According to independent research, the global business intelligence and analytics market is accelerating at break-neck pace and is poised to grow at around 10,3% in 2019, reaching an estimated value of $27-billion by 2020.
Emerging markets are set to grow at an even faster pace, with the Middle East & Africa market predicted to reach $4,1-billion.
Analytics is changing the world we live in and research shows that companies using analytics for decision-making are 6% more profitable than those that don’t. In order to capture the opportunity faced in the region and to ensure that customers benefit from the power of world-class analytics, SAS continues to look to innovative ways to go-to-market and empower customers to transform data into intelligence, according to Desan Naidoo, vice-president of SAS Africa.
Business intelligence and analytics vendor SAS has entered into a strategic partnership with Redington Value in East Africa. Dubai-based Redington Value, a subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange-listed company Redington Group, will act as SAS’ dedicated partner to serve SAS customers in Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya.
“The decision to enter into a strategic partnership with Redington in East Africa came about as a result of the growing analytics market in that region and to ensure that our customers needs are not only met but exceeded,” says SAS senior director: S&E EMEA alliances and channels, Steve Harris.
As organisations look to embed analytics into their business processes, the need for strong domain expertise and local regional support and scale becomes ever more critical to ensure customer success. Consequently, SAS began an extensive evaluation to identify a strategic partner in the East Africa region. “We had a clear vision of what it wanted from a strategic partner prior to launching the process, and Redington Value met all of SAS’ requirements, and more,” Harris says.
Ramkumar B, president of Redington value division, says: “Redington Value has embarked on a journey of creating a best-in-class data and analytics practice in East Africa with consulting, sales, pre sales and delivery capabilities. We wanted to partner with the best advanced analytics solution provider in the region to address some of the most complex business problems facing the region.
“SAS was a clear choice to achieve that objective. For SAS, Redington’s footprint and vast network in the region is going to help accelerate their growth. We are very hopeful of a great partnership which will define the way transformational technologies are taken to market, particularly in emerging geographies.”
Sayantan Dev, Redington Gulf vice-president: VCG, says SAS provides great products that are able to solve very complex business problems.
“With our reach and extensive customer network in East Africa, we are confident that, together with SAS, we will provide the perfect solutions to businesses throughout the region, while simultaneously furthering the technological advancement of the area,” he says.