SAS, a leader in data and AI solutions, has introduced an innovative approach to help organizations address business challenges more effectively. By offering lightweight, industry-specific AI models under individual licenses, it aims to provide organizations with easily deployable AI technology, enabling them to implement real-world solutions efficiently. Chandana Gopal, IDC’s Research Director for the Future of Intelligence, notes that SAS is expanding its portfolio to meet broader user needs and capture market share with its new offerings. Gopal emphasizes the potential for SAS to capitalize on its expertise by productizing models built on its core assets, talent, and intellectual property.
In today’s market, the focus on model consumption often revolves around large language models (LLMs) for generative AI. However, LLMs represent only a fraction of the modelling requirements for real-world AI deployments and business decision-making. With its latest offering, SAS goes beyond LLMs, providing industry-specific deterministic AI models tailored to various sectors, including fraud detection, supply chain optimization, entity management, document conversion, healthcare payment integrity, and more. These models are designed for quick integration, unlike traditional AI implementations, which can be complex and time-consuming, enabling organizations to operationalize AI technology swiftly and achieve reliable results.
As organizations seek to gain a competitive edge with AI while grappling with the challenge of staffing data science teams due to skills shortages, there’s a growing demand for agile and flexible AI solutions. SAS’ enterprise-tuned, user-friendly models address this demand, drawing on the company’s decades-long leadership across industries. Offering industry models as packaged solutions is part of SAS’ commitment to investing $1 billion in AI-powered industry solutions, announced in May 2023. This investment builds on SAS’ track record of providing packaged solutions to tackle industry-specific challenges in banking, government, healthcare, and more.
What Next for SAS?
Udo Sglavo, SAS’ VP for AI and Analytics, emphasizes that models complement SAS’ existing solutions and Viya platform offerings, catering to diverse business needs across different sectors. By tailoring its approach to address specific industry requirements, it empowers businesses to thrive in their unique environments. Furthermore, SAS is making AI more accessible by offering out-of-the-box, lightweight AI models, starting with an AI assistant for warehouse space optimization. These models cater to both technical and non-technical users, facilitating faster decision-making and workflow optimization.
SAS Models provide organizations with flexible, timely, and accessible AI solutions that address industry challenges effectively. Whether an organization is just starting its AI journey or aiming to expand AI adoption across the enterprise, it offers comprehensive support to meet diverse business needs. The first SAS Models are expected to be available later this year, marking a significant step forward in democratizing AI and empowering organizations to leverage AI technology for their growth and success.
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