SAP Data Services Reviews

We use Data Services to pull data from a hospital system and transfer it to a centralized Oracle database. Then we use the tool to transform the data for reporting and analytics.

Data Services enables hospital staff to understand the data across disparate systems within the enterprise, helping the company to make more intelligent business decisions.

Data Services' table comparison mechanism is very powerful. It's pretty hard to find a similar feature in other solutions. There isn't really a great solution in Raw SQL. Data Services' general programming features are strong. The programming language is pretty rich. You can significantly transform the data. It also performs well when pushing SQL down to the database server. The tool tries to do as much work in a database as possible, but there are times when it can't do that as well. In those cases, it will process the data in its own engine. All the connectors and the panelization capabilities are pretty useful as well.

Data Services' UI can be annoying. Searching through long lists of things takes time because of some limitations. Source code control is another headache. When your source code base gets too large, managing the source code becomes cumbersome. Also, it's not possible to generate the code. You have to code everything manually. There's no way they're going to fix this. It would be nice to generate code from another program, but you can't do that. 

For some tasks you need to do as an ETL developer, it doesn't make sense to code them all one at a time. You want to be able to read the metadata from something and generate the code. But the architecture of the tool doesn't play nicely with that. The ability to generate code would be one feature that would be nice to have. 

I'd also like to see a smoother code promotion check-in and check-out process for large codebases and fixes to the comparison mechanism. The tool allows you to compare your code against the essential repositories, but the comparison mechanism is buggy. It sometimes reports false positives for what has changed. SAP could maybe improve the performance diagnostics for the production environment. Data Services has some rudimentary performance analysis tools, but they're pretty basic. There's not a dashboard to view where you're doing things well and not well performance-wise. A comprehensive performance dashboard would be nice.

I've been using SAP Data Services for about six years.

Data Services is pretty solid. I would give it almost a perfect 10 for stability.

Data Services is highly scalable. Right now, there are a small number of direct users. They're all developers and software engineers. This isn't a user-facing tool like BOE or Webby that reports business objects. Data Services is an ETL tool that IT people use, so the user base is small. We are using it extensively, though, with about 150 jobs that run every night, but we are planning on decreasing our usage of the tool. However, that is because of what's going on in the hospital system rather than the tool's fault. Due to system changes, we don't have as much need for ETL work. So it will be probably decreasing over time. But we've used it extensively for six years.

SAP's support is good, but the process can be complex. If I were giving it a letter grade, I would say B-minus. 

My company was using SSIS for a short time before I came on board. They switched because my boss knows Oracle well, and this seemed like the best option. He did an entire evaluation, and they decided to go with SAP Data Services because it is a fully functional reporting suite. Data Services operates well with BOE and its reporting solution. However, the primary factor in the decision was that my boss isn't a SQL Server person. He's an Oracle person, and this tool is more robust in the Oracle realm. In addition, Data Services isn't overly expensive. I believe that it's considerably less costly than Oracle Data Integrator or Informatica PowerCenter. He would've gone with those two tools, but they were too expensive.

Setting up Data Services is moderately complex. It's a big tool with a lot of components that need to be configured. Data Services is an enterprise-level data extraction and transformation load tool. There are just a lot of pieces. We've struggled because we were trying to install it on Solaris. I just finished an upgrade. I set up our environment five years ago, and we just upgraded it again. 

It took much longer because they didn't have good support for Solaris. They say that they support Solaris, but they really don't. Since we moved over to Linux, we've been a lot better off. But it's a pretty sizable effort to set up the tool and configure it. You have to have DevTest and PRIDE. There are a lot of moving parts and various repository job servers. You have to understand the topology and architecture of the tool to know how to install and configure it. It's not like installing Microsoft Word.

The total amount of time needed to deploy depends on your environment. Generally, it should take about a month to get it up and running. In actuality, it took a lot longer than that. But once we got on the right OS, it was quicker. Our deployment strategy was to have three instances of the tool. First, we have DevTest and PRIDE. Then each developer has their own repository where they can do their work. So we have a development, test, and production repository. Every developer first runs their code in their own repository, which is where your code is stored. The code is then promoted to a common dev area. After that, it goes to a common test area, and finally, it heads to a common production area.

We've deployed Data Services several times, and each time we've had to do a net new install and transfer things over. We ran into some limitations on being able to upgrade in place. We have one person managing and maintaining the solution, but that person's workload fluctuates. It can be very demanding at times. It can use a lot of one person's time for short periods when you do upgrades. You have to know how to get onto SAP's website, open tickets, and work with SAP Support. That's another thing that adds to the time of the deployment. The amount of time you spend with SAP support is non-trivial. You have to understand the ticketing system and how to contact the engineers. It takes a little while to get used to that.

When Data Services was first deployed, I was not working at the company. At the time, they used consultants. Since I came on, I've been handling it all in-house.

I rate SAP Data Services seven out of 10. It's a powerful tool that does a lot. It has a lot of strengths, but there are some annoyances that slow down the programmer. It gets frustrating over time. It's also crucial that your repository database technology performs well. I would say seven out of 10 because it's powerful. It would be a nine if it weren't for the clunky source code management and a few other hassles like its inability to generate code.

