(19-Feb-10) SAS Institute Inc. and Accenture Plc. are teaming up to form the Accenture SAS Analytics Group, a joint venture that will develop, implement and manage predictive analytics solutions. The venture is a "first for both companies," according to Accenture. The Accenture SAS Analytics Group will develop industry-specific solutions that initially focus on financial services, health care and the public service sector. The group also plans to develop cross-industry offerings, starting with customer acquisition and retention and enterprise analytics.
Business analytics software vendor SAS, has worked management consulting firm Accenture, for over 10 years. "Our successful work together since 2007 has shown the potential for us to jointly address the growing interest in predictive analytics," said Pat Finerty, vice-president of alliance and business development at SAS Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of SAS. The venture will bring "SAS's leadership position in the advanced analytics space together with Accenture's leadership position as thought leaders in management consulting and systems integration," said Finerty.