SAS (software)

SAS is a software suite that can mine, alter, manage and retrieve data from a variety of sources and perform statistical analysis on it. SAS provides a graphical point-and-click user interface for non-technical users and more through the SAS language.{{Cite book | title = Encyclopedia of Research Design | doi = 10.4135/9781412961288 | year = 2010 | isbn = 9781412961271 | last1 = Salkind | first1 = Neil }}

SAS programs have DATA steps, which retrieve and manipulate data, PROC (procedures) which analyze the data, and may also have functions. Each step consists of a series of statements.

{{cite book

| author1=Delwiche, Lora D.

| author2=Susan J. Slaughter

| title=The Little SAS Book: A Primer: a Programming Approach

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WtZZ6sYA2_QC&pg=PA6|year=2012

| publisher=SAS Institute

| isbn=978-1-61290-400-9

| pages=6}}

The DATA step has executable statements that result in the software taking an action, and declarative statements that provide instructions to read a data set or alter the data's appearance. The DATA step has two phases: compilation and execution. In the compilation phase, declarative statements are processed and syntax errors are identified. Afterwards, the execution phase processes each executable statement sequentially.

{{cite book

| author=Li, Arthur

| title=Handbook of SAS DATA Step Programming

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBL_aEB6RX0C&pg=PA149

| date=10 April 2013

| publisher=CRC Press

| isbn=978-1-4665-5238-8|page=149}} Data sets are organized into tables with rows called "observations" and columns called "variables". Additionally, each piece of data has a descriptor and a value.

{{cite court

| litigants =SAS Institute Inc. and World Programming Limited

| court =England and Wales High Court (Chancery Division)

| date =July 23, 2010

| url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2010/1829.html#para36 }}

{{cite web

| first =Debbie

| last =Buck

| title =A Hands-On Introduction to SAS DATA Step Programming

| publisher =SAS Institute

| location =SUGI 30

| url =http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi30/134-30.pdf

| access-date =October 2, 2013}}

PROC statements call upon named procedures. Procedures perform analysis and reporting on data sets to produce statistics, analyses, and graphics. There are more than 300 named procedures and each one performs a substantial body of statistical work. PROC statements can also display results, sort data or perform other operations.

SAS macros are pieces of code or variables that are coded once and referenced to perform repetitive tasks.

{{cite book

| author1=Bass, N. Jyoti

| author2=K. Madhavi Lata & Kogent Solutions

| title=Base Sas Programming Black Book, 2007 Ed

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o9nVu8Xsd6kC&pg=PA365

| date=1 September 2007

| publisher=Dreamtech Press

| isbn=978-81-7722-769-7

| pages=365–}}

SAS data can be published in HTML, PDF, Excel, RTF and other formats using the Output Delivery System, which was first introduced in 2007.

{{cite journal

| last =Tolbert

| first =William

| title =How to Win Friends and Influence People with the SAS Output Delivery System

| journal =Clinical Medicine & Research

| volume =8

| issue =3–4

| pages =189–190

| date =December 1, 2010

| doi =10.3121/cmr.2010.943.c-c1-04 | pmc =3006529

}} SAS Enterprise Guide is SAS's point-and-click interface. It generates code to manipulate data or perform analysis without the use of the SAS programming language.

{{cite journal

| last =Der

| first =G.

| author2=B. S. Everitt

| title =Basic Statistics using SAS Enterprise Guide

| journal =Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A

| volume =172

| issue =2

| page =530

| date =March 10, 2009

| doi =10.1111/j.1467-985X.2009.00588_2.x

| doi-access =free

}}

{{anchor|Components}}The SAS software suite has more than 200 add-on packages, sometimes called components{{cite book|author=John R. Schermerhorn|title=Exploring Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qNVP2L6iKi0C&pg=SL3-PA22|date=11 October 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-87821-7|pages=3}}

{{cite web

| publisher=University of California, Berkeley

| title=An Introduction to the SAS System

| first=Phil

| last= Spector

| url=https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/classes/s100/sas.pdf

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012065352/http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/classes/s100/sas.pdf

| archive-date=October 12, 2013

| access-date=October 4, 2013}}

{{cite web

| url=http://www.nesug.org/Proceedings/nesug12/ma/ma10.pdf

| title=Determine what SAS Version and Components are available

| first=David

| last=Chapman

| publisher=NESUG

| year=2012}} Some of these SAS components, i.e. add on packages to Base SAS include:

{{Cite journal | last1 = Hallahan | first1 = C. | title = Data Analysis Using SAS | doi = 10.1177/0049124195023003006 | journal = Sociological Methods & Research | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 373–391 | year = 1995 | s2cid = 62723637 }}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|* SAS/STAT – Statistical analysis

