Business analytics vendor SAS has revealed it recorded $3.02 billion of revenue in 2013, a 5.2% increase on 2012.
The revenue, which increased for the 38th straight year, was helped by a spike in SAS's business intelligence solutions, including new data visualisation software that brings business threats and opportunities into sharp focus.
Revenue growth was double-digit for cloud solutions that fight fraud and financial crimes, manage risk, improve customer relationships and help develop safe, effective new drugs. SAS solutions crunch big data to reveal to organisations what’s working, what isn’t, and profitable ways to do business.
SAS said continues to execute on its vision to turn data – wherever it’s from, in whatever form – into priority-shifting insights.
“Data is an asset of growing importance to organisations,” said CEO Jim Goodnight. “The amount of data pouring in is so vast, it’s impossible to analyse quickly enough to make a difference in day-to-day decisions without a high-performance analytics infrastructure.
“Over the last two years we’ve delivered ground-breaking analytics technology that unlocks the value in all this data.”
Organisations looking to stop fraud fueled a 44% jump in sales of fraud prevention and security intelligence solutions. Revenue from cloud-based offerings jumped 20% as pharmaceutical companies prepared for an onslaught of new regulations, businesses sought to understand customer preferences, and state and local governments worked to stamp out fraud.
Revenue from all industries grew, including an 18% increase in the energy and utilities sector, 17% in health care, and 16% in capital markets.
In the UK & Ireland, SAS recorded 9% year-on-year growth in total sales revenue, making it one of the best performing regions across EMEA and AP. The results were achieved through deals secured across a number of sectors including financial services, retail and telecommunications, the company said.
>See also: Big data will stop public-sector fraud: SAS
"Despite the economy remaining challenging over the past year we have maintained our strong revenue growth by listening and working with our customers so they can tackle complex business issues through use of analytics in areas such as digital marketing, risk and fraud,” said Mark Wilkinson, managing director at SAS UK & Ireland.
“The UK & Ireland is now very well placed to deliver in 2014, thanks to a very strong end to 2013 which included some of the largest deals across the EMEA and AP region."
Revealing its 2014 outlook, the analytics leader said it anticipates continues growth this year in data management, data visualization, industry-specific solutions and solutions on-demand.
“The ability to inform intelligent actions via analytics is not a new idea,” said Henry Morris, IDC’s senior VP of worldwide software and services research. “Forward-thinking organisations have recognised this, and SAS, with its analytic applications and predictive technologies, has been a key enabler.
“Now that data volumes have reached or exceeded predicted levels, the opportunity, as well as the complexity, has increased. With 25% of 2013 revenue reinvested in research and development and leaders with a track record of anticipating what’s next, SAS is equipped to help organisations across geographies scour big data for fresh perspectives.”
