CARY, N.C., Dec. 14, 2005 -- SAS, the leader in business intelligence, today announced that it will renew an enterprisewide contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide business intelligence and analytic software, services and training for the department over the next three years. The agreement extends the nearly 25-year collaboration between SAS and HHS to apply software to help protect the health of all Americans and provide important human services.

The renewed contract will enable the department to continue to use SAS(R) to support a multitude of vital programs, such as the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBig) for cancer research and patient care and BioSense for bioterrorism and emerging infectious disease surveillance. SAS also provides the capabilities to review new drug applications, perform HIV/AIDS surveillance and reporting, and support the Medicare Modernization Act, including thwarting potential fraud and abuse in the new Part D prescription drug program. The Office of the Secretary and almost all HHS operating divisions use SAS, including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Indian Health Service, Health Resources and Services Administration, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Administration for Children and Families.

"SAS is honored and committed to support the mission of HHS and help predict the future for better government," said Tom Mazich, vice president of SAS U.S. Government Operations. "Imagine being able to pull data from any system in your organization, perform advanced analyses, and then obtain and share performance information for decision making in seconds rather than hours, days or weeks. As the partnership between SAS and HHS demonstrates, these capabilities are no longer just part of our imagination; they have arrived in full force. HHS is leading the way in showing how the strategic application of technology can help create a healthier and safer nation and positively touch the lives of countless Americans each day."

The renewed agreement gives HHS wide access to a variety of SAS business intelligence and analytics solutions, including SAS BI Server and SAS Strategic Performance Management. SAS' business intelligence solutions will empower HHS executives and employees to collaborate across the department and within programs. With access to the information they need through self-service reporting and customized, easy-to-use Web interfaces, HHS employees can make mission-critical decisions more efficiently and with greater confidence. For instance, HHS and its programs can use SAS for performance management initiatives, such as monitoring key performance indicators and delivering measurable results to support accountability efforts through the President's Management Agenda, while ensuring achievement of a wide range of organizational goals. In addition, HHS employees will be able to take the information and turn it into forward-looking insight by applying a wide range of SAS analytics solutions for statistical data analysis, data mining, forecasting and other capabilities. Using SAS data mining technology, employees can uncover previously unknown patterns hidden in vast quantities of data, predict future trends and conduct studies, such as the evaluation of anthrax vaccine safety.

Overall, the renewed contract follows a previous five-year enterprise license agreement. It includes services and training designed to help HHS implement SAS software to meet its goals.

About HHS

The Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The department includes more than 300 programs, covering a wide spectrum of activities. HHS represents almost a quarter of all federal outlays, and it administers more grant dollars than all other federal agencies combined. HHS' Medicare program is the nation's largest health insurer, handling more than 1 billion claims per year. HHS works closely with state and local governments, and many HHS-funded services are provided at the local level by state or county agencies, or through private sector grantees. The department's programs are administered by 11 operating divisions, including eight agencies in the U.S. Public Health Service and three human services agencies. In addition to the services they deliver, the HHS programs provide for equitable treatment of beneficiaries nationwide, and they enable the collection of national health and other data.

About SAS

SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at 40,000 sites -- including 96 of the top 100 companies on the FORTUNE Global 500(R) -- to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For nearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know(R). Visit us at www.sas.com.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. (R) indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.

Copyright (C) 2005 SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.

SAS Institute Inc.
Mary Ann Campbell-Hickland, 919-531-6997;
MaryAnn.Hickland@sas.com