• SAS/GRAPH – Graphics and presentation

• SAS/OR – Operations research

• SAS/ETS – Econometrics and Time Series Analysis

• SAS/IML – Interactive matrix language

• SAS/AF – Applications facility

• SAS/QC – Quality control

• SAS/INSIGHT – Data mining

• SAS/PH – Clinical trial analysis

• SAS Enterprise Miner – data mining

• SAS Enterprise Guide – GUI-based code editor & project manager

• SAS Enterprise BI – Suite of business intelligence applications

• SAS Grid Manager – Manager of SAS grid computing environment

• SAS Customer Intelligence 360 – Customer intelligence}}

The development of SAS started in 1966 after North Carolina State University re-hired Anthony Barr{{cite journal|last1=Nourse|first1=E. Shepley|last2=Greenberg|first2=Bernard G.|last3=Cox|first3=Gertrude M.|last4=Mason|first4=David D.|last5=Grizzle|first5=James E.|last6=Johnson|first6=Norman L.|last7=Jones|first7=Lyle V. |last8=Monroe |first8=John |last9=Simons|first9=Gordon D.|title=Statistical Training and Research: The University of North Carolina System |journal=International Statistical Review / Revue Internationale de Statistique|volume=46|issue=2|year=1978|page=171|issn=0306-7734 |doi=10.2307/1402812|jstor=1402812}} to program his analysis of variance and regression software so that it would run on IBM System/360 computers.{{cite book|author1=Alan Agresti|author2=Xiao-Li Meng|title=Strength in Numbers: The Rising of Academic Statistics Departments in the U.S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPGJUiUCJZkC&pg=PA177|date=2 November 2012|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4614-3649-2 |page=177}} The project was funded by the National Institutes of Health. and was originally intended to analyze agricultural data{{cite news|title=Little-known software giant to raise its profile |first=Emery |last=Dalesio |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=20010505&id=nPpIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oAUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3476,727402 |date=May 5, 2001|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=April 8, 2014}} to improve crop yields.{{cite news |first=David |last=Kaplan |newspaper=Fortune |url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/|title=SAS: A new no. 1 best employer|date=January 22, 2010 |access-date=April 8, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129010236/http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/ |archive-date=November 29, 2011}} Barr was joined by student James Goodnight, who developed the software's statistical routines, and the two became project leaders. In 1968, Barr and Goodnight integrated new multiple regression and analysis of variance routines.{{cite journal |first=Anthony |last=Barr |author2=James Goodnight |title=The SAS Staff|year=1976|quote=SAS 72 and SAS 76 are attributed to Barr, Goodnight, Service, Perkins, and Helwig}}(Barr & Goodnight et al. 1979:front matter) Attribution of the development of various parts of the system to Barr, Goodnight, and Sall. In 1972, after issuing the first release of SAS, the project lost its funding.{{cite web |title=SAS Institute FDA Intellectual Partnership for Efficient Regulated Research Data Archival and Analyses |url=https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/00n0001/ts00016.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000824120039/http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/00n0001/ts00016.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 24, 2000 |publisher=Duke University|date=April 12, 2000|access-date=September 28, 2011}} According to Goodnight, this was because NIH only wanted to fund projects with medical applications.{{cite web|title=Oral History Interview with Jim Goodnight|date=July 22, 1999|url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/I-0073/excerpts/excerpt_976.html|access-date=April 8, 2014|publisher=Oral Histories of the American South}} Goodnight continued teaching at the university for a salary of $1 and access to mainframe computers for use with the project, until it was funded by the University Statisticians of the Southern Experiment Stations the following year. John Sall joined the project in 1973 and contributed to the software's econometrics, time series, and matrix algebra. Another early participant, Caroll G. Perkins, contributed to SAS' early programming. Jolayne W. Service and Jane T. Helwig created SAS's first documentation.

The first versions of SAS, from SAS 71 to SAS 82, were named after the year in which they were released.{{cite web

| title=History of SAS version

| url=http://www.globalstatements.com/sas/differences/

| publisher=Global Statements|first=Rick|last=Aster

| access-date=October 4, 2013}} In 1971, SAS 71 was published as a limited release.

{{cite book

| first=Anthony|last=Barr |author2=James Goodnight |author3=James Howard

| publisher=North Carolina State University|year=1971

| title=Statistical analysis system

|oclc=5728643 }} It was used only on IBM mainframes and had the main elements of SAS programming, such as the DATA step and the most common procedures, i.e. PROCs. The following year a full version was released as SAS 72, which introduced the MERGE statement and added features for handling missing data or combining data sets.{{cite book

| last=Service

| first=Jolayne

| title=A User's Guide to the Statistical Analysis System

| publisher=North Carolina State University

| year=1972

| url=http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/1325510

| access-date=2006-10-16

| archive-date=2007-09-29

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121443/http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/1325510

| url-status=dead

}} The development of SAS was described by the CNBC website as an "inflection point" in the history of artificial intelligence.{{Cite web |last=Ioannou |first=Lori |date=2019-11-04 |title=Jim Goodnight, the 'Godfather of A.I.,' predicts the future fate of the US workforce |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/04/godfather-of-ai-predicts-the-future-fate-of-the-us-workforce.html |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=CNBC |language=en}} In 1976, Barr, Goodnight, Sall, and Helwig removed the project from North Carolina State and incorporated it as the SAS Institute, Inc.

