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SAS pairs with Accenture [The News and Observer, Raleigh, N.C.](News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 18--Cary software giant SAS is hoping to capitalize on growing corporate demand for using data to forecast important trends and make better decisions by teaming up with technology behemoth Accenture. The two companies announced Wednesday that they will create predictive analytics software products and sell them to corporate customers. They also plan to offer "analytics as a service," which means they'll crunch data for the customers and provide the necessary analysis. Predictive analytics, also known as advanced analytics, "is all around how to optimize the business, how to decide what is the best possible decision," said Henry Morris, senior vice president at technology industry research firm IDC. "For example, if I'm making an offer in a marketing campaign, what is the best possible offer I can give to you? For that I have to understand a bit about what you like and dislike, what would motivate you to buy." SAS is the market leader in this expanding arena, Morris said. Forming the Accenture SAS Analytics Group is a marriage of convenience. SAS has the software expertise; Accenture is one of the world's largest management consultant and technology services companies. "I think it's a good fit for SAS and Accenture," Morris said. Financial details weren't disclosed, but Russ Cobb, vice president of alliances and product marketing at SAS, said the privately held company is investing "a significant amount." SAS generated $2.31 billion in revenue last year from its business intelligence and analytics software. It has about 11,000 employees worldwide, including 4,200 in Cary. Collectively, SAS and Accenture will contribute hundreds of employees to the joint operation. "Our intent is to grow that at pace with the demand," Cobb said. The companies will try first to fill the staffing needs internally but will hire an undetermined number of new employees as needed. It will mostly be a "virtual" collaboration that won't require staffers to relocate. SAS and Accenture will share the revenue and, at least initially, sell the predictive analytics software and services jointly. Companies are increasingly embracing predictive analytics as the "next wave of productivity improvement," but many lack the expertise to take full advantage of SAS software, Cobb said. Although SAS has been offering analytics as a service, joining forces with a blue-chip consulting firm such as Accenture provides extra staffing for an expanding customer base. Accenture has more than 176,000 employees worldwide and posted $21.58 billion in revenue for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31. The first new software products resulting from the collaboration should be available in three to four months. The product development effort is focusing first on the financial, health care and government sectors. The two companies have had a loose alliance for more than a decade and currently have more than 100 joint accounts, including financial services titan UBS. That alliance has generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue over the past three years, Cobb said. "Our enhanced relationship with SAS is a key element of Accenture's strategy of aggressively addressing the opportunities around the next generation of analytics," Accenture CEO William Green said in a prepared statement. [email protected] or 919-829-4877 To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The News and Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |