Welcome to our first anniversary edition

With your support, In The Know has grown to become a valuable way for us to communicate with you and with its introduction we are now able to reach more of you than ever before. Our goal in 2004 is to make future content even more relevant, retaining a strong focus on technology and Hints and Tips. That’s why we’ve launched our Reader Survey so you can help us plan future editions; we value your opinions and ideas!

2004 is set to be an exciting year, not least because SAS^®9 will become available to all customers. This next generation of business intelligence solutions, tried and tested in the ‘Early Adopter’ programme, means IT departments have the reassurance of a high quality enterprise architecture that fully integrates with existing technologies. You can expect full coverage in later editions of In The Know.

We’re proud of our long history of listening to our customers and our willingness to act on your comments: feedback is vital in keeping us 'real' and ensuring we continue to provide a high quality service based on knowledgeable people. New initiatives in 2004 will strengthen our award-winning customer services, and will see even more opportunities for you to showcase your achievements and to get the latest news from the global SAS community.

Finally, we had a great response to our Christmas Quiz and the results are in. The winners are: Tim Malvern, Barclaycard; Justin Bevan, Friends Provident; and Janice Simpson, NHS. Congratulations! The winners and runners-up have already been notified by e-mail. Thank you to everyone who took part.

SAS Outperforms Competitors in Data Mining Category
Data mining continues to be a robust growth market, and SAS is gaining recognition in the vital area of predictive analytics. Giga, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forrester Research Inc., recently issued a report by analyst Lou Agosta titled "Vendor Scorecard: Selecting Software for Predictive Analytics," that assessed software from SAS and three other vendors. These vendors were evaluated on strategy, product functions, usability, pricing and contract options, and vendor viability and support. SAS was rated highly with its award-winning SAS^® Enterprise Miner^TM product, the most comprehensive data mining solution in the market.

Software Vendors Come Together to Launch Java™ Tools Community
Leading software vendors have announced the creation of the Java Tools Community (JTC), an initiative formed by members of the Java Community Process (JCP) to promote "tool friendly" Java technology standards. The JTC will promote the creation, adoption and advancement of Java Specification Requests (JSRs) for "toolability" and interoperability in the design-time area. Toolability is a measurement of how easy it is to build tools around a particular standard or technology. As a result, developers will be able to more easily use Java technology to build Java applications, increasing its rate of adoption. CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

AstraZeneca Successfully Migrates Clinical Data and Meets Regulatory Requirements with SAS®
When AstraZeneca UK needed to migrate clinical data - they had to ensure that the data would be transferred into the new environment quickly, accurately and in full compliance with the 21 CFR Part 11 regulations. The solution, based on SAS/Warehouse Administrator^® and underpinned by the SAS Intelligence Architecture, did exactly that. TECHNOLOGY & SOLUTIONS

Creating One Version of the Truth: Data Integration
So far in this series we have covered Data Profiling and Data Quality. In this issue we look at the third building block in the end-to-end SAS Data Quality solution: Integration.

What Does SAS®9 Bring to Base SAS® Software
With SAS 9, Base SAS delivers a completely new framework that is easy to manage, scales to the enterprise, is highly interoperable and easy to use. From small data problems to those that are extremely large and complex, reading, formatting and analysing data with Base SAS has never been easier. This new white paper from SAS provides an overview of the major Base SAS 9 components and developments. Download and view your free copy.

< Introducing New Mining Capabilities
Responding to increased demand to distil even greater value from data - both structured and unstructured - SAS is pleased to offer new analysis capabilities in SAS 9.1 for both Enterprise Miner^TM and SAS Text Miner. Anne Milley, Director of Analytical Intelligence Strategy at SAS offers an insight into the new mining capabilities. SUPPORT & SERVICES

We Want to Hear From You!
In the Know is now in its second year and we are interested to receive your thoughts about our newsletter. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us better understand your expectations and enable us to develop the format and content. In appreciation, SAS will donate £1 to your choice of several charitable organisations. See survey for more information. Thank you for your feedback!

New Features in SAS®9
SAS Education has introduced a one-day course covering the new features and enhancements included in SAS9. This update course will enable you to be among the first to appreciate how your organisation will benefit from these new technologies and capabilities. HINTS & TIPS

How can I check if a directory already exists and if not, create it?
Find out how to check for the existence of a directory or create new directories using macros and SAS functions.

How can I find out more information on the SAS query that has been sent to a database for processing?
Find out how, when using the SAS/ACCESS^® software, you can use the options SASTRACE and SASTRACELOC to trace this query. EVENTS

Public Sector SAS User Forum - Marlow, 4 March
SAS is pleased to announce its first Public Sector SAS User Forum. The event will give you access to carefully selected presentations on sector-specific issues, strategic technologies and practical business solutions and demonstrations. You will also have the opportunity to listen to best practice case studies on how specific business needs within UK Public Sector organisations have been met.

SAS Forum International – Copenhagen, 15-17 June
"The conference provides an excellent learning experience by hearing about new technologies and how these have been implemented within other organisations. It provides new ideas for us to take back to our own organisation and re-confirms the direction we should be heading in. It's also a great opportunity to learn about the future direction of SAS and network with colleagues and other SAS clients". Lee Salter, project manager, credit model development, Lloyds TSB. Register online today to attend the premier international event for enterprise intelligence.

More SAS UK Events DID YOU KNOW?...

SAS UK Honey Sales Show Double Digit Growth
SAS has two beehives at its headquarters in Marlow, together with a Bee Squad to take care of them. In the summer months, the honeycomb is removed and jars of fresh honey are produced, ready for purchase by SAS employees. In 2003, honey sales raised £600, which was donated to 'Bees in the Curriculum'. This is a growth of more than 25% over the donation made in 2002. This money has been put towards building an imitation hive to take to talks and shows. The imitation hive consists of a real hive containing life-size photos of a frame of bees. To make things more realistic, a speaker is hidden inside the hive. Once opened, the buzz of busy bees is loud and clear. It allows children (and adults) to learn more about bees without any harm coming to them.