As part of its global launch initiative, SAS unveiled SAS 9 in India today,
culminating a $1 billion R&D effort spread over the last four years, which is
being touted as the biggest launch ever undertaken by the company in its 28-year
history.
SAS 9 is being branded as a faster, more efficient and easier to use solution,
than its predecessors. It can accommodate changing organizational needs without
any loss of efficiency. The new platform connects all SAS applications so they
work together transparently, and it also communicates with other data sources
and programs.
Speaking to CXOtoday on the occasion of the launch, Bill Gibson, chief
technology officer, SAS Asia Pacific, said, Data duplication is a prime issue
which has to be dealt with today. As far as extracting data from disparate
sources goes, SAS 9 will effectively create a warehouse, where objects will be
standardized for further statistical analysis. Amongst the early implementers of
the SAS 9 platform, is LG Home Shopping network in Korea, where multiple data
sources like SAP, Siebel and Informix were effectively harnessed to generate
results.
SAS 9 consists of an Enterprise ETL server, Intelligent Storage, Enterprise BI
server, and SAS solutions.
According to Don Cooper Williams, director - marketing & alliances, SAS
Asia-Pacific, "The SAS Intelligence platform will provide users a single view of
the enterprise, originating at the desktop level, and spreading through the
mobile user group right up to the CIO level, unlike others that provide only
historical data.
"SAS 9 includes the SAS Intelligence Platform, a broad set of integrated
software for data integration, easy-to-use business reporting and unparalleled
analytics. It also boasts enhancement of the most tightly integrated
optimization and predictive analytics capabilities available, making it easier
to answer complex questions that cannot be addressed by traditional BI, added
Williams.
To support this growth, SAS India aims to expand its direct customer facing team
and alliance partners. In the past, SAS India has made successful inroads into
the BFSI, Telecom and Pharmaceutical verticals where there has been high demand
for BI solutions. Going forward, SAS India expects Retail and Manufacturing to
be the additional growth drivers.
Vivek Gokarn, Managing Director & CEO, SAS India said, "SAS 9 will be available
to our existing customers as a free upgrade. We grew 30% last year in 2003 and
SAS 9 is expected to drive this pace of growth to an even higher level by 40%,
by actually expanding the market for BI solutions.
SAS India plans to impart training on SAS 9 solutions to core members of its
Alliance partners who in turn would train close to 100+ executives in
implementation across the country through the year.
The future potential of the BI market in India, as per a Frost & Sullivan report
is reflected in a CAGR of 33.9%, wherein India figures will be US $53.2 million
by 2008, up from US $15.9 million in 2003.
The company has over 120 installations in the country, and recent key customer
wins include IDBI, Citibank N.A., HSBC and I-Gate.
SAS India currently has consulting alliances with, PricewaterhouseCoopers, TCS,
Tata Infotech, Satyam and MindTree Consulting. Its hardware alliance partners
include HP, Sun and IBM.
