How has it helped my organization?
When I was working in the corporate world, I didn't know why my company retired my position when I had hit my peak in terms of software. They wouldn't get the contract to continue working. I then had to resort to some means to use some products in my new position. What I did was I found the free software, which I then downloaded onto my PC and, you know, kind of registered. It all went very well. I still use SAS Visual Analytics and write some programs in SAS for the firm I work at present.
What needs improvement?
There are certain shortcomings in the tool's support services, making it an area where improvements are required.
I used the product for a very long time. I was very happy using it because I always achieved the objective and got the kind of analysis that was requested. I used it to budget for the entire country. The tool's big plus is that it runs on different platforms. In order for me to do the budgeting, I had to post this to every little branch in the country here, which I could do via local information on a PC. Once I get back the budget figures, I post them on the mainframe. The tool runs on all platforms, and it is one big advantage.
The tool integrates very easily with Microsoft Excel. Google has got its own version of the software. The tool should offer integration features with Google.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAS Visual Analytics for more than ten to fifteen years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. For data analysis, it is a very stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In the corporate world, it is critical that you can't have information. Your information has to be instantly available, and only through certain products can you have the information instantly available for further analysis. Someone will come up and want a report, and so, as an SAS programmer, we have to give him the report. It was integrated mainly with Microsoft Excel and Word. The integrations were strong, which is what the clients require. It was quite easily obtainable because you could manipulate the information in Excel.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support for the solution depends on the company that you are working for, but we get good support services. I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
How was the initial setup?
The solution is deployed on the cloud, the mainframe, and a package that was loaded on our server.
What was our ROI?
Even now, after leaving the corporate world and while working in a smaller company, I could manage the tool's expenses, and I could give the owner of the business a good report on where his money is going.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I work with the tool's free version.
The tool has helped us very well in all our purposes. The tool is very expensive for corporations that are adjusting the software that they use. I worked for a company called Old Mutual. When my country became independent, a lot of the big companies were a bit scared because they thought that because of the new government, South Africa was separate, and there was a very bad system where it was only for whites. When the country changed, a lot of these companies were scared because they obviously had been practicing this kind of apartheid, and so had to relocate. Old Mutual was a British company, and lots of British companies relocated to the UK. Subsequently, I see they have come back to South Africa. I worked at Old Mutual for a long period of ten years. Now I work for a small company that is related to the farming area.
The tool's corporate version is very expensive and requires a monthly hire. I don't know what the payment arrangements are, but I mean, it's pretty it's the product. You can buy it out like you buy other software, and then the tool belongs to you. You have to hire it. You are tied in as long as you use the product. So, I think that may be one of the reasons why these big corporations are all trying to save money. They would go where they can get similar value for money, or in terms of the computer or processing needs, but where the money is much less.
Everything is expensive today, and it all depends on the exchange rates. At one point, my country had an exchange rate of the dollar or the pound, which was very much equal. I think that in one space, they wanted to keep it that way, but subsequently, I don't know if it was because of oil sales or something, they resorted again to exchange rates where factors like imports and exports, your country's balance of payment or so. The exchange rate between currencies was completely dependent on what you bought and what you sold. Suddenly, from two ZAR for a GBP, there were changes, and it went to twenty ZAR for a pound, so you can imagine what it does to poor countries.
If ten is the best price and one is very expensive or not affordable, I rate the tool a five out of ten. I think it's an overpriced tool. The tool is losing out on its client base because people are looking for cheaper alternatives.
What other advice do I have?
It is a very good product. We used it for a very long time in the company. It was just now with all the innovations in software that price is becoming a factor. If I could buy the same product at a quarter of the price, I would do that.
Speaking about how the tool offered enhanced advanced analytics capabilities, I would say that my kind of work was more data analysis. The tool had lots of integration with data analysis and with analytics itself. I am a bit inexperienced in the analytics-related area.
I didn't do much with the tool's new features. I think AI is something that came after my retirement from the corporate world, but it seems like it is becoming a very big thing. I have just been playing a little bit with it and reading up on it, but there is a lot of hype about it at the moment.
I have used it for so many years. I never had any problems in the corporate world where I worked. They were always very happy with whatever it was, and whatever was requested in terms of data analysis, I could provide.
I worked in various departments. We used a different software. I could integrate it with other tools. I would give the data into Excel. If other products couldn't access SAS directly, I had to do it through Excel. It was a corporate decision to use the tool.
I rate the tool a ten out of ten.