SAS achieves record revenue: $2.26 billion in 2008

SAS adds 2,600 customers, sees growth in recession-fighting solutions

CARY, NC. Feb. 04 2009

Business analytics leader SAS continued its unbroken chain of growth in 2008, logging global revenue of US$2.26 billion, up 5.2 percent over 2007 results. In Belgium and Luxembourg, SAS software grew by 14 percent in constant currency terms and exceeded the €30 million total software revenue mark.

“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 invests 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.”

Patrick Van Deven, Country Manager of SAS Belgium and Luxembourg, is particularly proud of the local offices achievements that coincide with the 20th anniversary of SAS in Belgium: “After 3 consecutive years of outstanding growth (about 40% organic software revenue growth compared to 2005), we have further expanded our market share in 2008 by adding new names to our customer list and by significantly increasing our presence at existing ones.”

The long-term relationship SAS developed with its customers in Belgium and Luxembourg seems to pay off even more in difficult economic situations like today. When times get rough, companies turn to financially stable business partners that will help them make the best of very challenging times.

“We believe there is a clear shift in our customer’s perception of how SAS can help” says Van Deven. “This is not just about technology anymore. Today we only succeed because we solve complex business problems that have a clear value for our customers.”

In Belgium and Luxembourg new customers from the banking and insurance sector have been investing in customer intelligence solutions like campaign management and customer analytics. Retail, manufacturing and media companies intensely invested in forecasting and optimization software for Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). Public sector organizations either increased internal transparency through the implementation of performance management solutions or improved external transparency by setting up a modern BI platform for the citizen.

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's 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:

• 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 Belgium and Luxembourg include CACEIS, Nuon, Truvo and Sanoma.

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 re-invested 22 percent of 2008 revenue in R&D and ended the year with 11,019 employees, up 3.5 percent in 2007. SAS for the 12th time in a row 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.

In addition SAS Belgium was ranked among the TOP employers 2009 by CRF in collaboration with international HR research and the Hay Group. Moreover, the Belgian “Summer of SAS” initiative – which offers an unprecedented and unique SAS certification to newly graduated students – was awarded by ADMB.

On the innovation front, SAS successfully integrated the employees and technologies of Teragram, a 40-person firm headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. Teragram expands SAS’ analytical portfolio with natural language processing and advanced linguistic technology.

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. In Belgium & Luxembourg SAS signed new partnerships1 with companies like Acane Consulting, Arhs Group, Deloitte, Finalyse, Ikan Consulting, RealDolmen and SBI Consulting. 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 Platform in February¹ (and again last month), the Visionaries Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Marketing Resource Management in March², the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign Management in April³, the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Operational Risk Management Software for Financial Services in June⁴, the Visionaries Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Marketing Management in July⁵, the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Customer Data Mining Applications in July⁶, and the Visionaries Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools in September⁷.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. With innovative business applications supported by an enterprise intelligence platform, SAS helps customers at 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®.  www.sas.com/belux

ABOUT THE MAGIC QUADRANT

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2008 by Gartner Inc. and is 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.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2009 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.