A true partnership makes the difference

EarthLink’s Stuart Roesel, Director of Customer Loyalty and Retention, and Sam McPhaul, Senior Manager of Business Intelligence, discuss why they chose SAS for more than just the software.

What are some of the advantages SAS has provided EarthLink?
McPhaul: We chose SAS because it really works for us, not just because it’s the gold standard, but because in terms of depth of knowledge and speed-to-market, SAS enables us to do our most effective work. SAS’ strengths are in the variety of options it provides to do different types of analytics all packaged in one tool.

The SAS consultant we worked with helped us get up and running quickly. I was expecting two weeks of hands-on instruction with someone who knew SAS inside and out. It turned out to be better than that – a collaborative effort working with our real data, not just a slide presentation.

Roesel: The consulting made a tremendous difference in how quickly we were able to migrate our existing models. We’ve been able to get more in-depth, higher-quality information faster than we would have otherwise. Our partnership with SAS gave us a great jump start.

How else will your partnership with SAS help as you move forward? 
McPhaul: We’ve achieved amazing results, and I want to keep that forward momentum going. SAS training has been outstanding. When bringing in a new technique, the power is learning the new features and benefits. For example, the decision trees, neural networks, transformations and automated binning are valuable benefits that previously had been either unavailable to us or very labor intensive.

Roesel: The individuals on our team complement each other’s skills and ability to learn how to get even more out of the software. And our collaborative relationship with SAS has helped us all grow together and work successfully as a team.