Azure Databricks vs. Microsoft R Open / Revolution R Enterprise

Suppose you have multiple data sources and you want to bring the data into one place, transform it and make it into a data model. Azure Databricks is a perfectly suited solution for this. Leverage spark JDBC or any external cloud based tool (ADG, AWS Glue) to bring the data into a cloud storage. From there, Azure Databricks can handle everything. The data can be ingested by Azure Databricks into a 3 Layer architecture based on the delta lake tables. The first layer, raw layer, has the raw as is data from source. The enrich layer, acts as the cleaning and filtering layer to clean the data at an individual table level. The gold layer, is the final layer responsible for a data model. This acts as the serving layer for BI For BI needs, if you need simple dashboards, you can leverage Azure Databricks BI to create them with a simple click! For complex dashboards, just like any sql db, you can hook it with a simple JDBC string to any external BI tool.

Incentivized

If you are a MS shop specifically, or have more generic data requirement needs from Microsoft sourced data this will work well. If you have a lot of disparate data across a number of unique platforms/cloud systems/3rd party hosted data warehouses then this product will have issues or a lack of documentation on the net. Performance-wise this product is equal to other R platforms out there.

Incentivized

• SQL
• Data management
• Data access

Incentivized

• It allows distributed algorithm runs on Hadoop HDFS cluster
• It allows using different file formats such as SAS7BAT files or complex files in tab or comma delimited making data munging easier
• It provides scalable solutions by allowing users to re-use R scripts and distributing the computing over nodes through RHadoop

• Their pipeline workflow orchestration is pretty primitive. Lacks some common features
• Workspace UI and navigation requires steep learning curve
• Personally, I am not fond of their autosave feature. Its dangerous for production level notebooks scripts

Incentivized

• Very steep learning curve... for such a quick and useful tool the learning curve is unacceptable.
• Very dangerous in the wrong hands. Because most add-ons are pre-written, you have to trust the community that malicious script is not used.

Incentivized

In general, Revolution Analytics brings a lot of value to the organization. The renewal decision would be based on return on investment in terms of quantified actionable insights that are getting generated against the cost of the product. Additionally, market brand of the tool and reputation risk in terms of possible acquisition and its impact to overall organizational analytic strategy would be considered as well.

Based on my extensive use of Azure Databricks for the past 3.5 years, it has evolved into a beautiful amalgamation of all the data domains and needs. From a data analyst, to a data engineer, to a data scientist, it jas got them all! Being language agnostic and focused on easy to use UI based control, it is a dream to use for every Data related personnel across all experience levels!

Incentivized

It is good, easy to use, improvements are being made to the product and more info being shared in the community. It just needs some more time to become more integrated to other platforms and tools/data out there.

Incentivized

Generally support comes through the forums and user generated channels which are helpful, easy to access, quickly turned around and provided by knowledgeable users. However the support channels are not employees and the channels are often used as a way to learn quick difficult elements of R. Better design, users interface and tutorial options would alleviate the need for this sort of interaction.

Incentivized

Against all the tools I have used, Azure Databricks is by far the most superior of them all! Why, you ask? The UI is modern, the features are never ending and they keep adding new features. And to quote Apple, "It just works!" Far ahead of the competition, the delta lakehouse platform also fares better than it counterparts of Iceberg implementation or a loosely bound Delta Lake implementation of Synapse

Incentivized

The two are different products for different purposes. But for someone who has little or no experience in R programming, Power BI would be better for starting with. Having said that, Microsoft R is built on R, thus allowing for customization of complex calculations not typically available otherwise.

Incentivized

• Helped reduce time for collecting data
• Reduced cost in maintaining multiple data sources
• Access for multiple users and management of users/data in a single platform

Incentivized

• Helped save company money versus buying other stat software

Incentivized