Over the last decade, it has established itself as a leader in the data warehousing and data mining world. SAS Institute now not only works with and in some cases competes with most of the largest computer software and services firms, from IBM and SAP to Oracle and Siebel Systems. It also faces challenges from smaller customer relationship software specialists such as E.piphany and Broadbase, Moran says. Once found primarily in research labs and corporate technology departments, SAS these days is used by executives and corporate marketers as well as number-crunching techies. Financial institutions, retailers, and Internet companies use SAS software to help with marketing, product development and strategic planning.
Telecommunications carriers use it to study and combat customer turnover.
As SAS has grown, so has its work force. In just the past 18 months, employment jumped from 5,500 to 8,000 worldwide, or about 45 percent, a staggering rate for an established company. Turnover is just 4 percent a year, less than one-quarter the industry average. Although it sits in the heart of the Triangle, SAS until recently has reflected Goodnight's own reserved nature and been largely absent from the area's tech scene. SAS employees have traditionally seemed content to keep to themselves.