Governance Built In
Many AI platforms spread governance across disconnected tools, making it difficult to maintain consistent controls from data through deployment. These fragmented workflows increase exposure to bias, drift and compliance risks that can go unnoticed.
SAS Viya is built differently.
SAS is designed for governance from the start. Oversight, documentation and transparency are embedded throughout the data and AI life cycle, so innovation and compliance move together. This continuous, end-to-end governance is built in, without relying on third-party add-ons or external governance tools.
Viya automatically discovers sensitive data, applies the right protections and tracks lineage across pipelines – reducing risk while letting teams move fast with clean, trusted inputs.
Viya runs fairness, accuracy and explainability checks before deployment, giving teams rapid feedback and leaders confidence that models meet organizational expectations.
Viya supports streamlined deployment pipelines with versioning, approvals and reproducible packages so teams ship reliable models without extra manual steps.
Viya continuously tracks performance and drift, triggering alerts or retraining when needed. Teams stay ahead of issues while leaders gain a complete audit trail without added effort.
Viya applies templates and documentation aligned with frameworks like NIST, giving teams clear guidance and helping organizations meet governance standards with less friction.
Organizations without AI governance face not just potential regulatory penalties, depending on the markets they’re in – they face a potential competitive disadvantage because public trust has become the new currency for AI innovation.” – Reggie Townsend, Vice President, Data Ethics Practice, SAS
Industry Applications
Trust isn’t built by technology alone. It’s built by people who understand what’s at stake. For nearly 50 years, SAS experts have worked side by side with organizations in government, health care, banking and defense to solve problems where compliance, transparency and human judgment matter most.
The financial sector continues to navigate heightened regulatory oversight and increasingly complex data ecosystems. Vanquis Bank modernized its analytics with SAS Viya, reducing cloud costs while improving transparency and compliance.
AI is accelerating discovery, but reproducibility and data integrity are critical. READDI uses SAS Viya to advance antiviral drug development and prepare for future pandemics.
The future of health care depends on responsible AI. Her Excellency Mubaraka Inbrahim, Director of Information and Smart Health at Emirates Health Services, discusses how ethical and human-centered AI is reshaping healthcare in the UAE.
AI Governance Features
SAS Viya builds governance into your AI life cycle: transparency, fairness, privacy and human oversight all in one platform.
Governance, built in – not bolted on
SAS Viya embeds transparency, fairness, privacy and human oversight directly into your AI life cycle – ensuring responsible innovation at scale.
Transparency you can prove
Generate model “nutrition labels” that summarize fairness, accuracy and interpretability – so every decision can be explained and defended.
Built-in fairness and bias assessment
Detect disparities across sensitive variables and address them before deployment – ensuring equity and compliance from the start.
Privacy by design
Automatically identify and protect personal or regulated information to reduce exposure and maintain data integrity.
Governance automation
Enforce standards aligned with global AI-risk frameworks and emerging regulations – without manual overhead.
Human oversight
Balance autonomy and accountability. SAS Viya embeds explainability checkpoints and ethical review gates throughout the model life cycle, ensuring humans stay in control of agentic AI.
See everything. Control everything.
With clear visibility into your AI ecosystem, you strengthen trust with regulators, customers and internal stakeholders, protecting your brand from the consequences of unmanaged AI.
Evaluate Your Readiness
Advance your AI governance journey with our interactive assessment. It benchmarks your organization’s maturity and delivers personalized recommendations for next steps.
FAQ
Here are common questions about governance and how SAS Viya helps organizations manage AI responsibly.
Q: Does AI governance slow down innovation?
AI governance does not slow down innovation. Governance is built into workflows, not layered on top, so teams can innovate responsibly without adding friction. Automation, templates and integrated human-in-the-loop make compliance seamless – enabling speed and safety.
Q: How does SAS Viya integrate with existing MLOps or DataOps tools?
The open architecture of SAS Viya connects easily with existing MLOps and DataOps pipelines, ensuring that governance is consistent across hybrid and multicloud environments – without disrupting current workflows.
Q: Can SAS Viya help with upcoming AI regulations?
Yes. SAS Viya provides a comprehensive suite of tools to help organizations adapt to evolving AI regulations around the world, such as the EU AI Act. Built-in capabilities for explainability, model monitoring and other AI governance features support organizations in complying with evolving AI regulations and standards.
Q: How does SAS Viya support AI governance?
SAS Viya embeds governance throughout the full AI life cycle – from data preparation to deployment. It provides:
- Model transparency through “nutrition labels” showing accuracy and fairness.
- Fairness and bias detection across sensitive variables.
- Automated documentation and audit trails for compliance.
- Privacy controls that identify and protect personal information.
- Life cycle monitoring to detect model drift and trigger retraining.
- Built-in alignment with global AI risk-management frameworks.
This unified, end-to-end approach to governance is why organizations trust SAS with their most vital decisions.
Q: How does SAS Viya handle governance for generative AI and LLMs?
SAS Viya builds governance directly into generative AI and LLM workflows to ensure transparency, accountability and privacy. It provides built-in tools to monitor data use, track model decisions and document outcomes, so organizations can understand the results generated and identify potential limitations. With customizable governance structures, SAS Viya helps balance innovation with responsible AI oversight across the entire life cycle.
Q: How does SAS ensure explainability for agentic AI systems?
SAS Viya facilitates transparency and traceability of why and how a decision has been made by an agentic system with in-depth, auditable reports.
Q: What makes SAS different from other AI governance platforms?
Most AI platforms treat governance as an add-on. SAS Viya is different because governance is built into every stage of the analytics life cycle. Drawing on decades of analytics leadership and domain expertise, SAS unites risk management and AI governance in one trusted platform.
Q: How quickly can organizations get started with AI governance on SAS Viya?
Governance is built into the foundation of SAS Viya. As soon as you begin using Viya, you can get started with AI governance! A best practice is to create a governance strategy before the first line of code is written. The AI Governance Map can help determine where you are in your AI governance journey to inform that strategy.