SAS Viya

What is SAS Viya?

AI und Analytics platform that provides various services, including data preparation, analysis and data science as well as visualization.

• Business Intelligence & Analytics

Number of reviews: 32

Customer Satisfaction

7.9

★★★★★★★★★★ 7.9/10

User Experience

8.2

★★★★★★★★★★ 8.2/10

Functionality

8.1

★★★★★★★★★★ 8.1/10

Business Value

7.1

★★★★★★★★★★ 7.1/10

About SAS Viya

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SAS Viya BARC Review & Rating

Provider and product description

Founded in 1976, SAS is a privately held company and a well-known brand in the analytics and business intelligence market. The vendor’s aim is to make analytics available everywhere and for everyone.

SAS Viya is an end-to-end platform for analytics intended to serve all types of customers’ analytical needs. It was designed as an API-first, massively parallel, distributed environment which connects to various data sources and can be run on premises or in the cloud. SAS has made a point of creating an open architecture that not only supports SAS code but also popular data science languages such as R, Python, Java and Lua directly or through APIs to enhance their scalability and serve the appetite of data scientists for these tools. SAS models can be called from Jupyter Notebooks, a very popular way to access the platform among data scientists.

SAS Viya consists of a set of micro services and an in-memory engine called SAS Cloud Analytics Services (CAS) for execution in a single-machine or distributed mode. The vendor also provides the option to offload data to SingleStore to offer customers greater flexibility with in-memory data loading decisions. Viya is completely containerized and thus cloud agnostic. Nevertheless, a strong partnership with Microsoft adds additional integration with Azure.

SAS Viya powers several different products and solutions. Business users typically access SAS Visual Analytics (VA) for self-service analytics. This product line focuses on visual analysis, dashboards and analytics apps. To support business analysts, the product offers various automations such as explanations, predictions, anomaly scans and visualization suggestions. Moreover, a chatbot, which can be integrated with LLMs using SAS Viya, offers additional assistance in data exploration. Natural language generation is also provided to support content creators. Content, such as interactive visualizations, can be embedded in custom web applications or other third-party apps. In addition, a Microsoft 365 integration is included with VA, allowing VA insights to be embedded, for example, in Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and Microsoft Teams. Visual Analytics can also be used to build and deploy sophisticated conversational interfaces and chatbots.

SAS Data Preparation is also aimed at business users and is designed to load data into the internal SAS Viya in-memory engine. Improvements in the data flow representation have enhanced usability and speed up implementation. Moreover, the product has been enhanced with more data quality features to support customers, thus assuring data quality and increasing trust in data.

Addressing the needs of advanced business users and data scientists, SAS Viya offers modules such as SAS Visual Statistics and SAS Visual Machine Learning. Furthermore, the vendor offers a variety of analytics applications to specifically address the needs of certain industries, especially banking and insurance. SAS provides prebuilt content for these industries based on its SAS Viya platform to help buying companies implement and operationalize challenging analytics use cases.

Strengths and challenges of SAS Viya

BARC’s viewpoint on the product’s strengths and challenges.

Strengths

Business-user-oriented end-to-end analytics platform offering data preparation, visual analysis, analytical apps and dashboards that can be enhanced with advanced analytics models.
Strong guidance in analytics (auto insights) for detecting correlations, clusters and patterns or calculating decision trees and automated predictions supported by NLG.
Users get recommendations during data preparation to enhance and shape data for analytics requirements, speeding up the process.
Solid and well thought out GenAI strategy woven into the entire SAS Viya platform and its individual modules makes life easier for developers and business analysts.
The SAS Viya platform offers numerous services and modules for analytics and data science with data management capabilities. It is designed as a scalable and flexible architecture for substantial amounts of data and large numbers of concurrent users.

Challenges

Page and print-oriented formatted reports lack some of the functions required by demanding users and designing them requires additional effort as VA favors on-screen information display.
Live access to external data sources is limited so required data has to be ingested to the CAS in-memory engine, possibly in tandem with the option to use SingleStore for data push down.
Partner network, expertise and market awareness of the more recent SAS products is not as broad as for some competitors in the analytics area.

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SAS Viya User Reviews & Experiences

The information contained in this section is based on user feedback and actual experience with SAS Viya.

