A productive future for SAS Enterprise Guide

The title of this blog says what you really need to know: SAS Enterprise Guide does have a future, and it's a bright one. Ever since SAS Studio debuted in 2014, onlookers have speculated about its impact on the development of SAS Enterprise Guide.

I think that we have been consistent with our message that SAS Enterprise Guide serves an important purpose -- a power-user interface for SAS on the desktop -- and that the product will continue to get support and new features. But that doesn't stop folks from wondering whether it might meet a sudden demise like a favorite Star Wars or Game of Thrones character.

I recently recorded a session with Amy Peters, the SAS product manager for SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Studio. Amy loves to meet with SAS users and hear their successes, their concerns, and their ideas. Her enthusiasm for SAS Enterprise Guide comes through in this video, even as I bumble my way through the prototype of the Next Big Release.

Coming soon: the features of a modern IDE

In addition to a much-needed makeover and modern appearance, the new version of SAS Enterprise Guide (scheduled for sometime in 2019) addresses many of the key requests that we hear from SAS users. First, the new version blows open the window management capabilities. You can open and view many items -- programs, data, log, results -- at the same time, and arrange those views exactly as you want. You can spread your workspace over multiple displays. And you can tear away or dock each item to suit your working style.

(in development) screenshot of SAS Enterprise Guide

Second, you can decide whether you want to work with a SAS Enterprise Guide project -- or just simply write and run code. Currently you must start with a project before you can create or open anything else. The new version allows you leverage a project to organize your work...or not, depending on your need at the moment.

And finally, you can expect more alignment and collaboration features between SAS Studio and SAS Enterprise Guide. We see that more users find themselves using both interfaces for related tasks, and presenting a common experience is important. SAS Studio runs in your browser while SAS Enterprise Guide works on your desktop. Each application has different capabilities related to that, but there's no reason that they need to be so different, right?

For more information about what the future will bring, check out the communities article that recaps the SAS Global Forum 2018 presentation. It includes an attached presentation slide deck with many exciting screenshots and roadmap details. All of this is subject to change, of course (including release dates!), but I think it's safe to say the future is bright for SAS users who love their tools.