SAP Data Services vs SAP Information Steward comparison

SAP Data Services and SAP Information Steward are both solutions in the Data Quality category. SAP Data Services is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4, while SAP Information Steward is ranked #17. SAP Data Services holds a 4.1% mindshare in DQ, compared to SAP Information Steward’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of SAP Data Services users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of SAP Information Steward users who would recommend it.

SAP Data Services

Read 52 SAP Data Services reviews

5,743 Views
1,780 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

SAP Information Steward

Read 9 SAP Information Steward reviews

1,539 Views
1,031 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SAP Data Services

SAP Information Steward

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

SAP Data Services and SAP Information Steward are both competing in the data management and integration space. SAP Data Services takes the lead with its extensive data processing capabilities, robust integration with multiple systems, and advanced ETL features.

Features: SAP Data Services offers data migration, integration, and cleansing with ETL and SQL capabilities. It provides multi-user support, security via a central repository, and traceability with impact analysis and data lineage. Its integration with SAP and non-SAP systems enhances its versatility. SAP Information Steward focuses on data quality insights, profiling, and metadata management, including cleansing and financial impact analysis, with user-friendly scorecards and metapedia.

Room for Improvement: SAP Data Services needs better web service integration and error logging. Users encounter issues with complex matching transforms and scheduling, and improvements for dynamic sources are recommended. SAP Information Steward requires better integration with BI tools like Power BI, enhanced data manipulation features, and cloud support. Filtering bad data could be optimized, and deployment security simplified.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP Data Services supports various deployment options including on-premises and hybrid cloud, receiving moderate customer service reviews but needs more responsive support. SAP Information Steward predominantly offers on-premises deployment, and while customer service is satisfactory, technical support could improve.

Pricing and ROI: SAP Data Services is considered expensive, particularly for small businesses, yet it offers significant time-saving capabilities, presenting a good ROI. A shift towards a usage-based pricing model could be beneficial. SAP Information Steward is similarly priced, which may deter smaller entities, but it provides long-term benefits in data security and management. Although competitive pricing is an issue, its ROI aligns with its data quality features.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP Data Services vs. SAP Information Steward Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

SAP Data Services vs. SAP Information Steward

April 2026

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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

SAP Data Services

Ranking in Data Quality

3rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Integration (16th)

SAP Information Steward

Ranking in Data Quality

17th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Metadata Management (10th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Data Quality category, the mindshare of SAP Data Services is 4.1%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Information Steward is 3.0%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Quality Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SAP Data Services	4.1%
SAP Information Steward	3.0%
Other	92.9%

Data Quality

Featured Reviews

Ramesh Pampana

Manager, SAP Practice at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Has consistently provided impressive data handling capabilities and robust security features

Some of the most valuable features of SAP Data Services include data extraction where SAP is the best in that perspective, but when it comes to analytics or the reporting tool, I prefer to connect with Microsoft Power BI, which is a fantastic tool. Typically, from an end-user perspective, SAP has a huge amount of data, in terms of terabytes of data, but when you analyze that, the best form of visualization is always through Microsoft Power BI. SAP Data Services provides a best-in-class return on investment, as SAP's vision and forecast are absolutely amazing. They are ahead of technology, building an ecosystem that meets the standards of the fast-changing digital economy. SAP is indeed good at all this now, with so many components such as SAP Signavio, SAP EINS, SAP Work Zone, SAP ALM, Cloud ALM, SAP public cloud, SAP private cloud, and BTP, all of which are essential to meet the latest cutting-edge technologies.

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FranciscoSantos

Director at Pixel Studio PTY

Provides accurate data that is validated against a personalized reference tool

For most SAP customers, Information Steward is enough because it is able to build quality data rules to detect issues in the source systems like SAP HANA, Business Warehouse, or other systems. A business user can first organize their data into several data domains. For example, procurement, human resources, and logistics setup. The domains can build data quality dimensions where you can describe the kind of rule that you are going to use. The user then can immediately see if something is wrong with their data using traffic lights. Another great feature of SAP Information Steward is the accuracy that the content is followed by validating against the reference tool. With the solution, you are creating data quality dimensions. Within these dimensions, you are creating business data quality rules that are looking for specific fields. From these rules, you can create a scorecard. The scorecard will highlight the percentage of good data and ensure the user can feel confident that the data is accurate within predetermined limits. SAP tables have field names that are very cryptic, making them hard to understand the meaning of the fields. Metapedia helps describe these fields in business terms.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The technical support from SAP was quick and technically very clear."