{{cite magazine

| first=Mary

| last=Shacklett

| date=September 5, 2013

| url=https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/big-data-analytics/see-if-the-r-language-fits-in-your-big-data-toolkit/

| magazine=Tech Republic

| access-date=October 3, 2013

| title=See if the R language fits in your big data toolkit}}

SAS was redesigned in SAS 76. The INPUT and INFILE statements were improved so they could read most data formats used by IBM mainframes. Generating reports was also added through the PUT and FILE statements. The ability to analyze general linear models was also added{{cite book

| last=Barr

| first=Anthony J.

| author2=James H. Goodnight

| author3=John P. Sall

| author4=Jane T. Helwig

| title=SAS Programmer's Guide, 1979 Edition

| publisher=SAS Institute, Inc.

| year=1979

| url=http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/4984363

| oclc=4984363

| access-date=2006-10-16

| archive-date=2007-09-29

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929104344/http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/4984363

| url-status=dead

}} as was the FORMAT procedure, which allowed developers to customize the appearance of data. In 1979, SAS 79 added support for the IBM VM/CMS operating system and introduced the DATASETS procedure. Three years later, SAS 82 introduced an early macro language and the APPEND procedure.

Beginning with SAS 4, released in 1984, SAS releases have followed a sequential naming convention not based on year of release.{{Cite web |title=SAS Releases Timeline |url=https://robslink.com/SAS/democd67/sas_releases.htm |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=robslink.com}} SAS version 4 had limited features, but made SAS more accessible. Version 5 introduced a complete macro language, array subscripts, and a full-screen interactive user interface called Display Manager. In 1985, SAS was rewritten in the C programming language. This enabled the SAS' MultiVendor Architecture which allows the software to run on UNIX, MS-DOS, and Windows. It was previously written in PL/I, Fortran, and assembly language.

In the 1980s and 1990s, SAS released a number of components to complement Base SAS. SAS/GRAPH, which produces graphics, was released in 1980, as well as the SAS/ETS component, which supports econometric and time series analysis. A component intended for pharmaceutical users, SAS/PH-Clinical, was released in the 1990s. The Food and Drug Administration standardized on using SAS/PH-Clinical for new drug applications in 2002.

{{cite news

| url=http://www.wral.com/business/story/9211429/

| title=SAS corporate timeline|date=March 3, 2011

| access-date=October 17, 2011}} Vertical products like SAS Financial Management and SAS Human Capital Management (then called CFO Vision and HR Vision respectively) were also introduced.

{{cite web

| url=http://www.sas.com/company/about/history.html#s1=5

| title=SAS history

| publisher=SAS Institute

| access-date=October 4, 2013}}

JMP was developed by SAS co-founder John Sall and a team of developers, in order to take advantage of the graphical user interface introduced in the 1984 Apple Macintosh.

{{cite book

| author1=Cox, Ian |author2=Marie A. Gaudard

| author3=Philip J. Ramsey |author4=Mia L. Stephens |author5=Leo Wright

| title=Visual Six Sigma: Making Data Analysis Lean

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xdg9nkBFh1UC&pg=PA23

| access-date=16 November 2012|date=21 December 2009

| publisher=John Wiley & Sons

| isbn=978-0-470-50691-2

| page=23}} JMP's name originally stood for "John's Macintosh Project".{{Cite journal |last=Mishra |first=Mrigendra Nath |date=2018-01-01 |title=Identify critical success factors to implement integrated green and Lean Six Sigma |url=https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-07-2017-0076 |journal=International Journal of Lean Six Sigma |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=765–777 |doi=10.1108/IJLSS-07-2017-0076 |issn=2040-4166|url-access=subscription }} JMP was shipped for the first time in 1989. Updated versions of JMP were released continuously after 2002 with the most recent release in 2016.{{cite news

| first=John

| last=Saul

| newspaper=JMPer Cable

| url=http://www.jmp.com/about/newsletters/jmpercable/pdf/26_winter_2010.pdf

| title=JMP is 20 Years Old

| date=Winter 2010

| access-date=October 13, 2011

| archive-date=July 21, 2013

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721134831/http://www.jmp.com/about/newsletters/jmpercable/pdf/26_winter_2010.pdf

| url-status=dead

}}

{{cite news

| first=Adrian

| url=http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/228200027?queryText=SAS%2BJMP

| last=Bridgewater|newspaper=Dr. Dobb's Journal

| title=JMP Genomics 5: Data Visualization & Exploration|date=November 3, 2010

| access-date=May 31, 2012}}

{{cite web

| url=http://www.pharmasug.org/proceedings/2012/DG/PharmaSUG-2012-DG01.pdf

| work=PharmaSUG 2012

| title=Proficiency in JMP Visualization

| first=Charles

| last=Shipp

| author2=Kirk Paul Lafler

| access-date=December 30, 2012}}

{{cite web

| first=James

| last=Taylor

| title=First Look – JMP Pro

| date=August 10, 2011

| access-date=May 31, 2012

| url=http://jtonedm.com/2011/08/10/first-look-jmp-pro/}} In January 2022, JMP became a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS Institute, having previously been a business unit of the company.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.jmp.com/en_us/company/about-us.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216205905/https://www.jmp.com/en_us/company/about-us.html |archive-date=2022-12-16 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=www.jmp.com |language=en}}

SAS 6 was used throughout the 1990s and was available on a wider range of operating systems, including Macintosh, OS/2, Silicon Graphics, and PRIMOS. SAS introduced new features through dot-releases. From 6.06 to 6.09, a user interface based on the Windows paradigm was introduced and support for SQL was added.

