CARY, N.C., Aug. 9, 2004 -- SAS, a leader in business intelligence, today announced that, according to two separate reports(a) from IDC - a leading provider of global IT research and advice - SAS is the number one vendor in the data mining and data warehousing access tools markets. SAS has one of the broadest business intelligence portfolios - from data warehousing, reporting, and analytic applications to advanced analytics, such as text mining.

"SAS consistently receives industry recognition as a leader in the BI market, and this report serves as further validation of the depth and breadth of our business intelligence offering," said Rob Stephens, director of technology strategy at SAS. "By leveraging the end-to-end SAS(R) Intelligence Platform, SAS customers effectively and efficiently address complex business questions - which translates into more consistent and confident management decisions and thus, reduced cost and increased profit."

Data warehousing is an integral component of the SAS business intelligence offering. In the data warehousing tools report, Dan Vesset, research director for IDC's Analytics and Data Warehousing practice, states that, "SAS provides the broadest set of data warehousing tools; has developed its own ETL product; and has a wholly owned subsidiary, DataFlux, with the primary focus on data quality." He goes on to highlight that, "The low fluctuation in SAS' yearly growth rates is an indication of the company's stability compared with its two competitors in data warehouse generation tools."

Based on worldwide revenue data for 2003, SAS continues to lead in data mining with more than 35 percent of the market due to the success of its advanced analytics. SAS has also successfully maintained its leadership in the data warehousing access tools category for the fifth year in a row.

Winning the top spot for its data mining capabilities also underscores SAS' leadership position in the business intelligence category. "SAS is unmatched in its ability to help customers gain meaningful insights into complex business issues through value-adding functions such as the integrated data mining and text mining incorporated into its BI offering," continued Stephens. "By building on a common platform, but going beyond traditional BI, SAS continues to surpass the competition."

SAS data warehousing

SAS data warehousing gives businesses an integrated, holistic view of their entire organization - from suppliers to customers to internal operations. It serves as the foundation for producing strategic insights in a low-risk manner. SAS Enterprise ETL Server is a data integration offering with integrated data quality that enables customers to retrieve data from any source and is a critical part of the overall data warehousing process. More information about SAS' data warehousing capabilities can be found at http://www.sas.com/technologies/dw/index.html.

SAS(R) analytics

SAS continues to be a driving force in analytic intelligence, empowering decision makers to answer forward-looking questions with efficiency and certainty. SAS' best-in-class analytic capabilities include predictive and descriptive modeling, forecasting, optimization, simulation, experimental design, and more. From data manipulation tools to business reporting interfaces to unparalleled analytic capabilities, SAS delivers integrated and easy-to-use technologies that drive immediate results and return on investment. More information about SAS analytics can be found at http://www.sas.com/technologies/analytics/index.html.

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 more than 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) 2004 SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved. (a) "Worldwide Business Intelligence Tools 2004-2008 Forecast Update and 2003 Vendor Shares" (Dan Vesset, June 2004) and "Worldwide Data Warehousing Tools 2004-2008 Forecast and 2003 Vendor Shares"(Dan Vesset, July 2004).

Faye Merrideth, 919-531-4261; Faye.Merrideth@sas.com or
Desiree Adkins, 919-531-0736; desiree.adkins@sas.com