"The HANA database, which is very fast, is a valuable feature."

"The most valuable feature is the user interface."

"The development is faster than SSIS or Talend."

"If they want to be on an equal level in the data analyst field, this is one of the finest tools."

"The feature of SAP Data Services has enhanced our company's business processes because we are able to run around 800 jobs in areas like data extraction and transaction objects."

"The initial setup is not complex."

"It helps our organization and our clients achieve its goals and objectives by having the right information at the right time and at the right people."

More SAP Data Services pros

"The data profiling was excellent, as was the ease of generating the dashboards."

"The most valuable features are data quality insight, metadata management, and metadata dictionary."

"Initial setup was straightforward."

"Setup is straightforward."

"The solution is very fast."

"I am very happy with the product."

"The product has improved company efficiency because we're able to categorize the need for user access at the folder level across storage enterprise wide."

"The solution is user-friendly even for those who are dealing with it for the first time."

More SAP Information Steward pros

Cons

"The solution should offer more machine learning and automation."

"Address validation in SAP Data Services is chargeable and should be made free."

"Development with web tool (today is with client tool)."

"An area that seems to need to be improved in this product is that it isn't completely ready to compete as it should in the market."

"It will work fine only in an SAP environment. It could be said that the integration with other vendors could be better."

"The technical support for this solution is not very good, they don't really care about assisting with issues."

"The pricing of the solution should be improved."

"The initial setup is complex. It takes time to get used to."

More SAP Data Services cons

"The user experience of metapedia could be improved."

"In some cases they have given extraneous or erroneous information, which is completely useless."

"Granularity could be reduced from an application level to the object level."

"A problem with the solution is that it does not allow us to review the results of Information Stewards for other analogies."

"The support team is not very responsive."

"A problem with the solution is that it does not allow us to review the results of Information Stewards for other analogies."

"SAP is a bit pricey, and better tools are available for a lower price."

"SAP Information Steward is an expensive solution compared to others."

More SAP Information Steward cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is very reasonable."

"I rate the product price as one or two on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

"Speaking about prices, Oracle and SAP are market leaders. So, the prices are more."

"It's relatively expensive compared to other vendors, but it is competitive."

"The license price is expensive but medium to large-scale companies, should be able to afford it. Other solutions, such as Talend are easier to afford for smaller companies. Depending on the sources of the data where you are receiving your data you could be paying for more than one license."

"Pricing is good, there is no problem."

"There is a one time purchase fee plus annual maintenance."

"Its pricing is as per the enterprise agreement and not a concern for us."

More SAP Data Services pricing and cost advice

"Smaller-sized organizations may not be able to invest in SAP Information Steward because of the cost."

"A bit pricey, and better tools are available for a lower price."

"SAP Information Steward is an expensive solution compared to others."

"I do not know if there were additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

19%

Government

16%

Healthcare Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	36

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

How do you evaluate the ratio of price to quality for SAP Data Services?

I believe the license for the product is fair, even though some competitors offer similar services at lower prices. The difference between the Edge edition and the next one up is significant in pr...

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Would you recommend SAP Data Services to complete beginners?

I think after some preparation, a beginner will be able to use SAP Data Services, however, if you are completely unprepared, you may have some issues. I think that in particular you will need a mo...

See all answers

How has SAP Data Services helped your organization?

SAP Data Services has helped our whole staff understand the data across various sources and systems within the company. Not everyone who works at my organization is an IT expert - most just have av...