{{cite book

| first=Kirk Paul

| last=Lafler

| title=PROC SQL: Beyond the Basics Using SAS, Second Edition

| url=https://www.sas.com/store/books/categories/usage-and-reference/proc-sql-beyond-the-basics-using-sas-second-edition/prodBK_62432_en.html

| publisher=SAS Institute

| isbn=978-1-61290-027-8| year=2013

}} Version 7 introduced the Output Delivery System (ODS) and an improved text editor. Subsequent releases improved upon the ODS. For example, more output options were added in version 8. The number of operating systems that were supported was reduced to UNIX, Windows and z/OS, and Linux was added.

{{cite web

| url=http://support.sas.com/supportos/list

| title=Supported Operating Systems

| publisher=SAS Institute

| access-date=October 6, 2012}} SAS 8 and SAS Enterprise Miner were released in 1999.

In 2002, SAS Text Miner software was introduced. Text Miner analyzes text data like emails for patterns in business intelligence applications.{{cite news|first=Emery|last=Dalesio|title=Text Miner program to bolster business intelligence |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=20020205&id=ljUgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GFMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4836,3215963 |date=February 5, 2002|access-date=April 8, 2014|publisher=Associated Press}} In 2004, SAS Version 9.0 was released, referred to as "Project Mercury" internally, and was designed to make SAS accessible to a broader range of business users.{{cite news

| first=Dave

| last=Steven

| publisher=Pennsylvania State University

| url=http://css.its.psu.edu/news/nlsu02/sas.html

| title=SAS is Starting to Look Even Better...

| date=July 29, 2002

| access-date=October 17, 2011

| archive-date=April 15, 2012

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415161357/http://css.its.psu.edu/news/nlsu02/sas.html

| url-status=dead

}}

{{cite news

| first=Rick

| last=Whiting

| newspaper=InformationWeek

| url=http://informationweek.com/news/18700087?queryText=SAS+announced

| title=SAS Extends Business Intelligence to the Masses

| date=March 31, 2004

| access-date=October 17, 2011}} SAS 9.0 added custom user interfaces based on the user's role and established the point-and-click user interface of SAS Enterprise Guide as the software's primary graphical user interface (GUI). The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) features were improved in 2004 with SAS Interaction Management.

{{cite news

| first=Dennis

| last=Callaghan

| newspaper=eWeek

| url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Finance-IT/SAS-to-Add-to-Analytical-CRM-Arsenal/

| title=SAS to Add to Analytical CRM Arsenal

| date=September 26, 2002

| access-date=October 17, 2011}} In 2008, SAS announced Project Unity, designed to integrate data quality, data integration, and master data management.

{{cite news

| first=Antone

| last=Gonsalves

| newspaper=InformationWeek

| url=http://informationweek.com/news/software/bi/211100027?queryText=SAS+announced

| title=SAS, DataFlux Unveil 'Project Unity'

| date=October 10, 2008

| access-date=October 17, 2011}}

SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Ltd was a lawsuit with developers of a competing implementation, World Programming System, alleging that they had infringed SAS's copyright in part by implementing the same functionality. The case was referred by the United Kingdom's High Court of Justice to the European Court of Justice on 11 August 2010.

{{cite web

| url=http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=82474&doclang=en&mode=&part=1

| title=Reference for a preliminary ruling from High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) (England and Wales) made on 11 August 2010 – SAS Institute Inc. v World Programming Ltd

| publisher=European Court of Justice

| access-date=May 19, 2012}} In May 2012, the European Court of Justice ruled in favor of World Programming, finding that "the functionality of a computer program and the programming language cannot be protected by copyright."

{{cite web

| url=http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-05/cp120053en.pdf

| title=The functionality of a computer program and the programming language cannot be protected by copyright

| publisher=European Court of Justice

| access-date=May 19, 2012}}

A free version of SAS was introduced for students in 2010.{{cite news|first=Quentin|last=Hardy|newspaper=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/quentinhardy/2011/06/09/sas-ibms-bad-culture-how-well-win/|title=SAS-We Spurned IBM, Now to Win|date=June 9, 2011|access-date=October 17, 2011}} SAS Social Media Analytics, a tool for social media monitoring, engagement and sentiment analysis, was also released that year.

