Visiting Open Attractions and Open SAS

As a SAS instructor, I’m often on the road, but, in April, my work travel path is going to take me to a place I haven’t visited since I was 12 years old.

The occasion? SAS Global Forum 2017. The location? Walt Disney World® in Orlando.

While the main conference events will take place onsite at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, on Tuesday evening, April 4, all SAS Global Forum attendees, including me, will get VIP access into an exclusive Kick Back Party being held on Disney’s Hollywood Studios® Sunset Boulevard.

During the party, rides and attractions will be open exclusively for us, including an attraction that had me spellbound as a 12 year old and that I’ve never forgotten: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™. I can’t wait to have another go at it!

While I’m excited to revisit my past in Orlando, I’m even more excited to have the opportunity to teach SAS users more about the latest advances in SAS technology and deliver these two post-event training courses centered on our new SAS® Viya ™ open architecture, our platform for the future:

Open Source and SAS® Integration Overview - if you’re interested in better understanding how SAS® 9.4 can integrate with open source programming languages like R, then this is the course for you. We’ll look at ways to run SAS, R, and IML syntax all using the IML procedure. I’m teaching this course on Wednesday, April 5.
SAS® Viya™ Integration with Open Source Languages – during this class, students will gain an understanding of how SAS and Python programmers can work together in a compatible, integrated architecture, which is SAS Viya. If you’re interested in this topic, don’t miss taking this class on Thursday, April 6 (you may also want to check out this new related book written by two of my SAS colleagues: SAS® Viya™: The Python Perspective).

Though I’m a Walt Disney World veteran, this will be my first time teaching and attending the SAS Global Forum. Like so many other SAS users, I’m growing more excited by the minute.

From the Tower of Terror to teaching new and veteran SAS users how to get more out of SAS software, I’m ready for all of it. What about you?