SAS, a specialist in data and AI solutions, has introduced a groundbreaking approach for organizations to address business challenges effectively.
By offering lightweight, industry-specific AI models for individual licenses, SAS aims to provide organizations with easily deployable AI technology to implement real-world use cases efficiently.
Chandana Gopal, research director, Future of Intelligence, IDC, commented: “SAS is expanding its portfolio to meet the diverse needs of users and capture market share with innovative new offerings. An area where SAS excels is in productizing models based on its core assets, talent, and IP derived from its extensive experience in solving industry problems for customers.”
While the current market mainly focuses on large language models (LLMs) for generative AI, SAS recognizes that LLMs are just a small part of the AI modeling requirements for real-world production deployments and decision-making in businesses. With this new offering, SAS is moving beyond LLMs and providing proven deterministic AI models tailored to specific industries, covering use cases such as fraud detection, supply chain optimization, entity management, document conversion, healthcare payment integrity, and more.
Unlike traditional AI implementations that can be complex and time-consuming, SAS’ industry-specific models are designed for easy integration, enabling organizations to implement reliable AI technology quickly and achieve tangible benefits and trusted results.
Expanding Market Presence
Organizations are under pressure to compete effectively and are turning to AI for a competitive advantage. However, the challenge of hiring data science teams due to AI skills shortages has made it difficult for businesses. Therefore, there is a growing demand for agile AI solutions that can quickly solve problems and drive business outcomes. SAS’ user-friendly yet powerful models, tailored for enterprise use, leverage the company’s five decades of leadership across various industries.
Offering industry models as packaged solutions is a result of SAS’ commitment of $1 billion to AI-powered industry solutions. This investment in AI aligns with SAS’ long-standing focus on providing packaged solutions to address industry challenges in sectors such as banking, government, healthcare, and more.
Udo Sglavo, VP for AI and Analytics at SAS, stated: “Models complement our existing solutions and SAS Viya platform offerings, catering to diverse business needs and ensuring that innovation reaches all corners of our ecosystem. By understanding specific industry requirements, our frameworks empower businesses to thrive in their unique environments.”
Democratizing AI
SAS is making AI accessible to all by offering out-of-the-box, lightweight AI models, starting with an AI assistant for warehouse space optimization. These assistants, powered by technology like large language models, are designed for non-technical users, streamlining interactions into optimized workflows and facilitating faster decision-making.
Sglavo added: “SAS Models provide organizations with flexible, timely, and accessible AI solutions that address industry challenges. Whether you are beginning your AI journey or looking to expand AI across your enterprise, SAS offers comprehensive solutions tailored to your business needs.”
The first SAS Models are expected to be available later this year.
