Washington, D.C. –Cary,
North Carolina-based software vendor SAS Institute Inc. is holding its
annual Global Forum this week. The opening keynote was tonight, and
here are a just handful of things seen and heard so far.
1.SAS
CEO Jim Goodnight said the company had its 33rd year of consecutive
growth in 2008, andhas invested more than five billion dollars in
R&D over the last 33 years, and it will continue to spend on
R&D. “In today’s economy, many companies are cutting back, but SAS
is not. In 2009, we are continuing our strong commitment to R&D,”
Goodnight said to the audience.
2.There are 3,200 people, 25 per cent of whom hail from outside the U.S., registered for the annual user-run event.
3.Jim
Davis, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, said business
intelligence is not what will drive organizations forward in this tough
economy because it only supports reactive decision making. The answer,
he said, is to look to the future with business analytics. “Business
intelligence has had its day,” said Davis.
4.SAS
Curriculum Pathway, the company’s online curriculum to prepare students
for college, is now free to all educators and students across the U.S.
“to help parents and teachers better prepare the next generation for
employment and beyond,” said Goodnight.
5.This
year’s SAS User Feedback Award winner was Jaroslav Maj from Play, a
Poland-based mobile telecommunications company, that deployed several
SAS-based projects including analytical data mart, campaign management,
and customer contribution margin.
6.Political
satire from comedic group Capitol Steps somewhat missed its mark with
anemic skits featuring look-alikes of Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and
Kim Jong-il.
7.SAS’s
first commercial customer from 1972, State Farm Insurance, was onstage,
and credited the successful partnership on SAS being “a good
neighbour”, a humorous nod to its own jingle “Like a good neighbour,
State Farm is there!”
