Visionary Projects and Data-Driven Strategy: SAS Pioneering the Future of Analytics and AI

As the data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, SAS, a global leader in advanced analytics solutions, is at the forefront of driving innovation and empowering organizations to harness the full potential of data. With a legacy of more than four decades in the analytics industry, SAS has consistently pushed the boundaries of data science, enabling businesses and governments worldwide to make data-driven decisions that drive success.

The Data-Driven Revolution: A World of Infinite Possibilities

In today’s digital era, data is the currency of success. Organizations that can effectively collect, analyze, and interpret data gain a strategic advantage in the competitive landscape. Data analytics and AI have become essential tools for unlocking actionable insights, predicting future trends, and optimizing operations. As businesses navigate the ever-changing business landscape, SAS stands as a trusted partner, offering state-of-the-art analytics solutions that empower data-driven decision making.

“We want to inspire companies by sharing stories of innovation,” were the first words of Mirella Cerutti, Regional Vice President Italy, Austria & SEE at SAS, as she opened the proceedings of SAS Innovate 2023 in Milan. “It is important to share how analytics and artificial intelligence today can really help companies be more resilient, agile, and fast by using data securely and reliably in decision-making.”

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Cerutti (main photo with La Repubblica journalist Andrea Frollà), through her compelling statement, captured the essence of SAS Innovate 2023, emphasizing the pivotal role of data analytics and AI in empowering organizations to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing business landscape. By showcasing real-world success stories and demonstrating the transformative potential of data-driven strategies, SAS is driving the future of innovation and paving the way for a data-driven revolution across industries.

The Three Pillars: Productivity, Performance, and Trust

At the core of SAS’s strategy lies the three pillars that define the SAS Viya platform – Productivity, Performance, and Trust. These pillars form the bedrock of SAS’s mission to help companies innovate using data analytics and AI in a seamless, efficient, and reliable manner.

• Productivity: In today’s fast-paced business environment, speed is of the essence. SAS Viya is designed to optimize the analytics process, removing “friction” and increasing productivity for data scientists, business analysts, and data engineers. By streamlining workflows and providing user-friendly tools, SAS empowers its users to focus on generating insights and making informed decisions efficiently.
• Performance: As data volumes continue to grow exponentially, the ability to process and analyze data swiftly is critical. Marinela Profi, Technology Product Marketing Lead and Data Scientist Advocate at SAS, echoed, “We have the fastest and most productive analytics and artificial intelligence platform on the market.” A new benchmarking study by Futurum Group reveals that SAS Viya is, on average, 30 times faster than commercial and open-source alternatives, boasting unmatched scalability regardless of data size or complexity. This extraordinary performance enables users to make real-time decisions during critical moments, providing a competitive edge.
• Trust: Trust is the cornerstone of successful AI implementation. The potential of AI to shape industries and transform society is undeniable, but it must be approached responsibly. With the rapid advancement of AI, particularly at the Generative AI level, SAS recognizes the need to firmly keep humans at the center of everything. By incorporating “trusted” AI capabilities such as bias detection, explainability of data usage and outputs, verifiability of decisions, model monitoring, governance, and accountability along all stages of any data-driven decision-making process, SAS ensures ethical and transparent AI usage.

Shadi Shahin, Vice President Product Strategy at SAS, emphasized the crucial role of productivity in driving effective decision-making. At the heart of SAS Viya and the SAS-branded analytics and AI proposition lies the first pillar of productivity. Shahin highlighted that “Model-based decisions are the ‘test bed’ for analytics.” By harnessing the power of data-driven models, companies can significantly enhance their decision-making capacity. To achieve this, SAS has focused on removing obstacles and streamlining processes for data scientists, business analysts, and data engineers. Shahin emphasized that productivity extends beyond simply deploying and governing models. It also encompasses the ability to make the right decisions promptly, with speed, and with resilience. With a data-driven approach, SAS empowers organizations to make well-informed choices that lead to success and innovation in a fast-paced, ever-changing business landscape.

Data Governance for Responsible AI: Human-Centric Approach

The importance of ethical data governance is emphasized by SAS as it strives to build trust and ensure responsible AI usage. According to Reggie Townsend, Vice President of the Data Ethics Practice at SAS, the human-centric approach is paramount.

“With the rapid advancement of AI- just look at what’s happening at the Generative AI level- we need to firmly keep humans at the center of everything we do and look for opportunities to use AI to improve people’s lives,” Townsend emphasized.

Trust can only be established through proper data governance, which involves not just technical measures but also human insights from those who truly understand how to work with data effectively. By combining technical expertise with ethical practices, SAS aims to pave the way for responsible AI adoption in the industry.

Personalization: Transforming Customer Experience

In today’s highly competitive market, customer experience has emerged as a key differentiator for businesses. Customers expect personalized and relevant experiences that cater to their unique needs and preferences. SAS Customer Intelligence 360 stands as a reference platform for customer engagement, taking personalization beyond a mere slogan. Companies are witnessing significant improvements in their ability to personalize services after introducing the SAS platform.

One such success story comes from ING, a leading financial institution. Luciana Mirizzi, Head of Customer Interaction at ING, emphasized the impact of SAS Customer Intelligence 360, stating, “SAS Customer Intelligence 360 is the reference platform for the customer engagement part, and personalization in terms of customer experience is anything but a slogan; we have specific KPIs to assess its performance, and I can share that only six months after introducing the SAS platform, we have doubled our performance related to the ability to personalize the services we offer to customers.” This demonstrates how SAS’s data-driven approach is transforming customer experiences and enhancing customer engagement across industries.