{{cite news

| first=Paul

| last=Greenberg

| work=ZDNet

| url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-crm-watchlist-part-ii-the-usual-suspects/?tag=mantle_skin;content

| title=The CRM Watchlist Part II: The Usual Suspects

| date=December 31, 2010

| access-date=October 4, 2013}} SAS Rapid Predictive Modeler (RPM), which creates basic analytical models using Microsoft Excel, was introduced the same year.{{cite web

| publisher=UCLA Academic Technology Services

| url=http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/sas/seminars/sas_macros_introduction/default.htm

| title=Computing Seminars: Introduction to SAS Macro Language

| access-date=October 4, 2013

| archive-date=September 27, 2013

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927123945/http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/sas/seminars/sas_macros_introduction/default.htm

| url-status=dead

}}

{{cite news

| first=Cindi

| last=Howson

| newspaper=InformationWeek

| url=http://informationweek.com/blog/software/228900553?queryText=SAS+announced

| title=SAS Takes Predictive Analytics Mainstream|date=September 7, 2010

| access-date=October 4, 2013}} In 2010, JMP 9 included a new interface for using the R programming language and an add-in for MS Excel.{{cite web|title=New Features in JMP 9 |url=http://www.jmp.com/support/downloads/pdf/jmp9/jmp9_new_features.pdf |publisher=JMP|access-date=December 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915204632/https://www.jmp.com/support/downloads/pdf/jmp9/jmp9_new_features.pdf|archive-date=15 September 2017}}{{cite news|first=Adriian|url=http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/228200027?queryText=SAS%2BJMP |last=Bridgewater|newspaper=Dr. Dobb's Journal|title=JMP Genomics 5: Data Visualization & Exploration |date=November 3, 2010|access-date=May 31, 2012}} The following year, a High Performance Computing platform was made available in a partnership with Teradata and EMC Greenplum.

{{cite news

| first=Nicole

| last=Laskowski

| publisher=Tech Target

| url=http://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/news/2240102699/SAS-ups-big-data-ante-with-high-performance-computing-platform

| title=SAS ups 'big data' ante with high-performance computing platform

| date=October 26, 2011

| access-date=October 4, 2013}}

{{cite web

| first=Madan

| last=Sheina

| author2=Surya Mukherjee

| publisher=Ovum

| url=http://ovum.com/2011/10/17/sas-adds-in-memory-to-high-performance-computing/

| title=SAS adds in-memory to high-performance computing

| date=October 17, 2011}} In 2011, the company released SAS Enterprise Miner 7.1.

{{cite web

| first=James

| last=Taylor

| title=First Look – SAS Enterprise Miner 7.1

| url=http://jtonedm.com/2011/11/11/first-look-sas-enterprise-miner-7-1/

| date=November 11, 2011

| access-date=October 4, 2013}} The company introduced 27 data management products from October 2013 to October 2014 and updates to 160 others.{{cite news|title=SAS expands cloud analytics business|first=Nestor|last=Arellano|date=October 22, 2014 |url=http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/sas-expands-cloud-analytics-business/98450l|newspaper=IT World Canada|access-date=November 13, 2014}} At the SAS Global Forum 2015, SAS announced several new products that were specialized for different industries, as well as new training software.{{cite news|title=SAS enlarges its palette for big data analysis|first=Joab|last=Jackson|date=April 27, 2015|url=http://www.itworld.com/article/2915374/sas-enlarges-its-palette-for-big-data-analysis.html|publisher=IT World|access-date=May 22, 2015|archive-date=November 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128121843/https://www.itworld.com/article/2915374/sas-enlarges-its-palette-for-big-data-analysis.html|url-status=dead}}

The company has invested in the development of artificial general intelligence, or "strong AI", with the goal of advancing deep learning and natural language processing to the point of achieving cognitive computing.{{Cite news |last=Radu |first=Alex |date=March 28, 2017 |title=We've only built 'weak AI' so far, says SAS chief data scientist |url=https://channeldailynews.com/news/weve-only-built-weak-ai-so-far-says-sas-chief-data-scientist/53586 |work=Channel Daily News}}

In 2019, SAS announced that it would be investing $1 billion into the development of advanced artificial intelligence, deep learning, natural language processing and machine learning.{{Cite web |last=East |first=Forbes Middle |title=SAS Announces $1 Billion Investment In AI |url=https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/innovation/technology/sas-announces-1-billion-investment-in-ai |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Forbes ME |language=en-US}} It announced an additional $1 billion investment into these areas in 2023, particularly for industries such as finance, insurance, government, health care and energy.{{Cite web |last=Ohnesorge |first=Lauren |date=May 9, 2023 |title=SAS to spend $1 billion on AI as global tech race heats up |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/inno/stories/news/2023/05/09/sas-to-spend-one-billion-global-ai-race-heats-up.html |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Triangle Inno}} In September 2023, the company announced its expansion of research into the applications of generative AI in analytics, data management and modeling.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-18 |title=SAS unveils innovations and partnerships during Explore 2023 {{!}} IT World Canada News |url=https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/sas-unveils-innovations-and-partnerships-during-explore-2023/546983 |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=www.itworldcanada.com |language=en-US}}

As of 2011, SAS's largest set of products was its line for customer intelligence. SAS modules for web, social media and marketing analytics may be used to profile customers and prospects, attempt to predict their behaviors, and manage communications.{{cite news|date=May 11, 2004|newspaper=InformationWeek|first=Rick|last=Whiting|url= http://www.informationweek.com/sas-ships-customer-intelligence-app/d/d-id/1025026?|title=SAS Ships Customer-Intelligence App|access-date=January 7, 2014}}

