SAS: Evolution of an Analytics Leader

Founded in 1976, SAS is the founder and future of artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics. People who lugged boxes of punch cards to the computer lab to run code include some of the earliest users of SAS^®. Today, people using the fastest AI and analytics platforms on the market are also SAS users.

Many people first came across SAS in college, where professors took advantage of university licenses to integrate SAS into the curriculum for data analysis and statistical work. Those graduates then took that SAS expertise into the workforce. SAS now has offices and customers worldwide, including 90% of Fortune 100 companies, and serves every industry.

The rise of major competitors in the analytics economy, the explosion of AI and the proliferation of open source software have forever changed the industry SAS helped found in the 1970s. But SAS has evolved, adapted and excelled throughout these seismic shifts, creating solutions that not only serve data scientists but also put powerful analytics in the hands of nontechnical business users. Strong investment in research and development (R&D) has spurred more than 770 patents in analytics, and AI is key to fueling continuous innovation at SAS.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in SAS Viya^®, the company’s cloud-based data, AI and analytics platform.                                                           

Investments in Viya Pays Off for Customers and Users

In 2019, SAS announced a $1 billion investment in AI, much of which went toward making Viya fully cloud-native and adding AI capabilities, such as natural language processing and computer vision. SAS also created industry-specific solutions built on Viya for industries such as banking, education, government, healthcare, insurance and retail.

Industry solutions come with prebuilt templates, algorithms and data models, among other features, to help customers simplify onboarding and decrease the time it takes to derive value from their analytics efforts. SAS recently announced another $1 billion investment, this time focusing on improving and building more industry-specific solutions for emerging sectors such as sustainable energy and digital health.

These investments have also gone toward improving the performance of Viya, which has resulted in minimizing processing time and improving memory usage. In fact, a recent benchmarking study [1] from The Futurum Group found that Viya is, on average, 30 times faster than commercial and open source alternatives and scales better with larger and more complex data.

Viya works across the analytics life cycle with tools and guidance that enable responsible data governance, model building and management processes.

Operations Research at Work

Operations research (O.R.) has emerged as a crucial aspect of the SAS Analytics suite (powered by Viya), playing a vital role in various SAS business solutions. These include applications in fraud detection, risk management and supply chain management, among others.

Within operations research, SAS focuses on two major areas: mathematical optimization and network analytics. In the realm of optimization, SAS equips users with a comprehensive suite of solvers, including tools for linear optimization, mixed-integer linear optimization, nonlinear optimization, black box optimization and a specialized modeling language. As for network analytics, SAS offers more than 20 distinct algorithms, incorporating linear assignment, maximum flow, clique enumeration, centrality, vehicle routing and many more. These solvers and algorithms have unique features such as decomposition and automated linearization. Many customers use these tools to find solutions tailored to their specific business challenges.

For instance:

• Cleveland Clinic partnered with SAS to optimize the allocation of medical resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and drive better patient outcomes.
• Utilizing SAS software, Georgia-Pacific has been able to strike the optimal balance of speed and quality to maximize profitability.
• Lockheed Martin employs SAS to optimize the parts inventory of their flagship aircraft based on maintenance records and fleet availability targets.
• USG Corporation relies on SAS to enhance its manufacturing process, aiming to decrease downtime, minimize costs and reduce energy consumption.

Flexible Deployment and Cloud Options

Traditional on-premises SAS deployments remain a key strategy for many SAS customers. For others, deploying models developed in SAS or open source to different environments, such as cloud, containers, streaming or on-site edge devices, is critically important – and this is exactly what Viya provides.

When it comes to cloud portability, it’s important to not just move around models but also move the entire platform and SAS estate as a customer deems necessary. With Viya, customers can do this without worry. Viya supports analytics on-premises, within public and private cloud environments, and at the edge. Regardless of where someone is in the cloud journey, they can build and scale analytics on a consistent and stable infrastructure.

Viya pricing and licensing are flexible, whether in the cloud or on-premises. Options include flat, user-based fees and pay-as-you-go options, so users only pay for what they consume.

Cloud deployments, coupled with the efficiencies that Viya brings at every step of the analytics life cycle, can lead to big savings. A recent Forrester study [2] showed the tangible return on investment (ROI) that SAS customers have experienced since implementing Viya on Azure. The composite organization saw a 204% ROI over three years, with the initial payback period being just over one year.

Open Source Enthusiasts Welcome

Despite the investments in making analytics and AI available to all, SAS hasn’t forgotten its roots and the passionate users who fueled its growth. Over the years, SAS has given customers many options for how they choose to code in order to do their best work. Whether they prefer using SAS code or an open source language, users have options without needing to rewrite applications.

