The power of SAS Visual Analytics is now available for work groups and midsize businesses. The new version of SAS’ visual data exploration software, combining business intelligence with the world’s leading analytics, includes added graphical display options and analytical capabilities. 
Designed for data of all sizes, SAS’ in-memory solution for exploring data very quickly allows users to examine all data, execute analytic calculations on billions of rows of data in just minutes or seconds, and present results visually.
With self-service SAS Visual Analytics, executives have instant access – via PCs or tablets – to reports or mobile dashboards that are based on the latest data, allowing them to make quicker, better decisions.
The best way for businesses to understand the value of SAS Visual Analytics is to experience it firsthand. SAS created an online environment for customers to try the software. The demos allow users to interact with SAS Visual Analytics on their own.
SAS originally introduced SAS Visual Analytics in March 2012, specifically designed to address big data challenges and leverage the scalability of industry-standard blade computing systems as well as database appliances from EMC Greenplum and Teradata.
The new version, now available on hardware platforms typically used as departmental-size servers, brings the power of SAS’ big data solution to departments and work groups regardless of data size.
“With powerful data exploration and display abilities, SAS Visual Analytics is more than just a simple business intelligence product. Merging BI and analytics in one fast, easy-to-use package, SAS sits at the crossroads of several technologies that customers are anxious to see converge,” says Craig Stephens, principal solutions manager, Information Management Practice, at SAS.
“SAS Visual Analytics is highly scalable, ranging from scenarios with a handful of users to a corporate wide, global deployment.”
The new scalability makes SAS Visual Analytics an excellent starting point for organisations seeking data visualisation or wanting to add analytics for fact-based decisions. Its self-service option for business users to explore data frees IT departments from the constant barrage of information requests.
In addition to support for departmental hardware platforms, SAS Visual Analytics now offers new graphical and analytics features, including forecasting, multiple-regress model options, interaction between multiple visuals, dynamic filtering, new visualisations and more.
“SAS Visual Analytics is a fast and easy-to-use solution for our analysts to detect correlations in our business data,” says Bernd Bütow, MD at Creditreform. “The result is improved quality and accuracy in forecasting. SAS Visual Analytics is so easy to use that we don’t need additional training.”
Creditreform makes more than 24-million credit reports from 26 countries in Europe plus China available around the clock. SAS Visual Analytics helps Creditreform quickly detect relationships within high data volumes and present results in easy-to-read graphics.
SAS High-Performance Analytics Server, another SAS in-memory solution, is also offering new deployment options. Customers who previously required a dedicated blade server rack or a database appliance from Teradata or EMC Greenplum can now run the modelling software on hardware platforms used for other applications.
“Customers unable to justify a dedicated system for SAS High-Performance Analytics Server can now reap its benefits on in-place hardware,” says Davis. “With no additional hardware costs, they can run models that once took days or hours in minutes or seconds, and produce business insight on demand on any size data.”