SAS' 'big analytics' tackles big data, speeds problem solving

CARY, NC  (Jul. 12, 2011)  – A powerful new release of SAS^® software helps enable faster, better decision making by improving analysis of vast and growing amounts of data. Whether a retailer optimizing pricing for thousands of items, a hospital identifying which treatment plans improve patient health, or a government agency fighting fraud, SAS, the leader in business analytics, helps organizations scour "big data" through "big analytics" and data management to reveal hidden insights and produce better decisions. 

New capabilities in SAS simplify big data management and allow businesses to derive insights from all of their data, not just a sample. Enterprises such as online travel site Expedia can now use their data assets in ways that were not previously possible.

"Expedia tracks and measures everything," said Joe Megibow, VP & General Manager, Expedia US. "We rely on SAS to handle Expedia's big data. SAS predictive analytics and data mining analyze nearly 200 terabytes of customer and clickstream data in our data warehouse. Customers need a reason to do business with Expedia. Analytic insights help us deliver the value and convenience that earns customer loyalty and boosts bookings and revenue." 

Available now, the upgrade has features that help organizations tackle massive volumes of structured and unstructured data, including business transactions, social media, location and multimedia. 

With a unique ability to analyze larger volumes of data – all available data without sampling – the improved software produces even more accurate results. Business processes such as customer credit scoring, inventory optimization and real-time risk management will benefit from increased precision. 

Whether delivering real-time customer insights, predicting failures or monitoring fraud, SAS now offers:

• Greater scalability – new components can analyze even greater amounts of data.
• Higher performance – enhanced high-performance computing offers faster delivery of results for decisions.
• Increased productivity – new capabilities streamline analysis so users can potentially tackle additional projects.
• Broader enablement – new features incorporate nontraditional data sources and formats into analyses and workflows allowing users to collaborate and interact on analytical projects. 

The upgrade includes enhancements to the following SAS product suites: SAS Predictive Analytics and Data Mining Suite, to uncover unknown patterns, opportunities and insights; SAS Data Management, to empower organizations with consistent, accurate and timely data; SAS Text Analytics, to maximize information buried within large text collections; and SAS Forecasting, to understand the likely range of future behavior to improve planning. 

Better analytics for better results

Investment in SAS delivers value from new business opportunities, increased customer knowledge, more efficient operation and greater profitability.

Addressing the next generation of business problems, SAS's expanded analytics portfolio will have a profound impact on the way businesses make decisions. Among the new capabilities:

• Enhancements to SAS Forecasting provide improved results through simulation environments and scenarios, which can optimize inventory management for manufacturers or retailers.
• New security and data integrity features in SAS Data Management help the healthcare industry meet mandates for patient information privacy and protect against unwanted disclosures.
• A new rate making capability in SAS Enterprise Miner helps insurers determine the optimal premium for individuals based on an applicant's known attributes, ultimately driving profitability as rising claim expenses increase the need to identify the appropriate rate.
• SAS' newly expanded arsenal of predictive modeling algorithms can help governments counter declining tax revenue by increasing efficiencies in tax collection, combating fraud and maximizing public services for their citizens.
• Improved SAS analytic performance helps all enterprises. One SAS customer, a global financial services organization, reduced from 96 hours to four hours the time to model the probability of default, a risk calculation that needs to consider both different repayment assumptions as well as the unique life of each loan across 9.5 million mortgages.

Data volumes and variety are growing from social media, mobile, email, metering data, stock ticker data, financial transactions and more. SAS Data Management simplifies data asset use, regardless of how much data exists or how many data types are involved. Direct integration between SAS Data Management and SAS Analytics results in rich and timely analysis for optimal decision making. In addition, SAS provides a framework for integrating analytics directly within operational systems to further speed decision making.

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