SAS also provides the SAS Fraud Framework, which is designed to monitor transactions across different networks and use analytics to identify anomalies that are indicative of fraud.{{cite news|title=Social network analysis, predictive coding enlisted to fight fraud|newspaper=Government Computer News|date=May 10, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2013 |url=https://gcn.com/Articles/2013/05/10/Social-media-analysis-predictive-coding-enlisted-to-fight-fraud.aspx?Page=3 |first=Rutrell |last=Yasin}}{{cite news|title=IRS, States Call on IBM, LexisNexis, SAS to Fight Tax Fraud|first=Reed|last=Albergotti|date=July 22, 2013|url= https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324144304578619811891715262|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}{{cite news|url=http://www.insurancenetworking.com/news/business_intelligence_analytics_cloud_computing_fraud_insurance_technology-12069-1.html|newspaper=Insurance Networking News|date=March 25, 2009|first=Bill|last=Kenealy|access-date=December 11, 2013|title=Assessing Business Intelligence|archive-date=January 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114063845/http://www.insurancenetworking.com/news/business_intelligence_analytics_cloud_computing_fraud_insurance_technology-12069-1.html|url-status=dead}} This software uses artificial intelligence to monitor income and assets.{{Cite web |title=Malta commits €3m to implement AI-powered SAS for tax evasion detection |url=https://aibc.world/news/malta-commits-e3m-to-implement-ai-powered-sas-for-tax-evasion-detection/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=AIBC |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=SAS and Microsoft partnership focuses on banking risk |url=https://www.technologydecisions.com.au/content/cloud-and-virtualisation/news/sas-and-microsoft-partnership-focuses-on-banking-risk-1333501510 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=www.technologydecisions.com.au |language=en}}

SAS has various analytical tools related to risk management.{{Cite web |title=Saudi EXIM Bank chooses SAS technology for model risk management |url=https://ibsintelligence.com/ibsi-news/saudi-exim-bank-chooses-sas-technology-for-model-risk-management/ |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=IBS Intelligence |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=SAS and Microsoft partnership focuses on banking risk |url=https://www.technologydecisions.com.au/content/cloud-and-virtualisation/news/sas-and-microsoft-partnership-focuses-on-banking-risk-1333501510 |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=www.technologydecisions.com.au |language=en}}

SAS has products for specific industries, such as government, retail, telecommunications, aerospace, marketing optimization, and high-performance computing.{{cite web|url=https://www.sas.com/products/|title=Products & Solutions Index|publisher=SAS|access-date=December 12, 2013}} The company also has a suite of analytical products related to health care and life sciences.{{Cite web |date=2017-02-09 |title=SAS Institute to debut analytics platform for healthcare at HIMSS17 |url=https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/sas-institute-debut-analytics-platform-healthcare-himss17 |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=Healthcare IT News |language=en}}

{{See also|Comparison of statistical packages}}

In a 2005 article for the Journal of Marriage and Family comparing statistical packages from SAS and its competitors Stata and SPSS, Alan C. Acock wrote that SAS programs provide "extraordinary range of data analysis and data management tasks," but were difficult to learn and use. SPSS and Stata, meanwhile, were both easier to learn but had less capable analytic abilities, though these could be expanded with paid (in SPSS) or free (in Stata) add-ons. Acock concluded that SAS was best for power users, while occasional users would benefit most from SPSS and Stata.{{cite journal|pages=1093–1095|title=SAS, Stata, SPSS: A Comparison |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00196.x|volume=67|issue=4 |date=November 2005 | last=Acock |first=Alan C}} A 2014 comparison by the University of California, Los Angeles, gave similar results.{{cite web |url=http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/mult_pkg/compare_packages.htm |title=Compare Packages |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles |access-date=12 January 2014 |archive-date=12 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112080108/http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/mult_pkg/compare_packages.htm |url-status=dead }}

Competitors such as Revolution Analytics and Alpine Data Labs advertise their products as considerably cheaper than SAS's. In a 2011 comparison, Doug Henschen of InformationWeek found that start-up fees for the three are similar, though he admitted that the starting fees were not necessarily the best basis for comparison.{{cite web| url=http://www.informationweek.com/software/information-management/low-cost-options-for-predictive-analytics-challenge-sas-ibm/d/d-id/1099191?page_number=1 |title=Low-Cost Options For Predictive Analytics Challenge SAS, IBM |first=Dough |last=Henschen |work=InformationWeek|date=July 26, 2011 |access-date=January 12, 2014}} SAS's business model is not weighted as heavily on initial fees for its programs, instead focusing on revenue from annual subscription fees.{{cite news|title=SAS revenue up 12% in 2011|work=The News & Observer |location= Raleigh, North Carolina |date=January 20, 2012 |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/20/1790587/sas-revenue-up-12-in-2011.html|last=Ranii|first=David |access-date=January 12, 2014}}{{cite web|last=Turchin|first=Brian|title=SAS Profile -- Going Its Own Way |url=http://www.cabnr.unr.edu/gf/apst650/sassoftbusiness.pdf|publisher=Software Business Online|access-date=2014-04-10|archive-date=2015-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923195653/http://www.cabnr.unr.edu/gf/apst650/sassoftbusiness.pdf|url-status=dead}}

