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Hong Kong (February 17, 2009) –
Business analytics leader SAS continued its unbroken chain of
growth in 2008, logging global revenue of US$2.26 billion, up
5.1 percent over 2007 results.
“We achieved our 33rd year of
revenue growth in the worst economy most can remember,” said CEO
Jim Goodnight. “This growth is a direct result of being a stable
privately held company, which allows us to invest in long-term
relationships with employees and customers.”
SAS’ strongest growth was in
analytics, data mining and solutions that help organizations
keep current customers and win new ones, manage risk and
optimize processes. Goodnight said, “In tough times, companies
focus on optimizing their businesses.”
Double Digit Growth for SAS Asia
Pacific
SAS Asia Pacific recorded 8.5
percent growth in 2008 from 2007 and despite the economic
downturn that impacted the region, 363 new customers signed up
to SAS, with many deals in excess of US$1million.
“SAS Japan, China, Philippines and
India all exceeded double digit growth in total software revenue
above 20 percent. In addition to new customers, our retention
rates remain high across the region, indicating strong
dependence on software that is delivering insight into managing
in these difficult times," said Don Cooper-Williams Executive
Director of SAS Asia Pacific.
“Although we are projecting a softer
2009, we expect the growth trend to continue as organisations
increase their need for business analytics for customer,
information, risk and performance management. We are bringing
new initiatives to market that emphasise the necessity for
powerful and scalable solutions that incorporate predictive
analytics allowing customers to have the ability to make fact
based decisions in real time. SAS continued to see strong growth
from the Banking and Financial Services Industry (BFSI) and even
stronger growth from the Public Sector. Our successful strategy
continues to be based on listening to our customers, exceeding
delivery and ROI expectations," said Cooper-Williams.
In Hong Kong, total software revenue
also recorded a double digit growth in 2008. “This is mainly
attributable to customers’ support and recognition to our risk
management and performance management offerings which allow
enterprises to drive proactive decision making during economic
downturn,” said Cecil Ko, General Manager of SAS Institute Ltd.
Henry Morris, Senior Vice President,
Worldwide Software and Service Research at IDC, said, "IDC
surveys of business intelligence software buyers during 2008
show that a vendor's economic viability is gaining in priority
as a factor in software selection. SAS' long-term record of
continued year-over-year growth positions it favorably,
therefore, in this economic downturn."
Organizations Partner with SAS to
Manage Top and Bottom Line
Driven by the challenging economic
climate, customers turned to SAS’ market-leading business
analytics to derive money-saving and money-making insights from
ever-growing volumes of data. Risk management solutions were up
28 percent, and optimization software sales increased 18
percent. In addition, SAS saw strong sales growth in multiple
industries, led by energy and utilities with a 27 percent
increase, and capital markets, which jumped 15 percent. Total
revenue from analytics and data mining rose more than 15
percent.
Other highlights
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Double-digit increases were
achieved in data integration solutions in life sciences and
government.
-
Revenue for analytics products
exceeded 20 percent growth in the healthcare and education
industries.
-
Double-digit growth was achieved
in business intelligence applications in government, retail
and life sciences.
-
More than 50 percent growth was
achieved in customer intelligence solutions in insurance.
SAS’ Global
Footprint Grows
SAS gained 2,600 new customers from
around the world in 2008. Customers new to SAS in Asia Pacific
region include: CITIC Bank China, Data Action Australia, Elders
Australia, Environment Protection Administration Taiwan,
Healthscope Australia, Lotte Duty Free Store Korea, Tesco Stores
Malaysia and Vodafone Essar India
Global Success; Innovation
Through Acquisition
As in previous years, SAS revenue
growth remained globally balanced, contributing to the company’s
stability. The Americas accounted for 43 percent of total
revenue; Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) 45 percent; and
Asia Pacific 12 percent.
Of note are high growth rates in
emerging markets – 25 percent in Latin America, 20 percent in
India and more than 15 percent in major eastern European
countries. “Our performance in some of the hardest hit economies
affirms that the world, now more than ever, needs analytics to
provide answers to complex business problems in order to
innovate and lead with confidence,” Goodnight said.
