CARY, N.C., December 6, 2006 -- Modern society is awash in data. The tools and concepts of business intelligence (BI) and analytics hold the key to harnessing massive amounts of data and transforming it into intelligence for better business decisions. The use of BI and analytics spans all industries, whether uncovering fraud in banking transactions and Medicare claims, improving the quality of patient care and the effectiveness of drugs, or predicting customer response to marketing campaigns.

As companies recognize the competitive advantage and strategic importance of these technologies, the need for talented people capable of leveraging world-class BI systems has never been clearer. To help meet this need and introduce new audiences to the power of data analytics, SAS – the leader in BI – has released the latest and expanded version of SAS® Learning Edition.

SAS Learning Edition 4.1 is an inexpensive and easy-to-use personal learning version of SAS software. It gives both students and knowledge workers looking to enhance their data analytics skills the freedom to learn at their own pace, on their own PC.

Combining data integration, predictive analysis, advanced graphics, business forecasting, and quality improvement in a user-friendly way, SAS Learning Edition 4.1 introduces key concepts and practices. These include organizing and manipulating even the messiest data, leveraging a variety of statistical methods, and creating eye-catching reports and graphics to share the results of this analysis.

“With BI and analytics in such demand in the business world today, many professionals and students are keen to add the power of SAS to their skill set. SAS Learning Edition is the perfect tool with which to explore the power of SAS,” said Sean Gargan, Director of Publishing Solutions at SAS.

Version 4.1 of SAS Learning Edition features several enhancements, including new wizards to help users with little or no SAS experience quickly generate analysis, and access the very latest SAS tasks and procedures. SAS Learning Edition 4.1 helps reduce complex statistical operations like forecasting, quality control, and correlations into simple point-and-click functions.

“Having left an analytical position to teach college full-time, I understand first-hand the importance of teaching skills with software applications such as SAS,” said Dr. Matthew North, Assistant Professor of Information Technology Leadership at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. “The new release of SAS Learning Edition is the perfect tool to prepare individuals with the technical knowledge and ability they need to compete for the best jobs in the business analytics marketplace.”

About SAS Learning Edition

SAS Learning Edition is an educational tool, for self-training, non-production purposes only. It is available in English, as well as in traditional and simplified Chinese, Japanese and Korean to address the needs of the Asia-Pacific market. Priced at $199, SAS Learning Edition is available nationwide in bookstores, and internationally through online retailers like Amazon.com and Borders. It can also be ordered directly from SAS.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business intelligence software and services. Customers at 40,000 sites use SAS software to improve performance through insight into vast amounts of data, resulting in faster, more accurate business decisions; more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; compliance with governmental regulations; research breakthroughs; and better products. Only SAS offers leading data integration, intelligence storage, advanced analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®. 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. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. © 2006

Contacts 
SAS
Mike Nemecek, 919-531-5140
mike.nemecek@sas.com