SAS Analytics tops market choice for evidence-based decisions

Johannesburg, South Africa  (28 Jul. 2010)  –  Business analytics leader SAS holds a commanding 34.7% market share in advanced analytics tools, up from 32.9% a year ago, according to leading industry analyst firm IDC. Organisations of all sizes, in all industries, continued in 2009 to rely on the power of SAS.

SAS' market share was more than twice that of the second largest software vendor in the advanced analytics market. Twelve other companies accounted for a total of 7.6% of the market, according to the recently published IDC Worldwide Business Intelligence Tools 2009 Vendor Shares report.

Despite 2009's difficult global economy, customers invested in SAS Analytics to maximise customer relations, fight fraud, manage risk and solve all kinds of critical business issues.

“Our analytics market leadership and continued growth, outpacing most of our competitors, is the best validation a software innovator could hope for,” said Jim Davis, SAS Senior Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer.

“Every point of SAS' market share is a real customer using SAS Analytics to drive their enterprises for success. The data-driven organisations who depend on SAS serve as models for other organisations considering the value of SAS innovation,” Davis said.

For Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, a health insurer with more than $9 billion in annual revenue, there are numerous significant benefits of its SAS deployment.

“Our SAS use has certainly delivered performance gains for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, but it's more than that. Our project, which involved a variety of SAS analytics and BI, allows us to better understand our key data and workflow. We can make product improvements to better serve our members,” said Jerry High, Manager, Enterprise Information Delivery.

“Underwriters and marketers now have more time to talk about the best way to serve clients. Accounting understands what it can promise in contracts about timely payments. Members can easily check online for everything from utilisation to account balances. SAS has positively influenced many aspects of our business,” he said.

More than analytics

The IDC report noted that in addition to its pre-eminent position in advanced analytics, SAS is also one of the top five software vendors in query-and-reporting tools segment. SAS' reinvestment of more than 20% of revenue back into research and development, even in a troubled economy, “bodes well” for the company's continued success.

SAS also offers data integration and analytic applications, said IDC. SAS targeted business solutions, either cross-industry or vertical-industry-specific, deliver competitive insights. Organisations can confidently solve complex business problems, reach evidence-based decisions, manage for performance, achieve measurable business objectives, drive sustainable growth through innovation, and anticipate and manage change.

IDC also notes SAS' notable success in the small and midsize business (SME) segment, citing dedicated SME products and a specific SME sales strategy for the increased business from this market sector.

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