No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

SAS Data Integration Server vs SSIS 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

SAS Data Integration Server
Ranking in Data Integration
41st
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SSIS
Ranking in Data Integration
2nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of SAS Data Integration Server is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SSIS is 3.7%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Integration Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SSIS3.7%
SAS Data Integration Server0.9%
Other95.4%
Data Integration
 

Featured Reviews

NN
Works at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
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.
Chris Farris - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Data Operations at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
User-friendly interface facilitates efficient data migration and reduces operational overhead
Its usability and ease of use are standout features. It is really easy to use - almost too easy at times. Users don't have to be experts to use their tool set and utilize the clicking mechanisms, drop down boxes, and other features to build a package and run it. The configuration is very easy and the system is very stable. I would rate it at a 10 as it is highly reliable; we have never had any problems with it. Very little maintenance is required on my side. While you need to keep the product up to date, the maintenance requirements are minimal. SSIS integrates with all Microsoft tools seamlessly. We have used it against Oracle, DB2 and SQL. It integrates and can move data around from any data platforms, making it very diverse in that standpoint. It is a very robust tool that can work with many data sources, and its main strength is that it is extremely easy to use.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution offers very good data manipulation and loading."
"The solution is very stable."
"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."
"The setup is easy to use and understand."
"The setup was easy. All Microsoft products are easy to set up."
"Like most Microsoft products, SSIS is user-friendly and easy to use."
"The most important features are it works well and provides self-service BI."
"The return on investment has been very high; the tool has made us tremendously more efficient and saved us a significant amount of money, though I cannot put an exact figure on it."
"SSIS is an easy way to do data integration from various data sources; it doesn't matter whether it's a database, flat files, XML, or Web API, it can talk to them and join them all together."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is performance."
"It's something I needed for bulk imports. I'm not a big fan of it, but I haven't seen anything better."
 

Cons

"So I would like to see improved integration with other software."
"Something that could improve is writing SQL to integration studio because it is not that straightforward. There should be better integration with other software."
"The transform tool has limited access. They should make it more flexible."
"The initial setup of SAS Data Integration Server was complex."
"One area for improvement is the installation process."
"The initial setup had issues, and even after using it for about one year, it was still not fixed."
"When I compare Talend and SSIS, Talend provides more features."
"Scalability not on the same level as with IBM Datastage."
"There is connectivity with other databases, however, this is the most significant issue that has to be addressed."
"There were some issues when we tried to connect it to data storage. It was a connection issue."
"Upgrading is usually painful and time consuming despite what MS says"
"It is an easy solution but needs some improvement. The creation of the measure in the DAC's model could be improved."
"SSIS is cumbersome despite its drag-and-drop functionality. For example, let's say I have 50 tables with 30 columns. You need to set a data type for each column and table. That's around 1,500 objects. It gets unwieldy adding validation for every column. Previously, SSIS automatically detected the data type, but I think they removed this feature. It would automatically detect if it's an integer, primary key, or foreign key column. You had fewer problems building the model."
"I haven't found too many successful scaling options and that's something that could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive program."
"All of my clients have this product included as part of their Microsoft license."
"If you don't want to pay a lot of money, you can go for SSIS, as its open-source version is available. When it comes to licensing, SSIS can be expensive."
"It comes bundled with other solutions, which makes it difficult to get the price on the specific product."
"It would be beneficial if the solution had a less costly cloud offering."
"We purchased the standard edition of SQL Server and SSIS came with it free of charge."
"This solution has provided an inexpensive tool, and it is easy to find experienced developers."
"Based on my experience and understanding, Talend comes out to be a little bit expensive as compared to SSIS. The average cost of having Talend with Talend Management Console is around 72K per region, which is much higher than SSIS. SSIS works very well with Microsoft technologies, and if you have Microsoft technologies, it is not really expensive to have SSIS. If you have SQL Server, SSIS is free."
"Depending on the arrangement that a certain company has with Microsoft, it may supply the permanent license that is included in the SQL server license, or it may be a time-bound license if it is a partner license or other enterprise license."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Integration solutions are best for your needs.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user90069 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 20, 2014
Informatica PowerCenter vs. Microsoft SSIS - each technology has its advantages but also have similarities
Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
24%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
8%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise58
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your primary use case for SAS Data Integration Server?
I am involved in the ETR job. My role is focused on executing the ETR job.
What advice do you have for others considering SAS Data Integration Server?
I use it without further details. For example, if I use SAS to connect to a NetEazt database or purchase a shared asset to ODBC, I can connect to any database with ODBC connection support. The over...
Which is better - SSIS or Informatica PowerCenter?
SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free compo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SSIS?
Pricing is pretty reasonable, so I would rate it at a 5. However, it could be a bit cheaper.
What needs improvement with SSIS?
SSIS could be integrated with more services, such as Power BI, to make the reporting structures more user-friendly. The initial setup for SSIS is somewhat complex in the beginning, but once you und...
 

Also Known As

SAS Enterprise Data Integration Server, Enterprise Data Integration Server
SQL Server Integration Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
1. Amazon.com 2. Bank of America 3. Capital One 4. Coca-Cola 5. Dell 6. E*TRADE 7. FedEx 8. Ford Motor Company 9. Google 10. Home Depot 11. IBM 12. Intel 13. JPMorgan Chase 14. Kraft Foods 15. Lockheed Martin 16. McDonald's 17. Microsoft 18. Morgan Stanley 19. Nike 20. Oracle 21. PepsiCo 22. Procter & Gamble 23. Prudential Financial 24. RBC Capital Markets 25. SAP 26. Siemens 27. Sony 28. Toyota 29. UnitedHealth Group 30. Visa 31. Walmart 32. Wells Fargo
Find out what your peers are saying about SAS Data Integration Server vs. SSIS and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.