SAS reinvested 22 percent of 2008
revenue in R&D and ended the year with 11,019 employees, up 3.5
percent from 2007. For the 12th year in a row, SAS was named to
FORTUNE magazine’s annual list of the
100 Best Companies to Work For in America. In addition to
ranking No. 20 on the list, SAS was listed as one of the best
for healthcare, childcare and work-life balance.
On the innovation front, SAS
successfully integrated the employees and technologies of two
companies in 2008:
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Teragram, a 40-person firm headquartered in Cambridge,
MA, expands SAS’ analytical portfolio with natural language
processing and advanced linguistic technology.
-
IDeaS
Revenue Optimization, a 200-person Minneapolis firm,
complements SAS’ advanced analytics, business intelligence
and industry-specific solutions with revenue-management
capabilities specifically for the travel and hospitality
industries.
Effective Partnering Yields Results
SAS' growing network of alliance and
channel partners played an integral role in 28 percent of sales
and almost half of the top 50 global deals. Of note are
strategic initiatives including partnerships with leading
systems integrators, continued efforts with Teradata Corp., and
a continued focus on third-party channels.
Partnerships with systems
integrators Accenture, Capgemini, Tata Consultancy Services,
Wipro Technologies and others offer customers the resources and
expertise to leverage SAS® business analytics
throughout the enterprise. SAS is continuing its in-database
analytic efforts with Teradata via the SAS and Teradata
Advantage Program launched in 2008.
Direction
With the economy predicted to remain
challenging through the first half of 2009, SAS will continue to
invest in technology and solutions that help customers improve
performance. SAS will continue to roll out SAS 9.2 enhancements
and deliver new solutions in the areas of fraud, customer
insight, risk and analytics as part of a business analytics
framework. SAS will remain committed to sustainability, both as
a
software solution provider and as a
corporate citizen. “SAS is very strong in data management
and business process management, so we’re in a very good
position,” said SAS Senior Vice President Jim Davis.
“Organizations will be looking to harness data they already have
into a business analytics framework to move forward. Value-based
solutions are critical for surviving challenging times.”
Leading firm Gartner Inc. in 2008
placed SAS in the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for
Business Intelligence Platforms, 2008 in
February[1](and in the report published
last month), the Visionaries Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant
for Marketing Resource Management, 1Q08 in
March[2], the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic
Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign Management, 2008 in
April[3], the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic
Quadrant for Operational Risk Management Software for Financial
Services in
June[4], the Visionaries Quadrant of the Magic
Quadrant for Enterprise Marketing Management in
July[5], the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic
Quadrant for Customer Data Mining Applications in
July[6], and the Visionaries Quadrant of the
Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools in
September[7].
About The Magic Quadrant
The Magic Quadrants are copyrighted
2008 by Gartner Inc. and are reused with permission. The Magic
Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and
for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how
certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace,
as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor,
product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not
advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in
the “Leaders” quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as
a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to
action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied,
with respect to this research, including any warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
1.
Gartner, Inc.. Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence
Platforms, 2008, James Richardson, Kurt Schlegel, Bill Hostmann
and Neil McMurchy, February 1, 2008.
2.
Gartner Research. “Magic Quadrant for Marketing Resource
Management, 1Q08,” by Kimberly Collins, 3 March 2008
3.
Gartner Inc., Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign
Management, 2008, Adam Sarner, April 6, 2008.
4.
Gartner Research. Magic Quadrant for Operational Risk Management
Software for Financial Services, Douglas McKibben, David
Furlonger, June 6, 2008.
5.
Gartner, Inc. "Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Marketing
Management" by Kimberly Collins and Adam Sarner, July 1, 2008
6.
Gartner Research. Magic Quadrant for Customer Data Mining
Applications, Gareth Hershel, July 1, 2008.
7.
Gartner Research. “Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools” by
Ted Friedman, Mark A. Beyer, Andreas Bitterer, September 22,
2008.
About SAS
SAS is the leader in
business analytics software and services, and the largest
independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through
innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework,
SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve
performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster.
Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The
Power to Know® .
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