{{Main|SAS Viya}}

In 2016, SAS Viya, an artificial intelligence, machine learning, analytics and data management platform,{{cite web |last1=Henschen |first1=Doug |title=SAS goes cloud but will customers follow? |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/sas-goes-cloud-but-will-customers-follow/ |website=ZDnet |access-date=16 June 2023}}{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Lindsay |title=SAS selling ML and analytics suite on Azure Marketplace |url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/27/sas_ml_analytics_azure/ |access-date=2024-04-19 |website=www.theregister.com |language=en}} was introduced with a new architecture optimized for running SAS software in public clouds. Viya also increased interoperability with open source software, allowing models to be built in tools such as R, Python and Jupyter, and then executed on SAS's Cloud Analytics Services (CAS) engine.{{cite web |last1=Baer |first1=Tony |title=SAS is on the brink of generation change |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/sas-is-on-the-brink-of-generation-change/ |website=ZDnet |access-date=16 June 2023}} In 2020, a further architectural revamp in Viya 4 containerized the software.{{cite web |last1=Avidon |first1=Eric |title=SAS Viya gets architectural overhaul in latest update |url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchbusinessanalytics/news/252484754/SAS-Viya-gets-architectural-overhaul-in-latest-update |website=TechTarget |access-date=16 June 2023}} SAS sells Viya alongside SAS 9.4, and has not positioned it as a replacement for SAS 9.4.{{cite web |title=Relationship between SAS 9.4 and SAS Viya |url=http://documentation.sas.com/doc/en/vdmmlcdc/8.1/whatsdiff/n0m306a3p9spz7n1ew3j9scjiqjf.htm |website=SAS Help Center |access-date=16 June 2023}}

In 2023, two new software as a service (SaaS) modules for SAS Viya were released as a private preview: Workbench, for use in creating AI models, and App Factory, for use in creating AI applications. Both modules support multiple programming languages and are expected to become generally available in 2024.{{Cite web |last=Ghoshal |first=Anirban |date=2023-09-13 |title=SAS Viya analytics suite gets SaaS-based AI app development tools |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/3706378/sas-viya-analytics-suite-gets-saas-based-ai-app-development-tools.html |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=InfoWorld}} SAS Viya also became available on Microsoft Azure Marketplace under a pay-as-you-use model in 2023.{{Cite web |title=SAS strengthens bond with Microsoft. Should we expect a buyout instead of IPO? |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2022/10/03/sas-strengthens-bond-with-microsof-ipo-buyout.html |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=www.bizjournals.com}}

In 2023, the company introduced SAS Health, a common health data model built on the SAS Viya platform.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-27 |title=SAS launches a transformative healthcare platform |url=https://www.digitalhealth.net/2023/09/sas-health-launches-new-analytical-healthcare-platform/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Digital Health}}

According to IDC, SAS is the largest market-share holder in "advanced analytics" with 35.4 percent of the market as of 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2353618/just-how-big-is-the-big-data-market |title=Just How Big Is the Big Data Market? |publisher=ClickZ |access-date=7 July 2014|date=2014-07-07 }} It is the fifth largest market-share holder for business intelligence (BI) software with a 6.9% share

{{cite web

| title=Worldwide Business Analytics Software 2013–2017 Forecast and 2012 Vendor Shares

| url=http://idcdocserv.com/241689e_sas

| first=Dan

| last=Vesset |author2=David Schubmehl |author3=Brian McDonough |author4=Mary Wardley

| publisher=IDC

| date=June 2013

| access-date=October 2, 2013}} and the largest independent vendor. It competes in the BI market against SAP BusinessObjects, IBM Cognos, SPSS Modeler, Oracle Hyperion, and Microsoft Power BI.{{cite web

| url=http://www.bi-verdict.com/fileadmin/FreeAnalyses/consolidations.htm

| title=Consolidations in the BI industry

| date=March 7, 2008

| last=Pendse

| first=Nigel

| work=The OLAP Report

| access-date=October 24, 2012

| archive-date=July 10, 2013

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710120947/http://www.bi-verdict.com/fileadmin/FreeAnalyses/consolidations.htm

| url-status=dead

}} SAS has been named in the Gartner Leader's Quadrant for Data Integration Tools and for Business Intelligence and Analytical Platforms.

{{cite web

| title=Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms

| date=February 5, 2013

| publisher=Gartner

| url=http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1-1DZLPEP&ct=130207&st=sb

| access-date=October 1, 2013

| first=Kurt

| last=Schlegel |author2=Rita Sallam |author3=Daniel Yuen |author4=Joao Tapadinhas}}

A study published in 2011 in BMC Health Services Research found that SAS was used in 42.6 percent of data analyses in health service research, based on a sample of 1,139 articles drawn from three journals.{{Cite journal | last1 = Dembe | first1 = A. E. | last2 = Partridge | first2 = J. S. | last3 = Geist | first3 = L. C. | title = Statistical software applications used in health services research: Analysis of published studies in the U.S | doi = 10.1186/1472-6963-11-252 | journal = BMC Health Services Research | volume = 11 | pages = 252 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21977990| pmc =3205033 | doi-access = free }}