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Comparisons

Syniti Data Quality vs SAP Data Services

Compared 5% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs SAP Data Services

Compared 4% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs SAP Data Services

Compared 4% of the time

SSIS vs SAP Data Services

Compared 4% of the time

Qlik Talend Cloud vs SAP Data Services

Compared 4% of the time

More SAP Data Services Competitors

SAP PowerDesigner vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 12% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 11% of the time

Oracle Enterprise Data Quality (EDQ) vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 9% of the time

Syniti Information Management vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 7% of the time

Syniti Data Quality vs SAP Information Steward

Compared 5% of the time

More SAP Information Steward Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SAP Data Services

April 2026

Download SAP Data Services product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Information Steward

April 2026

Download SAP Information Steward product report

Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects Data Services, SAP BusinessObjects Data Integrator, BusinessObjects Data Integrator

Information Steward, SAP Data Insight

Overview

SAP Data Services is a comprehensive data integration and management tool known for its robust ETL functionality and seamless data quality management across SAP and non-SAP systems, providing flexibility and effective data handling.

SAP Data Services offers extensive integration capabilities with a range of systems, enabling efficient data migration, warehousing, and quality assurance. Despite challenges in connectivity, SQL optimization, and handling big data, it remains a top choice for data extraction and transformation. Its user-friendly interface and customization options enhance ease of use. The tool is recognized for scalability, performance, customer satisfaction, and supporting complex data transformations for improved analytics.

What are the key features of SAP Data Services?

Integration Capabilities: Facilitates seamless data handling between SAP and non-SAP systems.
Robust ETL Functionality: Enables effective extraction, transformation, and loading of data.
Seamless Data Quality Management: Maintains high standards of data integrity and quality.
Heterogeneous Data Processing: Supports diverse data environments for flexibility.
Powerful Data Transformation: Enhances reporting and analytics through complex transformations.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Scalability: Grows with business needs without compromising performance.
Performance: Efficient data processing and management for increased productivity.
Customer Satisfaction: High satisfaction levels due to reliability and performance.
Flexibility: Extensive customization options to suit diverse requirements.
Improved Analytics: Supports rich analytics through comprehensive data integration and transformation.

SAP Data Services is widely implemented across industries like banking, telecom, and manufacturing. Companies leverage it to integrate multiple data sources and manage migrations from legacy to modern platforms such as cloud environments and HANA architecture. It supports complex transformations essential for financial, operational, and business intelligence reporting, enhancing insights and decision-making.

SAP

SAP Information Steward offers data quality insights, metadata management, and data validation scorecards, ensuring accurate data validation through scorecards and dashboards, making it user-friendly and efficient for businesses seeking clarity and effective data profiling.

SAP Information Steward provides a comprehensive approach to managing data quality and governance. It is designed to simplify deployment and streamline data profiling and cleansing with ease. Businesses leverage its capabilities to create data quality rules and detect issues in source systems, enhancing business clarity and accurate data validation. Centralizing cloud data and offering business-friendly metadata descriptions with Metapedia, it supports better metadata management and data profiling. However, it requires improvements in data export capabilities, integration for data manipulation, data filtering features, and enhanced support responsiveness.

What are the key features of SAP Information Steward?

Data Quality Insight: Provides tools for insightful data quality assessments.
Metadata Management: Allows centralized management of metadata through Metapedia.
Scorecard for Data Validation: Offers intuitive scorecards and dashboards for validating data accuracy.
Data Profiling and Cleansing: Facilitates effective profiling and cleansing processes.
Cloud Data Centralization: Centralizes cloud data for effective management.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Ease of Deployment: Simplifies the integration into existing systems ensuring swift usage.
User-friendly Interface: Enhances usability for efficient operations.
Accurate Data Validation: Improves the accuracy of business data.
Comprehensive Metadata Descriptions: Offers detailed business-friendly descriptions.
Integrated Data Profiling: Enhances the quality and accuracy of data management.

Industries implement SAP Information Steward widely, notably in global enterprises for S/4HANA business processes and historical reporting, prioritizing data profiling, data quality assessments, and business rules for managing customer information and transformations. Its Metapedia component supports data governance initiatives within these businesses.

SAP

Sample Customers

EMC Corporation, LivePerson, Eldorado, Mozzart, The VELUX Group, AOK Bundesverband, Hilti Group, Nissha Printing Company Ltd., Asian Paints, Aareal Bank Group, Migros Group

American Water, Graphic Packaging International, OSRAM Licht AG, Maxim Integrated

Buyer's Guide

SAP Data Services vs. SAP Information Steward

April 2026

Free Report: SAP Data Services vs. SAP Information Steward

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