Last Friday, SAS announced that it was partnering with Teradata and Elder Research Inc. (a data mining consultancy) to open a Business Analytics Innovation Centre. According to the press release,

"Recognising the growing need and challenges businesses face driving operational analytics across enterprises, SAS and Teradata are planning to establish a centralised "think tank" where customers can discuss analytic best practices with domain and subject-matter experts, and quickly test or implement innovative models that uncover unique insights for optimising business operations."

The center will include a lab for pilot programs, analytic workshops and proof of concept for customers. I was excited about the announcement, because it further validated the fact that business analytics continues to gain steam in the market. I had a few questions, however, that I sent to SAS. Here are the responses.

Q. Is this a physical center or a virtual center? If physical, where is it located and how will it be staffed? If virtual, how will it be operationalized?
R. The Business Analytics Innovation Center will be based at SAS headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. We will offer customer meetings, workshops and projects out of the Center.

Q. Will there be consulting services around actually deploying analytics into organizations? In other words, is it business action oriented or more research oriented?
R. The Business Analytics Innovation Center will offer consulting services around how best to deploy analytics into organizations, as well as conduct research-based activities to help businesses improve operational efficiency.

Q. Should we expect to hear more announcements from SAS around business analytics, similar to what has been happening with IBM?
R. As the leader in business analytics software and services, SAS continues to make advances in its business analytics offerings. You can expect to hear more from SAS in this area in 2010

I'm looking forward to 2010!