SAS' analytical software is used in education to measure and visualize student outcomes and growth trends.{{Cite web |last=Woodie |first=Alex |date=2022-09-26 |title=How Data Analytics Can Combat Learning Loss Due to COVID-19 |url=https://www.datanami.com/2022/09/26/how-data-analytics-can-combat-learning-loss-due-to-covid-19/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Datanami}}{{Cite journal |last=Cooper |first=Harris |last2=Nye |first2=Barbara |last3=Charlton |first3=Kelly |last4=Lindsay |first4=James |last5=Greathouse |first5=Scott |date=1996 |title=The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543066003227 |journal=Review of Educational Research |language=en |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=227–268 |doi=10.3102/00346543066003227 |issn=0034-6543|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |title=Reynolds using AI-powered predictive analytics to grow enrollment {{!}} Reynolds Community College |url=https://www.reynolds.edu/news//2023/06/sas-ai-predictive-analytics-at-reynolds.html |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=www.reynolds.edu |language=en}} Several states, including Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, and North Dakota use its software to measure and analyze learning loss and learning recovery in students.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-18 |title=Recovery Analysis Report Shows NC Students Made Gains on Pandemic Losses in 2021-22 {{!}} NC DPI |url=https://www.dpi.nc.gov/blog/2023/04/18/recovery-analysis-report-shows-nc-students-made-gains-pandemic-losses-2021-22 |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=www.dpi.nc.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-08-05 |title=Time to rise: State analysis shows how far performance fell during pandemic |url=https://kclinc.org/news/2022/8/4/time-to-rise-up-state-analysis-shows-how-far-performance-fell-during-pandemic |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Local Investment Commission |language=en-US}}[https://www.ndlegis.gov/files/committees/67-2021/23_5169_02000presentation_220report.pdf An Analysis of Learning Decline Resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic]

SAS and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis launched an app that crowdsources image data related to deforestation to train AI algorithms that can identify human impact on the environment.{{Cite web |title=SAS and IIASA call for crowd-driven artificial intelligence to help track deforestation |url=https://iiasa.ac.at/news/apr-2020/sas-and-iiasa-call-for-crowd-driven-artificial-intelligence-to-help-track |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=IIASA - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis |language=en}} The University of Florida's Center for Coastal Solutions partners with SAS to develop research, training programs and analytical tools related to environmental issues affecting coastal communities.{{Cite web |title=UF Partners with SAS to Expand Artificial Intelligence Efforts in Coastal Communities – Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment |url=https://www.essie.ufl.edu/uf-partners-with-sas-to-expand-artificial-intelligence-efforts-in-coastal-communities/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=www.essie.ufl.edu}}

The UNC Center for Galapagos Studies partnered with SAS in 2023 to create a model that can track the health and migratory patterns of species such as sea turtles and hammerhead sharks, as well as the health of the phytoplankton population.{{Cite web |last=Gabryel |first=Carleigh |date=2023-05-09 |title=SAS seeks crowd-driven AI to protect endangered sea turtles in Galapagos |url=https://research.unc.edu/2023/05/09/sas-seeks-crowd-driven-ai-to-protect-endangered-sea-turtles-in-galapagos/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=UNC Research |language=en-US}}

SAS's fraud detection and prevention software is used by the tax agencies of various countries, such as the United States,{{Cite web |date=2011-12-09 |title=SAS arms IRS with new fraud detection tools |url=https://washingtontechnology.com/2011/12/sas-arms-irs-with-new-fraud-detection-tools/351114/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Washington Technology |language=en}} and Malta.{{Cite web |title=Malta commits €3m to implement AI-powered SAS for tax evasion detection |url=https://aibc.world/news/malta-commits-e3m-to-implement-ai-powered-sas-for-tax-evasion-detection/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=AIBC |language=en-US}}

SAS has been a partner of the Cleveland Clinic since 1982.{{Cite web |title=Cleveland Clinic's COVID-19 strategy driven by data modeling {{!}} TechTarget |url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchbusinessanalytics/feature/Cleveland-Clinics-COVID-19-strategy-driven-by-data-modeling |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Business Analytics |language=en}} During the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic used predictive models developed by SAS to forecast factors such as patient volume, availability of medical equipment and bed capacity in various scenarios. SAS joined UNC Chapel Hill's Rapidly Emerging Antiviral Drug Development Initiative (READDI) in 2021.{{Cite web |last=bwbieltz |date=2021-09-14 |title=SAS and Carolina partner to accelerate antiviral drug development {{!}} UNC-Chapel Hill |url=https://www.unc.edu/posts/2021/09/14/sas-and-carolina-partner-to-accelerate-antiviral-drug-development/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |language=en-US}}

• Comparison of numerical-analysis software
• Comparison of OLAP servers
• JMP (statistical software), a subsidiary of SAS Institute Inc.
• SAS language
• R (programming language)

{{Reflist}}

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• Wikiversity:Data Analysis using the SAS Language

• {{Official|https://www.sas.com/en_us/home.html}}
• [https://welcome.oda.sas.com/login SAS OnDemand for Academics] No-cost access for learners (free SAS Profile required)
• [https://go.documentation.sas.com/doc/en/pgmsascdc/v_023/pgmsasgl/glossary.htm?homeOnFail A Glossary of SAS terminology]
• [https://developer.sas.com/ SAS for Developers]
• [https://communities.sas.com/ SAS community forums]

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