I probably wouldn't choose this tool for what we're doing because I don't think SAP views this tool as their go-forward technology. SAP now has HANA and a new set of tools that operate in the cloud. I believe the company is primarily in a maintenance situation with Data Services. So if I were starting a new ETL project from scratch, I wouldn't go with SAP Data Services.

We use the solution to migrate data from legacy systems to other systems, including SAP and non-SAP systems.

The data migration is easy and convenient to extract, load, and transform. A minimal SQL knowledge is sufficient to handle the application. Syniti needs more technical knowledge. Getting the resourcing facilities is in high demand in India. It is easy for us to get the resources for Data Services. The resources also have the potential and knowledge in SAP. In addition, the loading mechanism in Data Service is much more efficient than Synity.

The cleansing feature is not as efficient as Syniti. The reporting is good because we have followed one standard template for years. Many customers are fine with the reporting mechanism, but it is time-consuming. We have to do the report manually, but Syniti can generate the reports.

The price could be lower, and technical support could be more responsive.

I have been using SAP Data Services for 15 years.

The product is stable.

The solution is scalable.

The technical support is good, but it is a time-consuming process. They also have their protocol, process, and product based on the client.

We have to pay for the support first. If you get an error, technical support will check, and we have to pay. We have to get approval from the client because we have to pay for it.

Neutral

The initial setup is simple and takes a week to complete.

We need an additional resource for deployment because one person handles administration and technical data migration.

We have a separate administration team to look after the deployment.

SAP Data Services costs are relatively high compared to other data services solutions. However, SAP has recently changed its pricing model to be more usage-based, which can make it more cost-effective for some organizations. The new pricing model charges based on the number of CPU processes used, which can be more expensive for organizations with high data processing needs. However, the new pricing model can be more affordable for organizations with lower data processing needs. Additionally, the cost of SAP Data Services can vary depending on the country where it is being used.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

I primarily use Data Services as a data service and ETL tool.

Data Services' best features are its robustness and plug-and-play integration with other SAP applications. It's also very user- and developer-friendly and has a huge, experienced, and well-informed user community.

In the future, Data Services should offer a cloud version.

I've been using Data Services for between six and seven years.

Data Services' stability is top-notch.

Data Services' scalability is good and can be done vertically and horizontally.

SAP's tech support is okay.

I previously used Informatica, but there were performance issues with it.

The initial setup is not straightforward. You need experience with data services, and if you're upgrading or migrating, you'll need a consultant to help. A brand-new installation takes a day or two, but migration will take longer. However, one good thing is that SAP provides the white papers for their products on their website, so you can find the installation guides there.

We've seen a good ROI from Data Services.

If you're using any SAP application, you shouldn't skip using Data Services. I would give Data Services a rating of eight out of ten.

We use it in at least two ways. One area is data migration from several legacy systems, and the second scenario is data quality. We use it, together with another tool that is in the same package, for cleansing.

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.

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.

There are no issues from a technical point of view, and the issues are from a security point of view. In this scenario, we need to be sure that we have all of the files in the same centralized environment in order to get one big server to fulfill several or many developers.

I've been working with SAP Data Services since 2008.

It is a stable solution.

You can add a lot of different job servers in order to get a network. It is called grid computing. We can deploy pieces of the work in several servers in order to improve the performance.

I would give an overall rating of nine to technical support.

Positive

The initial deployment is usually easy if you have one machine/one box deployed. However, if you have a network in which there are several job servers, then it is a little bit complex.

The maintenance is not complex. One morning session is enough to upgrade the tool itself.

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 have experience with SSIS from Microsoft and DataStage from IBM. I've grown with SAP Data Services, and even though there are other features that I can use in other tools, I am able to build workarounds within SAP Data Services and get the same results.

It's easy to learn, and you can start with the training courses provided within the tool and follow them. Because I've used this tool for a long time, I would give it a rating of ten out of ten.

I currently use this solution for data walls and the custom URL system.

The API tool in this product is very valuable; it is very easy to onboard and use.

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.

I have been using this solution for 20 years.

We have found this solution to be very stable.

This is a very scalable solution, with a multi-user environment.

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

Neutral

The initial setup of this solution was very complex. The process requires multiple steps, but there is very limited documentation available to aid the implementation tasks. This results in deployment being very slow.

We configured and implement this solution using our in-house team.

This is a good solution for medium to large organizations, but a lot of prior training is needed in order to support the product post-implementation.We would not recommend this solution for smaller organizations, due to the large numbers of staff required for ongoing support and maintenance.

Also, if an organization is considering this solution, I recommend they look at the cloud-based version, which is less support-dependent

I would rate this solution a six out of ten.

We use Data Services for data integration, MDM, quality assurance, etc.

I like how SAP Data Services links reporting and data integration. That's what's most interesting. You also have the opportunity to leverage the power of the Data Services server.

I want some more business intelligence applications. People need to know more and more about data, including the transformation rules, etc. Informatica is a better product for data cataloging. SAP should update the data catalog. 

