Why SAS to Databricks Migration Should Have Been Done Yesterday!

Digital-enabled businesses are seeking to establish their authority within their respective operational industries. The idea of investing in new-age technology provides them with a competitive edge.

But, with AI entering conversations beyond the boardroom, enterprises’ need for swift decision-making, and that too in the moment, is a necessity. This typically involves establishing governance over assets and identifying insights that keep them ahead of the rest.

But reality hits them differently. Legacy systems hinder their dreams of scaling growth, as they are limited in handling the volume and velocity of modern data pipelines. Bringing AI into the picture creates shaky ground, and let’s not even talk about the skyrocketing infrastructure and licensing costs.

Not all hope is lost, though. Modernizing has become a secret mantra!

Letting Go of Legacy Systems

Discussions on platform modernization have every reason to yield strategic decisions for enterprises. Having supported multiple transformation journeys for clients, we have devised a 5-step approach to retire legacy systems and focus on modernizing to end speculations on:

1. Challenges of embracing a new, tech-enabled platform
2. Bottlenecks during the migration journey
3. Trade-offs of AI in SAS to Databricks platform modernization

Cloud-Native Data Intelligence Platform: Enter Databricks

Databricks delivers clear advantages as a unified, cloud-native data intelligence platform that eliminates the silos found in legacy systems.

It combines data warehousing  and Databricks Brick builder capabilities, supporting multiple types of data, analytics, and AI workloads on an open and flexible foundation. The strength of a platform like this can be viewed through standouts like:

1. Streamlined & Centralized Data Governance (using Unity Catalog)
2. Open-Format, Reliable & Scalable Storage (using Delta Lake)
3. Native Support for large-scale ETL
4. Business Intelligence and Sequential GenAI implementations

These feature-rich advantages play a crucial role in securing the platform, enhancing GenAI inclusion, and providing leverage as a trusted business platform.

Why Partner with Databricks & Infogain: An AI-First Framework for Success

Our five-step migration framework ensures a predictable, low-risk, and rapid transition:

1. Discovery & Assessment: We perform a comprehensive scan of all SAS workloads, including code, EGP files, and DI Studio jobs, to create an automated dependency map and categorize complexity.
2. Preparation & Enablement: We provision the Databricks environment with Delta Lake and Unity Catalog, ensuring governance, security, and lineage are established from day one.
3. Migration & Modernization: Our accelerators automatically convert SAS to PySpark/SQL, handling complex macros, procedural steps, and even embedded statements.
4. Validation & Optimization: We use automated parity checks for schema, data, and logic to ensure 100% accuracy and business continuity.
5. Deployment & Scaling: We deploy to a production environment optimized for AI, ML, and self-service analytics.

This approach enables 50% faster delivery and boosts pipeline performance by 20-30%.

Trust Infogain: A Global 50 Migration Story

Our expertise is proven by real-world results. For a Global 50 logistics leader operating across 220 locations, we managed the migration of over 1.7 million SAS workloads. The challenges were immense: fragmented governance, high costs, and a lack of real-time capabilities. The results were transformative, as outlined in our Success Metrics Report.

Starting the Journey

Modernizing can be intimidating, but it can also be the best step ever taken - a pivot necessary to see tomorrow with a clear vision. With agile processes, a focus on automation and intelligence, backed by AI, the migration journey can unlock a new future.

Migrate with confidence with Infogain experts by your side. It’s about modernizing now and avoiding spiraling costs later.

Other Resources:

Watch our expert webinar for a detailed understanding.

Our whitepaper provides a clear perspective. Read here.

Reference(s):

SAS to Databricks Migration at Scale, Infogain, September 2025

Transform your Business to become Future Ready, Infogain, October 2025

Supply Chain Blueprint for Success, Infogain, September 2025