SAS is investing $1-billion in artificial intelligence (AI) over the next three years through software innovation, education, expert services and more.
“At SAS, we remain dedicated to our customers and their success, and this investment is another example of that commitment,” says SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. “With our innovative capabilities in AI, SAS helps businesses deter damaging fraud, fight deadly disease, better manage risk, provide exemplary service to customers and citizens, and much more.”
The $1-billion investment in AI will focus on three main areas: Research and Development (R&D) innovation where SAS continues to build on the success of its global AI efforts; education initiatives addressing customer needs to better understand and benefit from AI; and expert services to optimize customer return on AI projects.
SAS is investing in R&D innovation in all core areas of AI, with a special focus on making it easy for users with different skill levels to benefit – from business experts to data engineers to data scientists. SAS is embedding AI capabilities into the SAS Platform and solutions for data management, customer intelligence, fraud & security intelligence and risk management, as well as applications for industries including financial services, government, health care, manufacturing and retail.
Customer education and development initiatives such as the new SAS AI Accelerator Program will focus on helping organisations and professionals get AI-ready at any level. SAS will offer:
* Tailored curricula to help organizations improve their AI skills. This will include e-learning like the SAS Academy for Data Science, and in-person training in AI technologies, best practices and more.
* Certification programs that help analytics professionals and data scientists earn the valuable credential of SAS Certified Professional in AI and Machine Learning. This will make them even more marketable to companies seeking AI talent.
* The SAS Analytics Center of Excellence, a group of PhDs and advanced experts in AI, machine learning, NLP, computer vision, optimization, simulation and related data science skills. These SAS experts are dedicated to supporting customer AI implementations – from well-established applications to first-of-a-kind innovation.
Resources and talent are also part of the investment. SAS will augment its AI expertise through additional resources in Professional Services, Centers of Excellence, Education and R&D.