Brazilian Government Counts on SAS®

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics has used SAS Business Intelligence for nearly three decades to provide information used to shape the future of Brazil.

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Check out this video to learn more about IBGE and its successes with SAS. 

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Eduardo Robson Tardin Costa 
Assistant Director IT, IBGE

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IBGE can be compared to the US Census Bureau, explains Eduardo R.T. Costa, IT Assistant Director of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). 

“Our mission is to provide Brazilian officials with all the information necessary to understand what is going on in our country and data so that citizens can effectively exercise their citizenship,” says Costa. “We conduct all kinds of research and provide monthly surveys ranging from economic activity to demographic fluctuations.” 

A flood of data comes from multiple sources across the country. IBGE may evaluate citizen questionnaires or process field interviews, document price research or even run cartography analyses in addition to conducting traditional collection and evaluation of administrative records from various governmental agencies. 

SAS provides tools for complex jobs

With data collected from numerous sources and with varying levels of access required, SAS provides IBGE a single, integrated platform. This platform-based system allows various employees to tap in and find information required for a slew of projects. 

“SAS is widely used at all levels of the organization: from the lowest levels to the highest levels, the top levels – even the directors,” says Costa.  “Some people started using SAS as trainees or juniors, and today they are directors and they're still using SAS.” 

Increasingly it is becoming critical for researchers from all industries, whether governmental or private, to have integrated BI capabilities. Data must be cross-referenced and multiple members of organizations must be able to get information and get that information quickly. 

“We always have to improve productivity, to do more complex things and do them faster,” says Costa. “That's why we use SAS. We do things faster and need fewer people to do the same things using SAS BI solutions.” 

The demand for information is tremendous and constantly increasing. “Information detailing price indexes, industry indexes, and GDP must often be quickly analyzed and delivered to key decision makers,” says Costa. “This is critical for effective government planning.” 

A proven track record

IBGE has been using SAS software for almost three decades. Before adopting SAS programs and solutions, Brazilian researchers were using basic computer languages and attempting to both design IT programs and conduct complex research. Once the agency leaders observed the capabilities of SAS software programs, they invested in the technology and were able to focus more specifically on data collection, processing, and display. 

Costa has worked with the various and evolving SAS programs for over 20 years now and says, "There are no other tools like SAS that can manipulate the high volume of data that we have. We've seen many technological evolutions of SAS, and we've incorporated these new versions. The gains have always been very clear, especially in terms of productivity."

Costa notes that working with SAS is a “true partnership.”  He appreciates the sophisticated but easy-to-use BI tools as well as the customized and personal service provided by SAS. “The government and citizens of Brazil benefit from the high-quality data delivered by the agency using SAS,” he says. “I don’t know any other tools that will give the same result.”

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