SAS named leader

SAS has been named a leader in "The Forrester Wave: Business Performance Solutions, Q4 2007", an independent report from Forrester Research, published on 10 October 2007, according to Business Wire.

"SAS now has a solid set of BPS offerings that are well integrated on its business intelligence (BI) platform, with particular depth in predictive analytic forecasting, cost and profitability management, and industry-specific solutions," said Paul Hamerman, VP and principal analyst at Forrester.

"Organisations use SAS for performance management to execute on strategy amid growing governance, competition and global markets," said Jim Davis, senior VP and CMO at SAS.

SAP will acquire BI software vendor Business Objects SA for US$6.78 billion, according to IT World Canada.

The France-based BI vendor will add momentum to SAP`s push into mid-market companies - of which Canada is primarily comprised, said IDC`s VP of enterprise software research, Joel Martin.

The union means customers can reap the benefits of BI within the industry-specific applications that SAP offers, said Martin.

Hoover`s IPO Scorecard says the number of US initial public offerings (IPOs) increased 19% for Q3 2007 compared to the same quarter a year ago, according to PRWeb.

In Q3 2007, 38 companies went public on the major US stock exchanges, raising $11.2 billion, compared to the same quarter in 2006, when 32 companies went public, raising $6.1 billion.

"Despite the expected summer doldrums for the IPO market, there are still a number of big deals on the horizon. In fact, five of the companies that filed in Q3 are attempting to raise more than $1 billion each," said Tim Walker, Hoover`s industry expert.