Thirty years ago, SAS stood for Statistical Analysis Software. Today, SAS is so much more than just an acronym - it is a name that has become synonymous with the leader in business intelligence software.
The company has grown exponentially from the day it opened for business in 1976. From seven employees selling one software program in Cary, North Carolina, SAS now employs more than 10 000 people in 424 offices around the world. SAS provides expertise in business intelligence, analytics, data integration and enterprise intelligence and supplies focused, tailor-made industry and business solutions in more than 40 000 across the globe, including 96 of the top 100 companies on the Fortune Global 500.
SAS has experienced a phenomenal success rate, maintaining an unbroken 29 years of growth and profitability, a fact may be attributed to the vision and foresight of SAS founder and CEO Dr Jim Goodnight. In Goodnight's own words, "While our company has grown, our mission of adding value to our customers and being central to their success through our software remain the same."
SAS takes these principles with it wherever its offices are set up, and strength of this business plan is apparent worldwide. In South Africa, SAS holds an impressive 21% market share in BI, with its nearest competitor sitting at 11%, and is the largest source of business intelligence expertise in the country. SAS South Africa provides software and services to more than 200 customers in the financial services, government and telecommunications arenas.
Bill Hoggarth, Managing Director of SAS South Africa, says the reason for SAS' success in the country is its strong corporate conscience and commitment to achieving BEE objectives. "BEE mirrors the SAS philosophy of community investment, skills development, affirmative action and long-term sustainability. This is how SAS does business, not just in South Africa but in all of the countries in which we operate, and we regard it as one of the key reasons for the company's phenomenal success rate, both here and in the rest of the world."
For 30 years, SAS has grown and adapted to changing environments, but the core aim remains - helping customers do business better, now and into the future.
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