We've used SAP Data Services for around 15 years.

SAP Data Services is stable. 

SAP support is extremely helpful, and SAP Data Services is widely used, so it's easy to find a third-party specialist. It's not the same with Talend. I rate SAP support eight out of 10. 

Positive

We also use Informatica PowerCenter, but it's harder to find an Informatica consultant. SAP is more widely used.

You need some specialized knowledge about SAP tools before the setup. 

Informatica and SAP Data Services are both pricey for a small business. We may have to find another solution that's on the cloud. The license itself isn't the most expensive part. We have to pay for servers, consultants, etc. 

I rate SAP Data Services nine out of 10. 

The ease of mapping and creating the queries are quite useful aspects. Manipulating an integration to different systems is relatively better than any of the ATL2, which are available as well.

It's a flexible solution. You can always manipulate a lot of things as long as you have the skill level.

The initial setup is usually pretty straightforward. 

There is always room for improvement when it comes to the sources being dynamic, however, it is not something that can be done easily. These changes, take years to come into the picture, and it's usually the patch upgrade that comes in. Those are very less at the functional level. 

At the integration level, there could be a certain set of improvements to connect to various other systems.

There are still a lot of glitches with SAP Data Services as of now. 

I'd like for them to make scheduling much more dynamic when we create jobs. 

The dependencies to other systems, when we are running a job, we have certain problems, some optimization schemes, if it can be implemented for the data flows when we run it. If we had multiple data loaders and if we could use that at the same time while ensuring the backend data system doesn't get affected, it would be ideal. 

I've been using the solution for seven years now. 

I cannot confirm stability. It depends on the kind of projects when you get them or if you work in an enterprise-style project that is analytics-based. 

Scalability-wise, we are ATL2. We are not really doing anything pertaining to improving the data quality directly through the group - we are just converting it up, applying business rules from that perspective. It's a bit flexible compared to other ATL2s when it is connecting to data databases. In terms of scalability right now, there is some improvement needed.

Technical support typically caters to us if any of the server systems are down. Otherwise, technical support, pertaining to the builds, I usually don't require assistance. I fix it up at my own speed sometimes with certain tricks I know. Otherwise, the SAP communities are there and you can find answers that way. In worse-case scenarios, if you mess stuff up, you can always raise a ticket to SAP and they can come in with certain experts and they can try and fix the problem.

I'm also working on learning Azure Data Factory. 

The ease of setup depends on the systems you're connecting to. If I'm just forming a data store with say any database it's easy. However, if I'm forming it with any of the SAP systems targeting S4 or above, it's slightly complex and takes some time. There are also a lot of authorizations required and due to all that it's not a thing for an individual person to just pass through. That said, on a technical level, it is still relatively easy if you do receive all the required inputs.

The level of maintenance needed is always dependent on the projects and the amount of data that you're getting. Supposedly if you're giving me ten to 20 million records, my application issues I've stabilized. Data is going fine, and one person can support it if he has a bit of knowledge (somewhere around two to three years working with SAP). However, if it is much more dynamic and still there is a lot of junk data coming in, corrections are needed. In that case, a team of seven or even eight members will not suffice. I've worked once in a team of 40 members and it took us close to four years to stabilize the entire application. 

We used an integrator for the implementation process. 

The licensing costs vary. It depends on the company, on the project. A regular person cannot afford it. It's more for enterprise-level organizations. I'm not sure about the licensing based upon monthly or yearly, however.

There should just be one set fee, however, there may be costs associated with ancillary platforms a company has integrated with SAP. 

I'm an end-user of SAP. I'm using it with my partner. 

I'd advise new users that if they want to be on an equal level in the data analyst field, this is one of the finest tools. It is still a bit under the radar of people and many don't really realize its potential. They're still sticking on the data stage or Informatica. However, there are certain dependencies that SAP has created in which this particular Data Services works best.

I'd rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

We've been using this tool for data integration in the banking sector. We gather data from different sources and prepare it for analysis. I'm an integrator and a senior data engineer. 

SAP is quite easy to start working with, especially for those with SAP experience. The basic functionality is quite good as is the basic logic and data information. 

I have several issues with this solution. The first is that the deployment process, the migration of the solution between different environments, is quite complex. Data services doesn't have much in terms of data transformation components so if you want to do something special, it requires custom coding. The embedded features that SAP Data Services offers are not enough for me to implement everything that I want.

I've also found that the internet resources SAP provides are really poor despite the good documentation on their site. If I want to have a conversation with other developers or get an opinion from them, there's not much available. I would prefer to use other tools, but because of our current client's requirements, we are using Data Services. 

I don't have any concerns about stability. I haven't noticed any gaps or issues.

The solution is scalable. 

We previously used Talend which I found to be more flexible in terms of data transformation, applying additional logic and things like that. SAP Data Services has limited possibilities for data transformation.

The solution was implemented prior to my joining the company. We do upgrades and implement some small changes. Unfortunately, this can take some time and is not as easy as it should be. Deployment could be improved. We have a team of four people maintaining Data Services. 

I rate this solution six out of 10.