Fifty years ago, analytics looked very different from what we know today.

Computing power was limited, data was difficult to access and most organizations were only beginning to understand how statistical analysis could influence real-world decisions. Yet during this decade of rapid technological and cultural change, the foundation for modern analytics quietly began to take shape

Back when bell-bottoms ruled, MASH* dominated TV screens, Star Wars came on the scene and video games like Atari were just starting to level up, a new United States Department of Agriculture/National Institutes of Health program called Statistical Analysis System was budding at NC State University, with faculty Jim Goodnight and Jim Barr at the helm.  

 

After a few years of promising success, Goodnight and Barr left NC State to found SAS, which was incorporated as SAS Institute Inc. on July 1, 1976, with just four employees: Jim Goodnight, John Sall, Jane Helwig and Jim Barr.  

In these early days, SAS was headquartered on Hillsborough Street, adjacent to the University. In 1976, the company held its first conference, SAS ONE, followed by annual SAS Users Group International (SUGI) conferences in subsequent years. By 1978, SAS had grown to 21 employees and more than 600 customer sites. A year later, the company granted its first international software license to Databank of New Zealand.

The 1970s laid the foundation for years of innovation and shaped the beginnings of our culture – and as we all know, the story didn’t stop here. As the ‘70s ended, SAS had purchased land in Cary, North Carolina, where the current headquarters is located and had begun construction of the original Building A, as SAS employees know it. An exciting new decade was booting up and things would soon get brighter, faster and a lot more digital.

Check out a few photos from our earliest days: