 A
Note From SAS Canada
Last month, about 150 Canadian SAS customers
and I had a chance to note winter’s
passing with an unfamiliar measuring stick: the famous blossoming
cherry trees of Washington, DC. The US capital was the venue for
SAS® Global Forum in March; we were among nearly 4,000 SAS customers
from around the world who came to hear four days’ worth of presentations,
network and train – with a little sightseeing thrown in for good
measure.
To kick off the 2009 user forum, SAS CEO Jim Goodnight gave some
insight during his opening
address into how SAS can add value for organizations struggling
with the challenges of the current global economic climate. If
you were unable to attend our biggest user event of the year, be
sure to view this insightful roundup: “7
short videos not to miss from SAS Global Forum.” Of particular
note, CTO Keith Collins discusses the SAS 9.2 wave 2 release as
well as 90 other releases you will see from SAS in 2009. For a
comprehensive list of all the papers that touched on the SAS 9.2
upgrade, click here.
The event was a great experiment in putting social
media to the test as a business tool.
From real-time
Twitter updates to daily
video blog entries, SAS users connected directly to each other
in innovative and instantaneous ways. NetVibes is
a hub site for all of SAS’ forays
into social media: have a look to
get an “insider’s view!” Check out
the special SGF 101 tab in this newsletter
for more information on how we’re using social networks
at SAS.
For a little good old-fashioned face-to-face networking, SAS Canada
once again hosted the Canada
Night Out. What started as a low-key social evening several
years ago has evolved into one of the marquee events of the conference.
More than 100 Canadians played “Canadian Trivia” and tried to stump
our special guest customers from Latin America who joined the party.
SAS Global Forum was such a great event, we feel compelled to
share the fun: SAS Canada has set up a public
Flickr photo pool to submit photos of the Canadian SAS Global
Forum experience. Dive in and have a look; maybe you’ll see yourself
or someone you know.
An important part of the SAS success story is the strong support
we receive from our customers. In return, we like to recognize
key individuals by sponsoring them to go to SAS Global Forum. This
year, there were two people who stood out: Dr. Arthur Tabachneck,
a Department Director at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, who was
this year’s Customer Value Award winner; and Ron Kaine,
Associate Director, Credit Risk Management at Bell Canada, who
won the insights analytics contest. Congratulations
to both Art and Ron! You can read more about both of them in the
SGF 101 section.
All the best for an enjoyable spring and summer!
Best,
Matt Malczewski
Users Group Program Manager
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