Microsoft Azure becomes preferred Cloud platform for SAS analytics

Redmond: Tech giant Microsoft and business analytics software and services firm SAS have announced a strategic partnership, making Azure the preferred Cloud platform for SAS's analytics portfolio.

The two companies will enable customers to easily run their SAS workloads in the cloud, expanding their business solutions and unlocking critical value from their digital transformation initiatives.

As part of the partnership, the companies will migrate SAS' analytical products and industry solutions onto Microsoft Azure as the preferred cloud provider for the SAS Cloud.

"Microsoft and SAS will help our customers accelerate growth and find new ways to drive innovation with a broad set of SAS Analytics offerings on Microsoft Azure," said Scott Guthrie, Microsoft Executive Vice President of Cloud and AI.

The partnership builds on SAS integrations across Microsoft cloud solutions for Azure, Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform and supports the companies' shared vision to further democratize AI and analytics.

SAS and Microsoft said they are working together to ensure that SAS products and solutions can be successfully deployed and run effectively on Azure.

"SAS and Microsoft have a shared vision of helping customers accelerate their digital transformation initiatives. We both understand that it is about enrichment of data and improving lives through better decisions," said Oliver Schabenberger, SAS Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

This will include optimizing SAS Viya, the latest release of the company's cloud-native offering, for Azure as well as integrating SAS' deep portfolio of industry solutions, from fraud to risk to retail, into the Azure Marketplace, the companies said in a statement on Monday.