Sadly, SAS did not three-peat as the No. 1 Best Company  to Work For on Fortune’s famous list, but from my point of view, SAS will always be No. 1.

It’s not the Healthcare Center or the Pharmacy on campus. It’s not the daycare or the four cafés, also on campus.  It’s definitely not the M&M’s on Wednesdays, although many of my fellow colleagues might disagree. I don’t even think it’s the fact that I have my own office – yes an office with a door. All of those things will be talked about endlessly in the news this week.

For me it’s YOU.

Yes, you.  That means all of you SAS users who are reading this blog and those who (sadly) are not. Your calls and emails, blog posts and tweets continue to  help us improve our services and offerings. Those virtual interactions are wonderful, but even more valuable are the connections we make at events like SAS Global Forum. We tout the importance of customers attending this event for all the educational opportunities available to you, but your participation also helps educate us.

SAS truly listens. For those who are attending, make sure you stop a SAS employee in the hall and say, “Hey, you know what would be cool?” or “This feature is the best.” It is a very important reason that we support these types of events.

Our improvements, based on your feedback, have allowed us to reach the No. 1 spot for the past two years. So while we weren't No. 1 on Fortune's list this time, we at SAS feel No. 1 because of our relationship with our customers. We thank you and hope to see you at SAS Global Forum 2012.