SAS hot fixes for your software environment

SAS software comprises of the best analytics software used by organisations across the world. From large organisations in the banking industry to small businesses in retail, SAS has empowered all types of enterprises with access to valuable and informative insights. However, just like with any other sophisticated software, it too has its fair share of bugs and errors that need to be corrected frequently via updates and patches. This is where the SAS Hot Fix comes into play within a SAS software environment.

In our latest blog article, we highlight precisely what a SAS hot fix is, what it entails, and why should run the SAS Hot Fix Analysis Service for your environment, today!

• What is a hot fix?

How a hot fix is defined will vary significantly depending on the specific problem encountered within a SAS environment. To some SAS users, a hot fix would entail a minor adjustment or quick fix, whereas to other users, this could mean a comprehensive system maintenance update – especially if the issue is significant in its magnitude. It is important, however, to differentiate a hot fix from a system update because a hot fix is about resolving critical and frequently recurring problems that hinder and jeopardize the experience of a SAS user.

Therefore, a hot fix can be defined as a software update that is released by the SAS Institute to addresses known problems within a given SAS system.

• What does a SAS environment hot fix entail?

Hot fixes may include updates that address critical and frequently recurring problems that need to be solved immediately – often minor in nature, yet critical to user experience. Additionally, hot fixes would also be addressing immediate problems within a SAS system that require a quick fix.

Hot fixes, however, will not entail fixes that require a significant code update, impose potential regressions in the software, or considered to have a minor impact on customers – these updates will be classified as overall enhancements to the existing software. Instead of deploying a hot fix, SAS would address these enhancements by deferring them to a subsequent release of a new SAS version that will take place at a later time – this will not be considered a fix. The reasoning behind this is to make sure that SAS is able to guarantee the reliability of its hot fixes as urgent responses to customer requirements, as opposed to more long-term software enhancements.

• Why should you run a hot fix report on your SAS system?

Your SAS system provides you with data that provides insights and visibility into your organisation or enterprise’s most prized assets, which makes ensuring the feasibility and reliability on the software all that more important. A SAS hot fix report will help you identify what hot fixes are available within your SAS environment, according to what SAS products you have installed, in addition to which versions these hot fixes need to be applied to.

Performing this process manually can be an incredibly arduous and daunting task given that users would have to scour their SAS environment to figure out what SAS applications they currently utilise. However, with the SAS Hot Fix analysis service, this process can be automated completely and supplanted with a method that would take only minutes to complete.

An important point to keep in mind is that when requesting a new hot fix, SAS’s technical support teams cannot guarantee a specific release date for a hot fix. Based on the severity of the fix, it could take anywhere from a week to several weeks for a hot fix to be made available. Complexity and the quantity of fixes a hot fix entails remain determining factors behind how effectively SAS can come up with a hot fix. Additionally, the volume and criticality of other hot fixes that are being processed at the time, combined with the types of issues that arise during the testing cycles of the hot fix, will impact the speed in which a hot fix is made available.

If you have experienced an issue that reflects the above criteria and displays the characteristics of what could be a hot fix, consider opening a track with SAS’ technical support team.

• The benefits of running the hot fix analysis?

First and foremost, this service is completely free, which means that SAS users can significantly improve their SAS environment without having to spend a single cent in the process. Additionally, the entire hot fix analysis process is relatively easy to initiative and can be completed in a matter of minutes.

Selerity’s complimentary service allows users to check how up-to-date their SAS software environment is and see which hot fixes are available within their respective SAS system. As a SAS user, you can seamlessly generate a Deployment Registry text file for your SAS software environment or use our sample file to see what a hot fix report looks like. The image below should give you an idea of what to expect when reviewing your report via the tool. 

If you would like more information of the Hot Fix analysis service, or, SAS services in general, please reach out to us here. In the meantime, stay tuned to this feed for more from the world of SAS.