The information and figures are largely drawn from BARC’s The BI & Analytics Survey, The Planning Survey, The Financial Consolidation Survey and The Data Management Survey. You can find out more about these surveys by clicking on the relevant links.

Who uses SAS Viya in a BI & analytics context and how

Why users buy SAS Viya and what problems they have using it

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Full user reviews and KPI results for SAS Viya

All key figures for SAS Viya at a glance.

Premium content. Unlock with BARC+.

For just €79 per month (€948 per year) you can access all the paid content on www.barc.com.

Your benefits:

Get independent information on software solutions, market developments and trends in data, analytics, business intelligence, data science and corporate performance management.
Make data & analytics decisions based on numbers, data, facts and expert knowledge
Access to all premium articles and all our research, including all software comparison studies, scores and surveys.
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Consume unlimited content anywhere

Individual user reviews for SAS Viya

Role

Consultant

Number of employees

100 - 2.500

Industry

Education

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

A variety of visualizations and tools are being offered.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

The complexity of navigation should be simplified.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Basic programming skills are a must, especially for companies that are not devoted solely to analytics.

How would you sum up your experience?

Tools related to spatial analysis need further development.

Role

IT employee

Number of employees

100 - 2.500

Industry

Consulting

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

User interface and integration with databases are most impressive.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Slowness when loading large datasets.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Understand your data needs. Invest in training for your team. Plan your reports and tailor them to your audience. Use Auto Charting for efficient visualizations. Integrate multiple data sources. Regularly update and validate models. Engage with the SAS community.

How would you sum up your experience?

SAS Visual Analytics and Visual Statistics are powerful tools for data visualization and predictive modeling. They offer intuitive interfaces, robust analytical capabilities, and seamless integration, making them highly effective for both data exploration and advanced analytics.

Role

Consultant

Number of employees

More than 2.500

Industry

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

SAS Viya is a powerful and versatile analytics platform that offers several impressive features. One of the standout aspects is its ability to handle complex data analysis and machine learning tasks with ease. The platform is designed to be highly scalable, allowing users to process large datasets efficiently and derive valuable insights. Another great feature is its user-friendly interface, which makes it accessible to both experienced data scientists and those who are new to analytics. The integration with various programming languages, such as Python and R, adds to its flexibility, enabling users to leverage their existing skills and tools. SAS Viya also excels in its collaborative capabilities, allowing teams to work together seamlessly on data projects. The platform's robust security measures ensure that data remains protected, which is crucial for organizations handling sensitive information. Overall, SAS Viya's combination of scalability, ease of use, flexibility, and security makes it a top choice for data analytics and machine learning.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

SAS Viya can be quite expensive, especially for smaller organizations or startups. The pricing model might be a barrier for those with limited budgets.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Begin with a pilot project to test the waters and understand how SAS Viya integrates with your existing systems. This approach allows you to identify any potential challenges early on and make necessary adjustments before full-scale implementation.

How would you sum up your experience?

SAS Viya is a highly regarded analytics platform known for its robust capabilities and versatility. It excels in handling complex data analysis and machine learning tasks, making it a valuable tool for organizations looking to derive insights from large datasets. The platform’s scalability ensures it can efficiently process and analyze data, which is crucial for businesses dealing with vast amounts of information.

Role

IT employee

Number of employees

100 - 2.500

Industry

Insurance

Source

BARC Marketing, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

Easy to use for standard or basic reports.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Some bugs that one never knows whether or when they will be fixed

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Test it for yourself and verify if it meets your needs.

How would you sum up your experience?

It is a good reporting tool with some quirks.

Role

IT employee

Number of employees

Less than 100

Industry

Education

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

SAS Viya’s seamless integration of advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI in a cloud-native environment stands out. Its scalability, real-time processing, and user-friendly interface empower data-driven decisions, making it a powerful tool for businesses.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

SAS Viya is powerful, but its complexity can be challenging for new users. Simplifying the interface and enhancing integration with open-source tools would improve accessibility, enabling broader adoption and smoother workflows for data scientists and analysts.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

To successfully implement SAS Viya, companies should ensure strong leadership support, provide comprehensive training, prioritize data governance, and align analytics with business goals. They should leverage cloud capabilities, promote collaboration, and continuously evaluate performance for optimal results.

