The 20 Most Promising SAS Solutions Providers

SAS Programming Professionals,

Without peeking, what do you think are the top best selling magazines in the United States?

Well, as of this writing, the top ten best selling magazines in the US are:

1. AARP The Magazine - 22,528,478 copies per issue
2. The Costco Connection – 8,631,275 copies per issue
3. Game Informer – 8,169,524 copies per issue
4. Better Homes and Gardens – 7,617,038 copies per issue
5. Reader’s Digest – 5,577,717 copies per issue
6. Good Housekeeping – 4,346,757 copies per issue
7. National Geographic – 4,232,205 copies per issue
8. Family Circle – 4,100,977 copies per issue
9. People – 3,563,035 copies per issue
10. Woman’s Day – 3,449,692 copies per issue

Probably no surprises there... unless, of course, your own favorite magazine did not make the top 10 list.

I would bet that among SAS programming professionals, the top magazine to read is going to be the current issue of CIO Review Magazine, which  spotlights the 20 Most Promising SAS Solutions Providers:

http://magazine.cioreview.com/Jan-2015/SAS/

That issue is packed with interesting descriptions of how a diverse group of organizations are harnessing the vast power of SAS to provide solutions to real-world business problems for both internal and external clients. So, what could be a more compelling read to a SAS programming professional such as yourself?  No magazine that I can think of!

I am happy to report that my own organization is listed among the 20 Most Promising SAS Solutions Providers.  You can find our profile on Page 45 in the above link, or skip directly to it with this link:

http://sas.cioreview.com/vendor/2015/westat

You can get a lot of good ideas as to how you might extend your own utilization of SAS and SAS's capabilities by reading this issue of CIO Review magazine.  And, unlike some of the other magazines in the US top ten, you can get the latest copy of this magazine with the click of a mouse!

Best of luck in all your SAS endeavors!

----MMMMIIIIKKKKEEEE

(aka Michael A. Raithel)

Amazon Author's Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Michael-A.-Raithel/e/B001K8GG90/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 

The Lowdown on the Downloads

SAS Programming Professionals,

I would bet that the most popular four-letter-word in the English language; the one that gets the most attention; the one that everybody loves to see; the one that makes people the happiest is:  free.

Everybody likes to get something for free.  We love it when we purchase two garments at the regular price and get the third one for free.  We smile when after purchasing nine coffees with our customer loyalty card we get the tenth one for free.  We enjoy racking up those frequent flyer miles so that we can get a free flight or a free upgrade.  We happily grab that toothpaste bundle that has a free smaller tube or a free toothbrush attached.  In the store, we reach for that bag of chips that has 10% more included for a limited time for free.  And, so on.

The good news for SAS programming professionals is that SAS offers a number of value-added products that you can download from the support.sas.com web site for--you guessed it--free.

The main SAS downloads page can be found at this link:  http://support.sas.com/downloads/index.htm .  From that web page, you can explore downloads for the various SAS products that you have licensed to see what freebies you may be able to bring to bear on your own programming work.

Here are some of my favorite free downloads for Base SAS Software:

• The SAS Universal Viewer -- This software allows users to access SAS data sets without having SAS installed on their workstations.  Link: http://support.sas.com/downloads/package.htm?pid=1249
• The ODS Graphics Editor -- This is an interactive tool that allows users to edit and customize the ODS graphs that they create.  Link: http://support.sas.com/downloads/package.htm?pid=999 
• The SAS XML Mapper --  The XML Mapper analyzes the structure of an XML file, or schema, and generates metadata.  It basically provides a gateway for you to process XML files with SAS. Link:  http://support.sas.com/downloads/package.htm?pid=1002 
• The SAS Installation Qualification (IQ) Tool and the SAS Operational Qualification (OQ) Tool.  These two handy tools validate that SAS is installed and operating correctly. The IQ tool validates that you have SAS correctly installed on your computer.  The OQ tool validates that SAS is operating according to SAS's specifications.  Link:  http://support.sas.com/rnd/migration/planning/validation/sasoq.html
• SAS Data Sets for Practicing Statistical Analysis -- SAS provides about 50 SAS data sets that you can download to use tosharpen your SAS programming skills.  Link:  http://support.sas.com/learn/statlibrary/statlib_eg4.2/top_data.htm
• The SAS Installation Reporter -- This amazing program provides a fantastically detailed report of your SAS installation.  Link:  http://support.sas.com/kb/20/390.html

You can do a lot with just that handful of free downloads for Base SAS software.

Check out the free SAS downloads and see which ones may end up saving you time at work.  No need to hurry though, because unlike those deals at your supermarket, drugstore, local clothing store, or airline, the SAS downloads are not "free for a limited time only."  All that you need to exploit them is the knowledge that they are there, a couple of minutes to download them, and the smarts to use them to improve the utility of your SAS programs.

Best of luck in all your SAS endeavors!

----MMMMIIIIKKKKEEEE
(aka Michael A Raithel)
Author's Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Michael-A.-Raithel/e/B001K8GG90/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0