Industry Spotlights: Unlocking Potential in Key Sectors

The event featured industry spotlights that provided deeper insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by various sectors. In the finance sector, Stefano Battista, Italy Financial Services Market Leader and President of EY Advisory, discussed the digital transformation journey focused on enhancing customer experiences and adopting data-driven strategies.

“The financial services sector has started digital transformation paths that look with particular focus at processes, especially front-end ones. There are three key trends: the transformation of processes to digital (especially those involving the customer experience); data transformation, with the aim of triggering real data-driven processes and strategies; and the development of ecosystems by integrating third-party services and products,” Battista explained.

The public sector spotlight, led by Franco Turconi, senior managing director at Accenture, highlighted the importance of using technology and digitization to build resilient mechanisms that effectively manage disruptions.

“In the public sector (especially within services), we are beginning to use technology and digitization to trigger those resilience mechanisms that have been lacking until now. The public sector will have to face discontinuity more frequently: we need to create more robust and resilient mechanisms to manage these discontinuities. With this in mind, data analytics is a priority. Good governance also comes from proper data governance, which, however, cannot be only ‘technical’; we also need to rely on the good insights of those who know how to work, well, on data.” Turconi stated.

The sports sector is also experiencing a profound transformation fueled by data analytics and artificial intelligence. SAS Innovate 2023 showcased the significance of a data-driven mindset in sports, exemplified by the experiences of Vincenzo Nibali, a prominent road cyclist, and Paolo Bellino, CEO & General Manager of RCS Sports & Events. The sports industry is increasingly leveraging data analytics to gain a competitive edge, optimize athlete performance, enhance coaching strategies, and provide personalized experiences to fans. From real-time performance analysis during training and competitions to data-driven insights shaping team strategies, the adoption of data analytics and AI is revolutionizing how sports are played, managed, and experienced. By combining resilience, courage, imagination, and discipline with data-driven decision-making, the sports sector is unlocking new possibilities for athletes and teams alike, ushering in an era of unprecedented growth and innovation.

These industry spotlights highlighted the transformative potential of data analytics and AI in addressing sector-specific challenges and driving positive change in finance, public administration, and beyond.

Continuous Innovation: A Billion-Dollar Commitment

Bryan Harris, Executive Vice President and CTO of SAS, reaffirmed SAS’s commitment to continuous innovation with a staggering $1 billion investment in industrial solutions based on AI. This substantial commitment underscores SAS’s position as a trailblazer in the analytics industry and a driving force behind cutting-edge advancements in AI technologies.

“First and foremost, we bring analytics and AI wherever companies choose to use them, in whatever technology environment they want, from the cloud of their choice to on-prem. We have worked-and are continuing to work-with all the cloud providers and partners who are integrating our data analytics and artificial intelligence solutions with their technologies with a very clear mission: to help companies scale human productivity and decision making.” Harris said.

“We have doubled our commitment with a $1 billion investment in industrial solutions based on artificial intelligence. Our development philosophy can be called ‘Insight by Design.’ Our solution development teams are optimizing analytics so that they can be best leveraged for each and every real business problem. Each solution portfolio will leverage different techniques, data velocity, user skills, automated or augmented analytics so that they can truly be optimal and suitable for a specific task or problem, further democratizing access to analytics and, most importantly, insights,” added Mike Blanchard, Vice President Customer Intelligence Solutions at SAS.

Empowering the Future with Data-Driven Insights

As the data-driven era continues to unfold, SAS remains dedicated to empowering organizations with data-driven insights and analytics capabilities. The visionary projects and data-driven strategy unveiled by SAS are set to revolutionize industries, foster innovation, and drive informed decision-making across sectors. With a strong focus on productivity, performance, and trust, SAS Viya stands as a beacon of excellence, paving the way for a future where data-driven insights shape the world in unprecedented ways. As SAS continues to invest in the future and forge new frontiers in analytics and AI, the potential for transformative impact and data-driven innovation remains limitless.

A Data-Driven Future Awaits

SAS Innovate 2023 has illuminated the transformative power of data analytics and AI, showcasing the potential to drive innovation, agility, and resilience across industries. The three pillars of SAS Viya – Productivity, Performance, and Trust – provide the foundation for a data-driven future, where companies can harness the full potential of data to make informed decisions that propel them to success.

In a world where data is the most valuable asset, SAS has demonstrated its commitment to responsible AI usage through ethical data governance and a human-centric approach. By prioritizing trust and transparency, SAS ensures that AI technologies serve as enablers of progress and positive change, rather than potential sources of concern.

Personalization has emerged as a game-changer for businesses seeking to gain a competitive edge. SAS Customer Intelligence 360 has proven instrumental in transforming customer experiences, as evidenced by the success of leading institutions like ING. With the power of data analytics, businesses can cater to individual customer needs and preferences, building long-lasting and meaningful relationships.

The industry spotlights at SAS Innovate 2023 have shed light on the potential of data-driven innovation in sectors such as finance and public administration. By adopting data analytics and AI, these sectors can navigate challenges with greater resilience and drive progress through data-driven insights.

As SAS commits to continuous innovation with a $1 billion investment in AI solutions, the future of analytics and AI promises to be even more transformative. SAS Viya’s “Insight by Design” approach emphasizes customization and optimization, democratizing access to analytics and insights for businesses of all sizes.

The road to a data-driven future is paved with endless possibilities. SAS continues to be a pioneer, empowering organizations to unlock the full potential of data analytics and AI. As we journey into this data-driven era, SAS Innovate 2023 stands as a milestone in shaping a world where data becomes a catalyst for progress, innovation, and a better tomorrow.