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A record-setting audience of nearly 4,200 SAS fans gathered in San Francisco March 26-29 for the 31st annual SAS Users Group International (SUGI) conference. Attendees were treated to demonstrations, presentations, hands-on workshops, one-on-one sessions with SAS technical support personnel, and a multitude of networking opportunities.
Building Bridges with BI
At Opening Session, conference Chair Kimberly J. LeBouton welcomed participants to San Francisco, promising that this was to be the most informative and exciting SUGI ever. LeBouton described SUGI 31 as a bridge for business intelligence.
When SAS CEO Jim Goodnight took the stage, he also alluded to the building bridges theme. "With the spirit of collaboration, you freely share ideas and best practices, whether it's through a poster session, a paper or just informally during the conference," he said. "I've heard many examples over the years of how people from totally different industries, in different parts of the world have been able to use this forum to solve problems and add value to their organizations."
Goodnight recounted the successful year the company had in 2005, with 10 percent revenue growth, marking 29 consecutive years of growth and profitability, a 24 percent reinvestment of top-line revenue into R&D and a user base that is growing across industries and geographically.
Business intelligence will permeate the conference, he said, and referred to a definition of business intelligence coined in the late 1980s: Business intelligence is "a user-centered process that includes accessing and exploring information, analyzing this information and developing insights and understanding which leads to improved and informed decision making."
Analytics are key to providing an organization with the knowledge it needs to make sound business decisions, and SAS has been doing advanced analytics since its inception.
Dr. Goodnight also presented SAS' prestigious Enterprise Intelligence Award to the two organizations (one from the private sector, one from the public sector) that have demonstrated the most substantial productivity gains, cost or time savings, or achievement of organizational goals through the use of SAS software. This year's winners were U.S. Bank and the U.S. Coast Guard.
New learning opportunities
Conference attendees enjoyed many new SUGI features this year. Industry Focus Sessions gave participants the opportunity to examine how SAS technologies help users achieve their goals in key industries: communications, education, financial services, life sciences, manufacturing and retail.
The Business Intelligence (BI) Forum, another new offering, discussed real-world case studies to demonstrate how to deliver information more efficiently and effectively -- and how implementing a BI environment helps organizations gain the most value from their data.
A new name: SAS Global Forum
During the SUGI 31 Opening Session, Dr. Goodnight and LeBouton announced that, beginning in 2007, SUGI will have a new name: SAS Global Forum.
The new name, SAS Global Forum, is intended to differentiate the conference as the single most important SAS-related global event for longtime SAS users, IT and business-user audiences. In addition, the name change emphasizes the value of the conference as a forum, in which ideas and experiences are shared at every level: peer to peer, between long-term SAS users and business decision makers new to the SAS environment, and between SAS and every conference attendee. The new name also celebrates the all-encompassing nature of the conference as it complements other SAS-related events around the world.
30 Years of Success
As SAS commemorates its 30th anniversary this year, Goodnight reflected on the company's focus on its customers: "We know that our customers make SAS who we are. And we know that our most loyal customers are here at SUGI. This conference has always been a showcase for your ingenuity and innovation, and is one of the best ways in which you learn about SAS, and we learn about you."
"Thanks for being loyal SAS customers for the past 30 years," said Goodnight. "We hope that you'll be with us for at least another 30."
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