How would you sum up your experience?

SAS Viya is a powerful, cloud-native analytics platform known for its robust data management, AI, and machine learning capabilities. Its scalability, integration options, and user-friendly interface make it ideal for enterprises seeking advanced data-driven insights.

Role

Consultant

Number of employees

100 - 2.500

Industry

Insurance

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

Performance des CAS Servers Kompatibilität mit SAS 9.4. SAS Enterprise Guide nutzbar mit Viya 4.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

DI Studio gefällt mir besser als Viya Flows. Viele CAS-Funktionen erfordern eine neue oder erweiterte Syntax (z. B. CASL).

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

–

How would you sum up your experience?

Interessante neue Möglichkeiten mit deutlichem Performance-Gewinn.

Role

IT employee

Number of employees

More than 2.500

Industry

Consulting

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

Its flexibility.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

A little complicated to implement.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Plan your implementation carefully.

How would you sum up your experience?

Great product.

Role

Head of a separate BI/analytics organization unit

Number of employees

More than 2.500

Industry

Banking and finance

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

Flexibility. The ability to be updated not only in the software engine but also in market trends and customer needs.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Sometimes learning something is initially difficult, but it gets easier over time. However, not all users take the time to get to the end. Sometimes, the approach is too American for European companies.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Just ask yourself if CRM can be connected in more than one way to the SAS core engine. Try out API connectors, database integration, and any other challenging ways to link Viya to your data. This is the first and, I think, the most important step to take.

How would you sum up your experience?

It is part of a suite developed by a company that can guarantee continuity and innovation. As a proprietary programming language, one key milestone is that you are aware of how it works and, moreover, how users can easily benefit from it.

Role

IT employee

Number of employees

More than 2.500

Industry

Banking and finance

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

CAS provides better performance, similar to database tables, for the data I want to work with.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Using large datasets is sometimes restricted due to memory constraints.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Very useful for data analysis.

How would you sum up your experience?

Very good but still requires improvement.

Role

Employee of a cross-departmental BI/analytics team

Number of employees

More than 2.500

Industry

Education

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

I like that it is fast and powerful.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

I do not like that it is cloud-based, which makes uploading data somewhat more complicated.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Go for it!

How would you sum up your experience?

Awesome!

Role

Line of business employee

Number of employees

More than 2.500

Industry

Services

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

Interactive Reporting: It allows users to create stunning interactive reports and dashboards, making data visualization intuitive and engaging.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Complex Installation: The setup process can be quite complex and time-consuming.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Plan for scalability: Ensure your infrastructure can handle the resource demands of SAS Visual Analytics and Visual Statistics.

How would you sum up your experience?

SAS Visual Analytics and Visual Statistics are powerful tools. However, the complexity of installation and high costs can be barriers for some organizations.

Role

Line of business employee

Number of employees

More than 2.500

Industry

Banking and finance

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

Open-source compatibility – supports Python, R, and other open-source tools, giving data scientists flexibility.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

Learning curve for new users – while it’s more user-friendly than traditional SAS, business users without analytics experience may still need training.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Ensure IT teams understand the infrastructure requirements.

How would you sum up your experience?

SAS Viya is a great choice for large enterprises that need a secure, scalable, and AI-driven analytics platform. However, organizations should carefully evaluate cost, resource requirements, and user training before adopting it.

Role

IT employee

Number of employees

100 - 2.500

Industry

Banking and finance

Source

Invited by the vendor, The BI & Analytics Survey 26, 04/2025

What do you like best?

The visual representation of the data and custom graphs are noteworthy. The graphs can be customized by combining more than one graph, which is a really good feature.

What do you like least/what could be improved?

The layout can be improved slightly, and performance when connecting to Excel needs to be enhanced.

What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?

Cross-functional buy-in ensures smoother adoption and better-designed solutions.

How would you sum up your experience?

SAS Visual Analytics and Visual Statistics are best-in-class tools for organizations that require deep analytical capabilities, strong data governance, and a unified platform for both technical and non-technical users.

Survey Information

Number of reviews for SAS Viya

Reviewed versions

Peer groups in the survey

Large/Enterprise-Wide Implementations, Report & Dashboard Focus, Analysis Focus, International BI Giants