Risk, fraud and security intelligence influence 40th consecutive year of growth
CARY, NC, Feb. 2, 2016 /CNW/ - Growing customer demand for risk, fraud and security intelligence analytics strongly influenced SAS' 40th consecutive year of revenue growth. SAS posted US$3.16 billion in total operating revenue, up 6.4 percent in constant currency (2.3 percent US dollars) over 2014. New software sales increased 12 percent in constant currency (8 percent US dollars) – a testament to an ever-growing demand for SAS® Analytics.
"For 40 years, SAS has been helping customers change the world with analytics," said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. "As the leader in analytics, we continue to be the company people turn to for unrivaled expertise and solutions when it matters most."
Global impact
SAS total revenue growth was strong worldwide. New sales revenue percentage growth reached double digits in most regions, showing the effect of successful globalization efforts. In addition to boosts from new capabilities in risk, fraud and security intelligence, all regions continued growth in SAS core technologies, including data management, analytics and business intelligence.
SAS Canada achieved another successful year increasing revenue by 12 per cent over 2014. To support its ongoing growth, SAS Canada will continue hiring for the 27th consecutive year, investing in analytics skills in sales and professional services roles, increasing its workforce by more than 8% per cent across the country.
"SAS Canada had a tremendous year and we plan to keep the momentum going," said SAS Canada President, Cameron Dow. "We are expanding our office space, hiring and continuing to help businesses all over Canada drive better business outcomes with analytics. "As the leader in analytics we are well positioned to support the Big Data technology and services market, a market that according to IDC is projected to grow to $41.5 billion through 2018, or about six times the growth rate of the overall information technology market!"
Financial services, government and insurance represent the highest proportion of SAS revenue by industry. Customers in these areas include Bank of America and HSBC, German insurer Munich Re and leading Irish retail bank permanent tsb, as well as many US government organizations including Delaware State Police and California's Orange County Child Support Services. Industries with the greatest growth included banking, manufacturing, retail and services.
Cloud, Internet of Things (IoT) bring opportunities
SAS is strengthening its offerings in the cloud, mobile and IoT spaces. SAS Cloud Analytics gained traction quickly and is now used by customers in more than 70 countries.
With 40 billion connected devices estimated to enter the market by 2020, the IoT will accelerate scientific breakthroughs, including advancements like smart cities, where experts position SAS as a major player. Yet, as opportunities for innovation increase with such connectivity, so do the risks of being attacked. In 2015, SAS introduced SAS Cybersecurity to help combat such risks.
Commitment to innovation is key to customer satisfaction
According to analysts, SAS has "predictive analytics solutions that offer almost every feature a data scientist or business user could ever want." SAS' commitment to innovation makes this possible. In 2015, the company reinvested 25 percent of total revenue into research and development – nearly double the percentage of annual revenue reinvested by most major technology companies.
"As SAS has grown, we have always reinvested a high percentage of revenue into R&D – this year a quarter of our total revenue – which allows us to stay at the cutting edge of analytics innovation and maintain a leadership position in our core markets," said SAS Chief Marketing Officer Randy Guard.
Customers benefit from SAS analytics in countless ways. Last year, innovations included the following:
In addition to these new innovations, SAS' established portfolio continued helping customers make a difference in people's lives. For example, SAS Visual Analytics, with nearly 14,000 licenses worldwide, helped the International Organization for Migration identify high-risk shelters, and better allocate resources to put roofs over the heads of thousands of Nepali earthquake victims.
Such innovation brought more than 1,800 new customers to SAS in 2015, now at 80,000 customer sites (including Lenovo and the Orlando Magic). This significant increase in new customers, along with a strong commitment to quality and service, contributed to SAS being named No. 1 for customer satisfaction, loyalty and purchase momentum by Temkin Group.
SAS partners extend reach to customers
In 2015, SAS partners influenced 30 percent of new sales and nearly half of SAS' largest deals, and the SAS channel is making a bigger impact than ever. Since welcoming global distributor Arrow Electronics, SAS has signed more than 150 resellers. In 2015, SAS signed its first OEM agreement with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions and signed its first managed analytic services providers (MASPs) to further help customers implement SAS technology in ways that best fit their individual needs and those of their own end users.
SAS will continue to thrive in 2016
Analysts named SAS a leader in agile BI, and IDC1 noted in a recent report that SAS held a 33.3 percent share of the advanced and predictive analytics market. That share was greater than the 24.5 percent market share of all the other nine named competitors combined. SAS has also been recognized by industry analysts as a leader in data management, fraud detection, retail, customer intelligence, BI and analytics segments.
SAS plans to continue delivering innovation in cloud analytics and analytics-as-a-service, BI/data visualization, data management, customer intelligence, fraud detection, security intelligence solutions and risk management. SAS will also introduce enhanced versions of SAS big data analytics products.
In addition to software growth, SAS will expand operations next year. The company will add sales staff and create new customer contact centers in Dublin and the Asia Pacific region. In the US, SAS will open a new office in Detroit to support growth in auto manufacturing. The company will also break ground on a new office tower at SAS world headquarters in Cary, NC.
Commitment to education addresses analytics skills gap
SAS provides analytics training via SAS Analytics U and in partnership with universities and high schools. One of the many ways SAS is addressing the analytics skills gap, SAS Analytics U saw tremendous growth in its free offerings. Downloads of SAS University Edition and SAS OnDemand both grew in popularity, with more than 520,000 combined downloads and registrations. More than 45,000 people registered for free e-learning courses.
The recently launched SAS Academy for Data Science offers SAS Certified Big Data Professional and SAS Certified Data Scientist credentials. The academy imparts skills in big data management, advanced analytics, machine learning and data visualization.
About SAS
SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative analytics, business intelligence and data management software and services, SAS helps customers at 80,000 sites make better decisions faster. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.
The Canadian subsidiary of SAS has been in operation since 1988. Headquartered in Toronto, SAS employs more than 300 people across the country at its Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montréal offices. For more information, please visit www.sas.com/canada
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2016 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
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1 Worldwide Advanced and Predictive Analytics Software Market Shares, 2014: The Rise of the Long Tail, IDC No. 257344, July 2015.
SOURCE SAS Canada
Image with caption: "Analytics in Action (CNW Group/SAS Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160202_C5463_PHOTO_EN_611203.jpg
Editorial Contact: Suzanne Sprajcar, [email protected], 416-575-8500, sas.com/news
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