Today we went to Cary, NC for an extremely informative visit on the SAS Institute. Founded in 1976 by James Goodnight and Anthony J. Barr, SAS stands as the world’s leader in advanced analytics software. With over 13,000 employees worldwide, the company holds about 400 offices in 55 countries and owns 22 buildings that sit on top of 900 acres of land. Because the company is privately held and has only a few layers of management in between a new hire and James Goodnight, everyone works together and it was said by one employee to feel much like a “business strategy”. The employees of SAS have a very good retention rate, which allows the business to have an 11% lower employee turnover rate than the industry average.
What is SAS’s mission?
SAS’s mission is to help organizations transform their financial, performance, and customer data into meaningful information that will anticipate outcomes and give them opportunities/a competitive edge in their field. Although this seems cliché for a software analytics company, SAS separates themselves from the competition by ensuring that they provide the most convenient solutions. All of their employees are approachable, customer-driven, innovative, swift/agile, and trustworthy. With this, they provide excellent benefits, such as, a day care for their employees children, a fitness center, pharmacy and physician, dry cleaning, and car detailing so that they can help create an environment where their employees not only want to come to work, but can be the most effective and creative. More so, they recognize their employees for their achievements and make a point to maximize their potential and abilities.
Who is SAS’s customer?
Due to the fact that many virtually every organization needs some sort of software analytics, there is a wide variety in the clientele and customer base of SAS, but 38% of their revenue comes from financial services. SAS provides its services to the biggest names and competitors in their respective industries, like Kohl’s and Ralph Lauren, Playboy, and even the United States government (which actually accounts for 17% of SAS’s revenues). Because the company is located throughout the world, SAS is able to provide countless organizations with cutting-edge technology and endless business opportunities to gain the edge over their competitors.
What do SAS’s customers value?
The two most valuable aspects of business SAS brings to it’s customers are it’s innovation, easy usage of programs, and helpful, happy customer support system. SAS prides themselves on being more advanced and innovative then their competitors as they are always developing the most relevant software for company use. For example, after the Ponzi scheme, SAS made sure they immediately developed anti-money laundering programs for companies to use. There is also a heavy emphasis on visual analytics and ensuring that any company can visually interpret their data set no matter the size or format. SAS’s visual analytics program is built to function with Microsoft programs so that companies can easily convert what the program outputs. Their customers also value the fact that SAS tries to save them money buy leasing them programs instead of buying them so that they always have access to the next update. Furthermore, their customers value having SAS as a helpful technical support system where they are not held on the phone for an hour and can have solutions provided to them in a quick and organized fashion.
What are SAS’s results?
Holding about 36.2% of the market share, it is clear that SAS is in a stable and profitable position. Their locations in Mexico, France, and Singapore prove that company does an excellent job holding true to its values and communicating between countries. One of the woman at our visit today stated that people jokingly call employees of SAS a cult because it is such a tight-knit community and they all love where they work. SAS’s consideration for their employees has proven to contribute to their success and has landed them on the “Top Multi-national Corporations to Work for” list, as well as, recognition from USA Today, and more recently, the Today Show.
What is SAS’s plan?
SAS is an organization comprised of thousands of brilliant innovators and while they will always have a plan for whats to come, currently it stands as developing visually focused, mobile, user friendly data displays. They approve of this plan because it leads to improved decision making, better ad-hoc analysis, larger information sharing, and greater return on investment. Since technology is getting more mobile, SAS’s programs must as well. They have already created apps that are available on iTunes and accessible to every company worldwide. With 36 years of sustained revenue growth and counting, it is apparent that SAS cares about moving forward, which is why 24% of that revenue goes towards research and development of the company.
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