Elder Research partners with SAS & Teradata to start the first analytics "think tank"

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SAS makes move in analytics space with new R&D lab

Local Tech Wire Oct. 26 2009

CARY, N.C. – SAS is teaming up with data warehousing and enterprise analytics firm Teradata (NYSE: TDC) and consulting firm Elder Research to launch a facility and services center focused on enterprise analytics.

With rivals such as IBM expanding their commitments to business analytics and intelligence, SAS found partners of its own to protect and perhaps expand a key portion of its more than $2 billion in annual revenues.

SAS is likely to make more new product and other announcements over the next two days. The world’s largest privately held software company is hosting its annual global media day on Tuesday with Chief Executive officer headlining the program. Following media day, SAS executives will jet off to Las Vegas to hold its annual leadership conference.

What the firms are calling a “think tank” facility will be housed at SAS’ headquarters in Cary, a spokesperson for SAS told Local Tech Wire and WRAL.com. Its formal name is Business Analytics Innovation Center.

“We will offer customer meetings, workshops and projects out of the Center,” the spokesperson said.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

No additional hires are expected, but that could change, the spokesperson added.

“Everyone involved in this activity is committed to ensuring we have the appropriate resources in place to support customers interested in the lab,” she said. “At this time we will utilize existing personnel, but we will evaluate this once the Center is in place to make sure we can continue meeting customer demands.”

The center will be directed by Scott VanValkenburgh, director of technology alliances at SAS.

“SAS and Teradata have built a strong sales, marketing and R&D team – and personnel from both companies will be involved in supporting the Innovation Center,” the spokesperson explained.

The center will offer a mix of R&D as well as actual services and workshops.

SAS will provide analytics software, Teradata the hardware and Elder Research consulting.

“SAS and Teradata have invited Elder Research as its first partner to play an active role in supporting the Center’s customer activities,” she explained. “Specifically, Elder Research will help SAS and Teradata joint customers and prospects create a vision of how analytics can drastically change and improve their business through visioning sessions to uncover new areas or ways to apply analytics to a business questions, establish was to operationalize analytics into their business processes and identify new business questions that can be addressed due to streamlining analytics.

“Furthermore, SAS and Teradata will offer experts in analytics to support projects conducted in the lab. In addition to providing strong analytics skills, the teams can help customers understand how to leverage or enhance their current environments to support their analytic needs.”

Jim Davis, chief marketing officer at SAS, pointed out that the center offers analystics services based on “decades” of experience.

“The Business Analytics Innovation Center combines our individual strengths for a robust approach to enterprise analytics,” he said in a statement. “By acting faster and asking questions they previously couldn’t ask or didn’t think of, participating clients will be able to improve their operations and strengthen competitive advantage.”

Teradata believes the center will enable delivery innovation and value.

“By capitalizing on the synergies of SAS, Teradata and ERI through the Business Analytics Innovation Center, we can continue to provide the world’s best business analytics platform, software and service while helping customers drive breakthrough innovation through analytic consulting,” said Teradata Chief Marketing Officer Darryl McDonald.