Briefs

-- New SAS(r)9 product quickly produces millions of high-quality, automated forecasts --

CARY, N.C. (Sept. 27, 2004) - SAS, the leader in business intelligence, today unveiled SAS(r) High-Performance Forecasting, a powerful analytics-driven product built on the SAS(r)9 Intelligence Platform. SAS High-Performance Forecasting provides large-scale automated forecasting that allows companies to significantly reduce forecasting error, increase operational efficiency and improve the bottom line. The automated sophistication of this offering means forecasters no longer need to be statistics experts to create trustworthy, accurate forecasts.

"SAS High-Performance Forecasting represents a leap in forecasting capabilities for SAS and the entire market," said Dr. Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS. "What this means is that large-scale forecasting processes have become so manageable that forecasters and analysts can now focus their energies on what's most important to them, rather than squandering precious time manually reviewing and overriding every single forecast."

SAS High-Performance Forecasting is now available and is currently shipping -- see www.sas.com/technologies/analytics/forecasting/hpf/index.html.