SAS unveils its strategy to move beyond business intelligence and extend to business analytics
- SAS achieved global revenue growth of 15% and 20% in the Asia Pacific region in 2004 -

Hong Kong 1 March 2005 - SAS Institute announced continued financial and customer success during 2004, with annual global revenue up 15% over 2003 and Asia Pacific operations achieving 20% growth, reflecting the rapid adoption of business intelligence technology in the region.  Total revenue for the year reached $1.53 billion, clearly establishing SAS as the world's leading provider of business intelligence software. This marks the company's 28th consecutive year of revenue growth and profitability. The strong performance stems from the company's recent industry focus, the launch of the groundbreaking SAS®9 Enterprise Intelligence Platform, and the release of a new generation of business solutions. During 2004, SAS shipped SAS®9 to nearly 20,000 sites worldwide. To maintain its leadership position and capitalize the shift in market growth from business intelligence tools to packaged analytics applications, SAS has launched a portfolio of enhanced software solutions that build on the SAS®9 Enterprise Intelligence Platform: SAS Financial Intelligence, SAS Marketing Automation, SAS Activity-Based Management and SAS Strategic Performance Management. This year will see the launch of an additional three solutions: SAS Risk Dimensions, SAS IT Management Solutions and SAS Supplier Relationship Management.  "It is not enough to just have best of breed information delivery technologies i.e. traditional BI tools enabled by query and reporting software," said Phillip Beniac, Vice President of SAS Asia Pacific. "Customers are now asking for more. They are looking for decision support functionality that can deal with advanced analytics such as scenario anlaysis, what-if analysis, and business process optimization. The SAS®9 Enterprise Intelligence Platform and the newly launched solutions take customers beyond business intelligence; instead of merely tracking historical data, they can shape future results. The power of predictive analytics will enable continuing success for SAS and its customers." Beniac said SAS' success lies in its ability to provide not only the breadth but also the depth of solutions covering the business analytics market, including business intelligence tools and analytics applications. SAS will continue to expand its line of industry-specific solutions, combining its unparalleled analytic strength with the added value of domain expertise in such areas as banking, insurance, retail, life sciences, telecommunications and manufacturing.  "We are committed to understanding the industry-specific challenges of our customers and providing them with rapid value. SAS offers customers not just insight arising from their data, but also resolutions to emerging business issues that now top corporate agendas," said Beniac. SAS' key business wins in 2004 in Asia Pacific and Greater China include Aeon Credit Service Co. Ltd., Australian Taxation Office, Shanghai General Motors, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Water Supplies Department of HKSAR.  The entire Asia Pacific has huge potential for growth and demand for business intelligence and SAS will focus on Greater China, which has recently experienced exponential growth. Enterprises in the Greater China region are in a great demand of industry-specific business knowledge and skill for development of best practices and to create a competitive advantage. It will be an absolute requirement for them to make sense out of the vast amounts of data they are collecting, and turn into powerful knowledge for making better management decisions, which is where SAS can play a huge role by providing the right business- and industry-specific solutions.  About SAS  SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 40,000 sites - including 96 of the top 100 companies on the FORTUNE Global 500 ® - to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For nearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®.

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