SAS secures R21m Absa deal

Johannesburg, 17 Sept 2007

Business intelligence company SAS Institute has secured a three-year strategic partnership with Absa.

Absa chief procurement officer Ian Russell says the value of the partnership stands at between R21 million and R25 million.

"However, [the value] could quite conceivably double by the end of the period," he notes.

The agreement forms part of Absa's goal to formalise sourcing and procurement procedures across industries, say the parties. SAS has already been named one of Barclays' top five strategic partners.

A long-standing reseller to the bank, SAS will help Absa to consolidate the many iterations of its software within the banking group.

Bill Hoggarth, CEO of SAS Africa and Middle East, says the signing of the strategic partnership means the company has more of a tactical role to play in the bank.

"The strategic partnership moves us up from our old status of supplier. As a company, we are now required to become intimately involved in the business of Absa. Business intelligence is a key mainstay of the Absa business; however, the group wants to step up its understanding of its clients and we will need to ensure this is done successfully," he explains.

Absa and SAS have also considered the impact the proposed Protection of Personal Information Bill could have on this agreement, says Russell.

"Both Barclays and SAS have had to address similar privacy regulations in other regions. We will use established best practices to ensure we are able to identify the trends that we require for our business, without infringing on the privacy rights of our customers," he explains.