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SAP Data Services vs SAP Information Steward comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

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
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (10th)
SAP Information Steward
Ranking in Data Quality
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Metadata Management (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Data Quality category, the mindshare of SAP Data Services is 4.9%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Information Steward is 2.8%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Quality Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP Data Services4.9%
SAP Information Steward2.8%
Other92.3%
Data Quality
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2686500 - PeerSpot reviewer
SAP BI Architect at a government with 10,001+ employees
Integration has become more robust and seamless
SAP Data Services is mainly used for extraction of data, and it works with all databases. The flows and everything are configured effectively. One of the most valuable features is that it is integrated. Compared to the past, it is much more robust and easier to use. The only issue is that documentation is not up to the mark. The data quality management features support our business because we can fetch anything based on the requirements. Before, we used to have a tough time getting data, but now, with HANA and all these tools, it is seamless.
FranciscoSantos - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the ETL functionality."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the scheduling part."
"The solution has good connectivity with SAP."
"It's easy to understand and deploy. It's easy to create new applications, and depending on the complexity of the application, it is easy to deploy the new requirements."
"The solution is easy to use since it's a graphical tool. It also requires only low-level coding."
"The most valuable feature of SAP Data Services is the integration with data sources."
"The initial setup is not complex."
"The API tool in this product is very valuable; it is very easy to onboard and use."
"Ability to collect information, monitor user access and to plan storage capacity."
"The scorecard will highlight the percentage of good data and ensure the user can feel confident that the data is accurate within predetermined limits."
"The data profiling was excellent, as was the ease of generating the dashboards."
"The solution is very fast."
"Initial setup was straightforward."
"The most valuable features are data quality insight, metadata management, and metadata dictionary."
"The Data Cleansing and the scorecard dashboard are very valuable. Additionally, the financial aspect of SAP Information Steward is very good. When a rule is incorrect then it will show how much is it costing the business. These features are very valuable."
"Data insight is the most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"The solution shows a lack of cloud support data services."
"We would like the different tools offered within this solution to be available as standalone entities, rather than having to purchase the entire package when we only require a few features."
"Some of the jobs that are built within Data Services require local files, and during initial deployment, those local files cannot be transported between machines simply because of security issues."
"The migration of the solution between different environments is quite complex."
"Source code control is another headache. When your source code base gets too large, managing the source code becomes cumbersome."
"At the integration level, there could be certain set of improvement to connect to various other systems."
"SAP Data Services should be made a web-based solution."
"The description of error messages isn't extensive, although they point to the problem. With other solutions, like Talend, I was able to use the debugger to get directly to the problem, but with SAP Data Services the debugger is not working. I'm not sure if it's a problem with the version specifically, but I'm using it in an enterprise environment and I can't do an upgrade."
"The support team is not very responsive."
"Granularity could be reduced from an application level to the object level."
"SAP Information Steward could be improved by offering a cloud version of the product."
"A problem with the solution is that it does not allow us to review the results of Information Stewards for other analogies."
"Performance could be improved."
"We'd like to see some manipulation techniques included in SAP Information Steward."
"The user experience of metapedia could be improved."
"Needs to be more powerful on rules."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a one time purchase fee plus annual maintenance."
"The product’s on-premise version is expensive for a medium-sized company."
"The price is very reasonable."
"Speaking about prices, Oracle and SAP are market leaders. So, the prices are more."
"At the entry level, if you're using it only for data integration, it is a little bit cheap. However, for large organizations it can be expensive. There are additional costs apart from the license."
"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."
"The pricing is a little high to make the product more competetive in the marketplace."
"The enterprise version of SAP Data Services is free."
"I do not know if there were additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."
"SAP Information Steward is an expensive solution compared to others."
"A bit pricey, and better tools are available for a lower price."
"Smaller-sized organizations may not be able to invest in SAP Information Steward because of the cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
21%
Government
18%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise7
 

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...
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...
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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Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects Data Services, SAP BusinessObjects Data Integrator, BusinessObjects Data Integrator
Information Steward, SAP Data Insight
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Data Services vs. SAP Information Steward and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.