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Listening to You: SAS® Users Connection ConferencesUsers Connection conferences bring SAS and its customers togetherBeing responsive to customers’ needs has always factored in SAS’ success, and it is what the Users Connection conferences are all about. For the past couple of years, the Product Management team has hosted the two-day conferences, which bring SAS customers to SAS world headquarters to learn about the latest trends, share information and experiences, and interact with SAS staff. Each Users Connection is focused on a specific industry or topic, but they all share a similar format that includes presentations from thought leaders and SAS domain experts, panel discussions, networking sessions and product demonstrations. The conferences typically include representation from various SAS functions, including Product Management. The conferences also share a common goal: Establish a dialogue between SAS and SAS users. The two most recent conferences – the SAS® Drug Development Users Connection and the Data Integration Users Connection – were held in February.
SAS Drug Development Users Connection Product Manager Matt Gross served as the event’s host. Gross welcomed the audience and led a round of introductions, after which Jason Burke, Director of the Health and Life Sciences Global Practice delivered a special message to attendees. Burke’s message centered on change: changes in the Health and Life Sciences industry, changes companies are facing in light of current economic conditions and changes in the way SAS delivers value to its customers. “You’ll see from materials that are presented by the Global Practice and other [SAS] folks, that we’re taking a very hard look right now at our software portfolio and trying to make some decisions about where does it make the most sense to put our research and development dollars in terms of pharmaceutical solutions, and your voice will be the loudest voice in us making some of those decisions,” Burke said. “So, I encourage you to speak openly and candidly and loudly, and we promise to listen.” The keynote address, “Beyond Integration – Driving Real Value from eClinical," helped the attendees understand that adopting a structured protocol design for clinical trials represents an important step toward achieving an eClinical vision (using technology to conduct clinical trials more efficiently), because a structured protocol “becomes the key driver for downstream systems.” Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Keith Collins led off day two with a presentation titled, “The View from SAS.” Other activities during the conference included:
A product-discussion town hall provided an open forum for users to share ideas, ask questions and suggest product direction or improvements, and an optional user roundtable provided a venue to raise topics for discussion among the user community.
Data Integration Users Connection Following Data Integration Product Manager Eric Hunley’s welcome and introductions, Randy Guard, Senior Director of Global Sales Development and Product Management, delivered an opening message urging attendees to share their input and feedback. “When we say we want input from you, it’s not a casual request – we’re adamant about it,” he said. “These events are extremely important to us; make sure we’re in listening mode. Definitely have active participation and, as much as you can, as much as you’re comfortable with, please share your best practices.” DataFlux President and CEO Tony Fisher delivered the keynote presentation, “Building the Quality Culture.” Because companies are evolving from being producers of data to consumers of data, Fisher noted, they must change the way they treat data within the organization. “There’s no longer this concept that we’ve got operational systems and we’ve got analytic systems and we want to keep them separate and distinct,” Fisher said. “The way you manage data – the data quality aspect, the business rules, the way that you manipulate data – is now appropriate across the entire enterprise.” Other conference highlights included a customer panel discussion and a customer case study, as well as SAS-led presentations on topics such as:
Attendees also took part in optional “Meet the Team” sessions with SAS staff from R&D, Product Management, Technical Support, and the Global Technology Practice *by Bill Abbate, Internal Communications
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Post-event comments: “Let me begin by thanking you and all others at SAS on this team for the excellent arrangements, the agenda, the presentations and a useful and productive meeting,” wrote one attendee. “I have come back enriched.” “The conference showed a great deal of planning and coordination and was valuable in terms of material presented and outlook to the future.” |