In an earlier post I introduced the SAS Business Analytics Modernization Assessment (BAMA) program which I lead for Europe. SAS offers BAMA at no-charge to selected clients on a discretionary basis with a simple objective ...to help organisations make better use of their SAS asset. We’ve now delivered BAMA assessments for more than 140 clients worldwide across most industries.

Interestingly, a handful of assessments have been undertaken for organizations who aren’t existing users of SAS but nevertheless wanted our opinion on their use of analytics.

I want to use this post to announce that SAS partners are beginning to include a BAMA-like component within their own consulting offerings, involving SAS resources in its delivery.

Wider adoption of BAMA is useful for a number of reasons:

• Clients with operating landscapes managed under enterprise outsource agreements may prefer their delivery partner to lead modernization activities (rather than an individual product provider).
• For enterprise-wide modernization efforts, it may make sense to include a focus on and activities relating to analytics within a larger program.
• While modernization is a generic activity (that's to say it can be performed independent of specific products, tooling or technologies), there are advantages to possessing skills and experience of the products deployed in the client's landscape. This is because you should then be better equipped to make more relevant and effective recommendations. A BAMA delivery team will have significant domain experience, familiarity with SAS technologies and awareness of relevant Best Practices.

At the time of writing, Capgemini Consulting in Europe is the first Systems Integrator to incorporate BAMA into its Wide-angle Application Rationalization Program (WARP) for Data consulting offering. WARP includes a number of lenses which are optional components of the offering which can be included depending on the customer's landscape. There is now a SAS lens - leveraging the BAMA approach and feeding into the wider WARP program delivery. This means SAS will also contribute resources to deliver this lens.

In my mind this is good news and acknowledges the strategic role SAS performs in many customers. Kudos to Capgemini for this adoption !

For more information on Data WARP contact theo.elzinga@capgemini.com.