HONG KONG : World leading business analytics software vendor SAS will launch an iPad version of its software to deliver business analytics on-the-go by the end of this year. Meanwhile it is also aiming to uplift its Thailand office to become a centre of excellence in risk-management and anti-money laundering to reduce a shortage in analytic skills.

Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS Institute Inc, which has topped Fortunemagazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.

Jim Goodnight, SAS Chief Executive Officer, told Database that by the end of this year, the company will launch its software on iPad to serve customers' needs.

It will work on some applications such as Dashboard, which lets graphs, tables and forecast information run on iPad and others tablet devices, to speed up decision-making on mobile devices. Such gadgets provide enough space to display analytical information.

The company will offer it as a value-added service to customers and it can be downloaded via AppStore.

Last April the company launched its SAS Mobile application, combining the power of its software with the portability of BlackBerry, Apple iPhone and Windows-based mobile devices. Users can navigate through displays with interactive graphs, tables and charts while alert features notify them of changes in key measures.

Goodnight added that currently, high-performance computing power helps to eliminate time constraints for computation processes to analyse massive amounts of data by using simultaneous processing together with its software algorithm.

"For example, processing of risk-management in banking now takes only 15 minutes whereas it use to take 18-20 hours. Analysing retail business data from 800 different stores around the country used to take around 30 hours, but today we can do it within two hours", he said.

"Powerful business analytics can help a businesses not only innovate but also optimise its business. For instance, if a retail business has to sell some merchandise at a discount at the end of the season, if the business can better forecast which products move well they can accurately plan to sell those products for a longer period and offer the less popular items at a discount".

The company also offers alternative ways for customers to analyse data on-demand through its "Analytic as a Service".

For example, social network analytics allows SAS to collect tweets and other data posted on social network sites and analyse the "sentiments" of how people feel about that company's brand.

This area contributes revenue of around $50 million (1.6 billion baht), which is quite small but has high potential. However, most companies are reluctant to give data to outsiders, which poses quite a big challenge.

Mikael Hagstrom, Executive Vice President, EMEA and Asia Pacific, said companies in the Asia Pacific region want to lead with analytics and SAS has seen a huge surge of interest in applying analytics in new and innovative ways, especially in banking, telecommunications and the public sector.

SAS is currently working with a major telecommunications company based in the region to analyse Twitter data as part of its online reputation management initiative.

Goodnight added that the Asia Pacific region is a high growth area for SAS, with software revenue growing around 20 percent in the first half of the year, while the Thai market expanded by 60 percent.

The company expects revenues in the Asia Pacific region to grow from the current 12 percent to 20 percent in the near future.

Moreover, SAS plans to implement its expert-sharing skill model in the region. Expert-sharing on a regional basis will help resolve the shortage of skills and it will be based on the skills of each country, with Thailand having skills in risk-management and anti-money laundering.

Moreover, SAS has helped a university in the USA develop a master's programme in advanced analytics.

"I think MBA students should take a short course in business analytics to let them know how to use such technology as well as undertake case studies. And we are willing to collaborate with universities around the world to encourage the use of business analytics", the CEO said.

According to Taveesak Saengthong, Managing Director for Thailand, the SAS office here is also discussing the possibility of developing bachelor's degrees in computer science, statistics and accounting, as well as offering MBA executives the chance to learn business analytic and tools.

If such a program is implemented, it will help to boost the workforce with analytics skill by a few hundred a year and in the near future, when there is a large enough workforce in Thailand equipped with analytics skills, it will be possible to set up a local software centre.

Taveesak also sees great potential in the banking business, which is a major source of revenue for SAS, by ATM optimisation to help banks forecast demand for cash at each ATM to help banks reduce the cost of cash delivery and operation by at least 10-20 percent.