When most people think of AI, they picture futuristic technology taking over decision-making processes.
But according to Jared Peterson, VP of Platform Engineering at SAS, the real value of AI isn’t replacing humans – it’s changing the way you work and run your organizations.
Peterson’s presentation at SAS Innovate 2025 was a deep dive into how SAS is pushing the boundaries of productivity, innovation and AI to help organizations be successful. Through captivating demos and inspiring stories, he illustrated the powerful new tools and technologies that are reshaping industries.
Here are five key takeaways that highlight the future of AI, data and innovation at SAS.
1. Innovation starts with real developer needs
Innovation often comes from understanding real-world frustrations and it’s not always top-down.
Peterson shared a powerful story about how SAS® Viya® Workbench came to be. The tool started as a developer’s solution for quickly scaling cloud-native computing.
“Sometimes the best ideas don’t come from the top,” Peterson said, explaining that developers on the ground often spot solutions before anyone else does. A moment of frustration led to a breakthrough and that’s how SAS Viya Workbench evolved into what it is today.
— Jared Peterson
2. SAS Viya Workbench: A developer’s dream
SAS Viya Workbench was a standout highlight of Peterson’s presentation. Initially created for developers by developers, its ability to support multiple languages like SAS and Python in a cloud-native environment has revolutionized team collaboration.
Peterson shared how the project nearly got shelved due to competing priorities, but one developer’s persistence changed that trajectory. “Look, Jared, you’ve got to do something about this. Because it’s big,” the developer told him in a hallway meeting. Peterson saw the potential and gave a demo to CEO Jim Goodnight, who was impressed.
Joseph Henry, Principal Software Developer, demonstrated how SAS Viya Workbench handles natural language processing (NLP) with pure open-source Python and showed how it seamlessly transitions to other languages like R. Henry is one of the original innovators behind SAS Viya Workbench and the developer who cornered Peterson in the hallway.
The tool makes development easier and faster, giving developers and decision-makers the power to innovate easily.
3. Data is the heartbeat of AI
Data is at the core of AI, and how you access, manipulate and generate it is crucial to building reliable, scalable models.
This led to SAS® Data Maker, a tool for synthetic data generation. With industries like health care and finance facing strict privacy regulations, creating high-quality synthetic data is key to accelerating AI-driven innovation. Peterson shared how SAS’s acquisition of Hazy, a leader in synthetic data technology, led to the development of SAS Data Maker. “It’s like giving developers an endless amount of high-quality data to work with,” Peterson said.
With synthetic data, organizations can now simulate everything from clinical trials to fraud detection without violating privacy constraints.
Harry Keen, Product Evangelist at SAS and co-founder of Hazy, joined Peterson on stage to discuss the future of synthetic data and its potential to revolutionize industries. “We’ve been blown away by the experience so far,” Keen said, reflecting on how the merger has empowered both teams.
SAS Data Maker is available in private preview on Azure and it’s already making waves.
Elevate innovation, productivity and quality with SAS Data Maker
4. Meet your new copilot
Peterson also talked about SAS Viya Copilot, a new feature designed to assist both developers and decision-makers in building and refining machine learning models.
Ben Tomlinson, Principal Software Developer, demonstrated SAS Viya Copilot, which simplifies complex machine learning tasks. The tool allows users to build and improve pipelines, interact with model diagnostics and fine-tune algorithms in real time.
“Developers love it because it enables them to chat with the diagnostics of the model,” Peterson explained.
Meanwhile, decision makers can use the tool to execute technical tasks without requiring deep coding expertise. This innovation makes machine learning more accessible and efficient for everyone involved in the development process.
5. Clearing out the noise to focus on what matters
The overarching message of Peterson’s presentation was that SAS is committed to removing the roadblocks that slow down productivity and innovation. “When I say that SAS is helping you be more productive, I mean that we’re clearing out the time-consuming tasks,” he shared.
The goal is to give developers and decision-makers more time to focus on what truly matters: strategic thinking, creativity and innovation. SAS is continually refining its technologies to give users the flexibility they need to experiment, take risks and push the boundaries of what’s possible.
In tech, it’s easy to get bogged down in day-to-day tasks. But new tools like SAS Viya Workbench, SAS Data Maker and SAS Viya Copilot are designed to clear the path and let you focus on the big ideas. These tools empower developers and business leaders to unlock the full potential of their teams and drive transformation in their industries.