Whether they need to develop an API-first strategy, fuel a data preparation routine with machine learning or want to improve interoperability, Viya provides full open source integration and utility. For those who have used SAS coding, Viya supports using open source languages – including Python or R – directly with SAS, or integrating SAS into applications using REST APIs. For developers, SAS repositories on GitHub [3] provide code examples, libraries and tools.

Meeting the Moment: Responsible Innovation

The rise of generative AI has thrust AI into the national consciousness and conversation. Governmental organizations worldwide are scrambling to propose and enact regulations to govern the responsible use of AI.

Ethical AI is nothing new for SAS. It is part of the company’s culture. In 2022, SAS formally committed to responsible innovation, guided by the SAS Data Ethics Practice. This commitment is manifested in Viya through trustworthy AI capabilities such as bias detection, explainability, decision auditability, model monitoring, governance and accountability. To explore positive AI applications, SAS recently expanded the Data Ethics Practice by integrating the company’s Data for Good team.

However, it’s not enough for SAS to get responsible AI right. If others fail, we all fail. SAS collaborates with the industry on responsible AI, including involvement with government AI committees and EqualAI^®. SAS also contributed to the Business Roundtable Roadmap for Responsible Artificial Intelligence, which guides American businesses, policymakers and regulators on their shared journey toward responsible AI.

Preparing the Next Generation, Challenging the Current One

Born out of academia, SAS has never strayed from its passion for education. The rise of new AI and analytics technologies demands a new generation of skills. SAS strives to meet that demand by helping people worldwide skill up to take advantage of the analytics economy. 

In 2006, SAS helped launch the world’s first master’s degree in analytics at North Carolina State University. Now, the company has more than 300 academic specializations, typically in the form of degree and certificate programs, in 40 countries. These partnerships ensure that students gain in-demand skills and employers can easily connect with them through digital credentials. SAS also built new programs to increase representation of minority groups, women, military and people with disabilities, including partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In fact, the company recently announced its inaugural cohort of SAS HBCU Fellows. These innovative HBCU professors are forging opportunities for students to engage with data in meaningful and creative ways, ensuring students develop career-ready analytics skills. 

The Education Analytical Suite [4] provides comprehensive SAS foundational technologies for teaching, learning and academic research via reduced-cost enterprise licenses. SAS also offers free and reduced-cost options for integrating SAS software into instruction and coursework. For students, SAS has a global program they can access 24/7 to learn analytics skills, earn valuable certifications sought by employers and find ways to connect with potential employment opportunities.

Hundreds of thousands of students and independent learners have also earned SAS certifications. By providing modern, stackable credentials for learners at every level, SAS continues to provide pathways to careers and opportunities for talent connections. 

SAS is also encouraging analytics experts around the globe to explore solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges through the SAS Hackathon. The Hackathon brings hundreds of curious minds together for a monthlong, all-digital hack. The competition challenges teams in various industries to apply technology to solve real-world business and humanitarian problems. Teams maintain control of their solutions and are encouraged to bring them to market after the Hackathon.

In 2023, more than 1,400 people from 75 countries applied to join the Hackathon. This led to more than 100 teams representing 140 organizations. These teams included seasoned data scientists and quantitative experts, as well as business analysts, marketers, industry professionals and students. Winning teams explored topics from predicting flooding and improving disaster response to better detecting sepsis and reducing carbon footprints.

Building on Yesterday, Outpacing Tomorrow

For nearly 50 years, SAS has pushed the envelope of innovation while adapting to new advances and a rapidly changing analytics market. Data now shapes our lives in ways we could never have imagined in 1976. The democratization of analytics has put powerful tools in the hands of nonexperts. The demand for talent in analytics, AI and related disciplines is higher than ever, and career opportunities abound in all industries. 

At the same time, the rise of powerful AI technologies demands careful consideration of risks and rewards. As a founder of analytics and AI, SAS is uniquely positioned to navigate this exciting and turbulent time. From the punch card pushers of yesterday to the Viya users of today, SAS continues to deliver the same trusted results to help our customers solve the challenges of today and prepare for tomorrow.

References

1. The Futurum Group, 2023, “Faster AI & Analytics: SAS Viya Outperforms the Competition,” https://futurumgroup.com/sas-viya/.
2. Forrester, 2022, “The Total Economic Impact™ of SAS Viya on Microsoft,” March, https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/documents/marketing-whitepapers-ebooks/third-party-whitepapers/en/forrester-tei-sas-viya-on-azure-112937.pdf.
3. https://github.com/sassoftware
4. https://www.sas.com/en_us/learn/academic-programs.html