Azure Data Factory needs more connectors for data flow transformation."
"Some of the optimization techniques are not scalable."
"Occasionally, there are problems within Microsoft itself that impacts the Data Factory and causes it to fail."
"The product's technical support has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."
"Sometimes I need to do some coding, and I'd like to avoid that. I'd like no-code integrations."
"The initial setup had issues, and even after using it for about one year, it was still not fixed."
"The initial setup had issues, and even after using it for about one year, it was still not fixed."
"The initial setup of SAS Data Integration Server was complex."
"So I would like to see improved integration with other software."
"One area for improvement is the installation process."
"The transform tool has limited access. They should make it more flexible."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Data Factory is expensive."
"It seems very low initially, but as the data grows, the solution’s bills grow exponentially."
"I would rate Data Factory's pricing nine out of ten."
"This is a cost-effective solution."
"For our use case, it is not expensive. We take into the picture everything: resources, learning curve, and maintenance."
"Our licensing fees are approximately 15,000 ($150 USD) per month."
"Product is priced at the market standard."
"The solution's fees are based on a pay-per-minute use plus the amount of data required to process."
"It is an expensive program."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How do you select the right cloud ETL tool?
AWS Glue and Azure Data factory for ELT best performance cloud services.
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...
How does Azure Data Factory compare with Informatica Cloud Data Integration?
Azure Data Factory is a solid product offering many transformation functions; It has pre-load and post-load transformations, allowing users to apply transformations either in code by using Power Q...
What do you like most about SAS Data Integration Server?
The most valuable feature of the solution is its amazing capabilities in regard to data handling.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAS Data Integration Server?
I don't handle the cost and budget part. From the tool's perspective, I can say that it is an amazing product.
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...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SAS Enterprise Data Integration Server, Enterprise Data Integration Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1. Adobe 2. BMW 3. Coca-Cola 4. General Electric 5. Johnson & Johnson 6. LinkedIn 7. Mastercard 8. Nestle 9. Pfizer 10. Samsung 11. Siemens 12. Toyota 13. Unilever 14. Verizon 15. Walmart 16. Accenture 17. American Express 18. AT&T 19. Bank of America 20. Cisco 21. Deloitte 22. ExxonMobil 23. Ford 24. General Motors 25. IBM 26. JPMorgan Chase 27. Microsoft (Azure Data Factory is developed by Microsoft) 28. Oracle 29. Procter & Gamble 30. Salesforce 31. Shell 32. Visa
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 Azure Data Factory vs. SAS Data Integration Server and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.