Sydney, Australia  (July 16, 2007) – SAS, the leader in business intelligence, announced today it was ranked number six in Healthcare Informatics 14th annual “Top 100 Healthcare IT Companies”.

In addition, SAS was also selected as one of ten of the top 40 companies to be featured in the “Headliners” profiles, with SAS ultimately chosen as the cover story for this influential issue. Each Headliner is a market leader within their particular field, SAS being the number one business intelligence and analytics vendor. The 2007 Headliners “represent some of the most outstanding leaders in the field – companies that don’t just do what their clients tell them, but suggest to their clients what to do.”

The presence of SAS on the list offers further evidence that business intelligence (BI) and analytics tools are being used more frequently in the healthcare arena, and more effectively. Already widespread in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences areas, their use has been expanding in health insurer organisations, and is becoming more mainstream among provider organisations.

“It’s extremely gratifying to be a top software company in healthcare,” said Kecia Serwin, General Manager of health and life sciences at SAS. “It’s a testament to the importance of tapping into our data assets and leveraging it for smarter decision making. Our steady improvement in the Top 100 reflects SAS’ commitment to the healthcare industry and the value we're delivering to our customers.”

SAS healthcare customers globally that are benefiting from the use of business intelligence to improve quality, safety and costs include Aetna, ANZICS, Baylor Health System, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Cigna Healthcare, Health Care Services Corporation, Highmark, Maine Medical Center, the University of Louisville and Yale New Haven Health System among others.

The 2007 Top 10 Healthcare IT companies can be found on the Healthcare Informatics website.

About Healthcare Informatics

Founded in 1984, Healthcare Informatics is the industry’s leading publication and is a vital resource for more than 40,000 healthcare IT executives who require insightful coverage and commentary to stay on the cutting edge of technology. Healthcare Informatics is a publication of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business intelligence and analytical software and services. Customers at 43,000 sites use SAS software to improve performance through insight from data, resulting in faster, more accurate business decisions; more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; compliance with governmental regulations; research breakthroughs; and better products and processes. Only SAS offers leading data integration, storage, analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know® .