Miami Acquires SAS Business Intelligence Software for Enhanced Reporting

Like many other universities and corporations, Miami University is moving to make business and administrative decisions more data-driven.  As part of this effort, Miami has acquired SAS Business Intelligence (BI) Platform software.

SAS BI software will enable the university to provide better reporting on data from Banner and other sources.  SAS analytical capabilities will allow administrators and managers to identify trends, quickly generate ad hoc reports, validate data and make corrections, and better allocate resources.  The end result of using better information to make decisions will be better services for faculty, staff, and students at lower cost.

The SAS BI software was selected through a process that started last year and included staff and faculty from across all divisions of the university.  Selection committee members reviewed offerings from five major vendors and selected the SAS BI Platform for its extensive range of capabilities, proven analytical and modeling functionality, easy-to-use interface, and high value.

Many faculty and staff already know SAS for its statistical and analytical software.  The BI Platform builds on these capabilities by combining them into a single, integrated system with graphical “drag and drop” interfaces.

Although SAS BI is the university’s new strategic reporting and analysis platform for the future, existing reporting tools such as WebFOCUS and the MinE system, will be supported for some time.  Departments across the university can continue to use the reports they have already developed to ensure that operations continue without disruption.  IT Services will soon announce plans for training on the new software as well as a timeline for retiring the previous tools.

The SAS software will be installed in late April.  Experts from SAS were on campus in March working with the President’s Executive Council and staff in all divisions to help define the university’s reporting and analysis needs and to help us prepare a plan to get results quickly from the new software.  They will share their findings with us in April and we will be ready to begin development once the installation is complete.