A popular custom among the diminutive hobbits of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth was giving away presents on their birthdays instead of receiving them.
This week, SAS toasted its birthday, celebrating 35 years as an analytic innovator, by giving its customers a gift: the latest version of SAS analytics and data management software.
Bilbo and Frodo would be proud.
With the updates, SAS offers organizations improved abilities to manage and process “big data,” derive more insight with “big analytics,” and help IT deliver value through better deployment and administration of their SAS environment.
Companies like Expedia already rely on SAS to help turn huge volumes of data into valuable insights:
"Expedia tracks and measures everything," said Joe Megibow, VP & General Manager, Expedia US. "We rely on SAS to handle Expedia's big data. SAS predictive analytics and data mining analyze nearly 200 terabytes of customer and clickstream data in our data warehouse. Customers need a reason to do business with Expedia. Analytic insights help us deliver the value and convenience that earns customer loyalty and boosts bookings and revenue."
With the latest version of SAS 9.3 announced this week, organizations will be able to do even more.
IDC analyst Dan Vesset offered additional perspective in today’s News & Observer story, "SAS overhauls 'big data' software:"
The upgrade should solidify SAS' position as the leading provider of advanced analytics software, said Dan Vesset, program vice president of business analytics solutions at technology research firm IDC.
"With every iteration, they improve their scalability and performance," Vesset said. "That is very important in and of itself. ... Eventually, that leads to more accuracy and better assessment of risk."
SAS’ 35th birthday has a certain (magic) ring to it. To all our customers, enjoy the birthday present!
