What is SAS ?
SAS(Statistical Analysis System; not to be confused with SAP) is a software suite developed by SAS Institute for advanced analytics, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. It is the largest market-share holder for advanced analytics. SAS is a software suite that can mine, alter, manage and retrieve data from a variety of sources and perform statistical analysis on it.
SAS provides a graphical point-and-click user interface for non-technical users and more advanced options through theSAS programming language.SAS programs have a DATA step, which retrieves and manipulates data, usually creating a SAS data set, and a PROC step, which analyzes the data.
SAS is an integrated system of software solutions that enables you to perform the following tasks:
- data entry, retrieval, and management
- report writing and graphics design
- statistical and mathematical analysis
- business forecasting and decision support
- operations research and project management
- applications development
Why SAS ?Availability cost-
SAS is a commercial software. It is expensive and still beyond reach for most of the professionals (in individual capacity). However, it holds the highest market share in Private Organizations. So, until and unless you are in an Organization which has invested in SAS , it might be difficult to access one.
Ease of learning-
SAS is easy to learn and provides easy option (PROC SQL) for people who already know SQL. Even otherwise, it has a good stable GUI interface in its repository. In terms of resources, there are tutorials available on websites of various university and SAS has a comprehensive documentation. There are certifications from SAS training institutes, but they again come at a cost.
Data handling Capabilities-
This used to be an advantage for SAS till some time back. R computes every thing in memory (RAM) and hence the computations were limited by the amount of RAM on 32 bit machines. This is no longer the case. All three languages have good data handling capabilities and options for parallel computations.
Graphical Capabilities-
SAS has decent functional graphical capabilities. However, it is just functional. Any customization on plots are difficult and requires you to understand intricacies of SAS Graph package.
Job Scenario-
Globally,SAS is still the market leader in available corporate jobs. Most of the big organizations still work on SAS . R / Python, on the other hand are better options for start-ups and companies looking for cost efficiency.
Benefits of doing SAS certification:-
- For individual – Set yourself apart (Become More ) With a professionalcertification fromSAS you will set yourself apart from the competition by earning the only globally-recognized credential endorsed by SAS. Put your SAS skills to the test today and reap the benefits tomorrow.
- For employees – Hire qualified employees (Demand More) Hiring a candidate with SAS credentials means you’re getting a qualified professional with proven proficiency in SAS . Not to mention that it’s proven to increaseindividual productivity levels.