Addressing the challenges of deploying a SAS analytics software

SAS analytics software is an incredibly powerful tool that can crunch data to provide insights in a format that is easy to understand. However, there is no denying that deploying SAS analytics comes with hefty requirements, making most organisations hesitate before investing in the analytics platform.

I once spoke with a CEO of a Fintech firm who was interested in analytics but decided to push back the investment because of the roadblocks his company had to tackle to get analytics up and running.

“We are sure that we will reap the benefits in the long run,” he said, “But we need to sort out our infrastructure before we can even think of integrating SAS.”

Despite his initial interest in the platform, he changed his mind because his organisation was not in a position to use SAS to its full potential.
As SAS consultants, part of our job is to ensure that organisations have the necessary solutions to address the problems of deploying SAS analytics software. But, what is the best way to address the challenges of SAS deployment? First, we need to understand the obstacles organisations face when deploying SAS analytics.

Roadblocks to launching SAS analytics software

The infrastructure needed to support analytics

Most organisations lack the infrastructure to properly take advantage of SAS analytics software. First, let me be clear, when I say infrastructure, I am not just referring to the technology. I am referring to the corporate setup that encourages innovation through technology without politics hindering progress.

Organisations require a wide range of reporting and analysis tools to curate their data. Without that infrastructure, it would be very difficult to properly analyse data with SAS software analytics.

The corporate setup must also be ideal for the adoption of SAS analytics. Most businesses struggle to deploy analytics because most executives fail to understand how much value they can gain from it.

The size of the organisation can also be a barrier to deployment. A large organisation means a more complex infrastructure, which makes the deployment of SAS even more challenging because SAS must be integrated into the existing infrastructure.
Explaining what organisations need for successful SAS deployment, how to get it, and why they should get it is something every SAS expert should think about.

Addressing performance issues

One challenge for deploying analytics platforms is accounting for scale and performance.

Most organisations are dealing with streaming data, so the ideal analytics platform should be able to collect and analyse data appropriately. For example, data analytics software for real-time analysis can set periods for data coming into the system.

SAS analytics platforms should be able to stream data continuously and must be flexible enough to scale to meet performance requirements.
Fortunately, there are several SAS analytics software platforms capable of streaming data in real-time, like SAS Event Processing.

Furthermore, as SAS professionals, we should identify the most suitable analytics platform based on our client’s objectives. There are plenty of SAS products optimised for certain functions, so it’s important to ensure that potential clients are investing in the right platform.

Making sure data is secured

Security is arguably one of the biggest obstructions for deploying SAS analytics platforms. While SAS is well-known for its comprehensive data security layers, most businesses are not going to know about these measures. So there is going to be some apprehension about investing in data analytics.

In my experience, transparency is the best way to remove misgivings about deploying analytics. Deploying data analytics platforms means integrating it with existing security layers in the client’s infrastructure and setting restrictions on data access.

Apart from regulating access to data, analytics platforms should be able to encrypt data when it is in motion and protect the intellectual property of any algorithms. I recommend walking your potential client through the process to give them a rundown of what you must do to securely deploy SAS into the infrastructure.

That way, you can remove existing apprehensions around installing SAS analytics software.

Always develop a plan!

SAS analytics software can generate immense value for public and private organisations. However, there is no denying that there are some obstacles that deter most organisations from deploying the platform into their infrastructure. SAS experts need to find a way to address these obstacles so that potential clients will overcome their apprehension about investing in SAS analytics.