|
SAS Expands Its OnDemand Portfolio With Five New Solutions
TMCnet Contributing Editor
SAS, a provider of business intelligence, has announced the availability of five new business intelligence solutions. These software-as-a-service offerings are designed to complement SAS Solutions OnDemand: Web Analytics.
As on-demand versions of key products, the solutions extend SAS’ five-year-old hosted software business. OnDemand: Web Analytics enables organizations to leverage Web data to enhance customer service and retention while boosting Internet marketing. Solutions that will join Web Analytics include the following:
- SAS Solutions OnDemand: Business Intelligence – designed to help organizations derive intelligence from customer, operational, financial and other data.
- SAS Solutions OnDemand: Supplier Relationship Management – enables companies to efficiently analyze and optimize their spending on raw materials and supplies.
- SAS Solutions OnDemand: Marketing Automation – facilitates easily managed, sophisticated, timely and personalized customer communication in order to improve marketing response rates.
- SAS Solutions OnDemand: Veridiem MRM – guides companies in the understanding of return on investments from marketing activities such as advertising, promotions, incentives, direct mail, events and the Web.
- SAS Solutions OnDemand: Anti-Money Laundering – provides a monitoring system to ensure that financial services organizations are able to comply with regulations and reduce the risk of illegal money-laundering activities.
SAS stands to gain additional credibility in its differentiation of keeping infrastructure and support in-house. Customers have access to a comprehensive business intelligence platform deployed on infrastructure that has been specifically tuned for the solution.
Offering a full range of pricing and size, SAS Solutions OnDemand offer an alternative channel for organizations seeking to capture the full functionality and power of SAS solutions through a proven delivery channel without committing the resources necessary to purchase and deploy software in-house.
While SAS guarantees system and solution availability, it is also backed by certification by SysTrust. Jointly developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), SysTrust provides external validation that SAS meets or exceeds industry best-practices for network and data security.
Deloitte Consulting commented that the SAS Solutions OnDemand service-delivery methodology was an "optimal, repeatable and scalable process" that aligned very closely with Deloitte's own "Proven Approach Model" of best practices. Ernst & Young LLP provided an "unqualified opinion" and "assurance report" on SAS' network and access controls for May through October, 2005 based on its professional standards.
Jim Davis, SAS’ Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer noted that as other BI vendors are just now entering this space, SAS is continuing to evolve its software delivery model to meet the needs of its customers. SAS Solutions OnDemand incorporate SAS’ full business intelligence capabilities and deliver the power of SAS to meet the challenges that businesses face.
Sometimes referred to as software-as-a-service, on-demand software is the next iteration of the application service provider (ASP) model. With the deployment of on-demand software, the vendor hosts applications on-site for multiple customers.
The five new solutions from SAS answer the call for solutions that not only respond to and monitor market drivers but also assist in standards compliance. Utilizing these solutions can enable an enterprise to operate more efficiently and become more productive as a result.
SAS is also responding to the trend in the market where organizations are seeking to become better educated on business processes and customer data without making substantial capital investments in obsolete solutions. By selecting an on-demand option, these enterprises will be able to stay abreast with those activities that are driving the market and better incorporate them into day-to-day procedures to remain competitive.
While not every one of the five new offerings will fit every customer, several combinations can be created that provide powerful solutions for maintaining and expanding market share. The SAS Solutions OnDemand portfolio can provide significant opportunity if leveraged correctly.
----
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO West, September 16-18, 2008. Los Angeles, California.
