SAS Reboots its SAS Global Forum, Turns it Into a Virtual Experience

CARY, N.C., May 13, 2020 — As the global community confronts the challenges posed by the coronavirus, there has never been a greater need for analytics to distill vast data into actionable insights. It is against this backdrop that analytics leader SAS reimagines its annual SAS Global Forum. SAS is transforming the traditional in-person conference into a virtual experience, free and streaming live May 19 and June 16.

“The pandemic continues to affect all of us in profound ways, and we had to rethink the way we go about our work and our lives,” said Oliver Schabenberger, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer of SAS. “At SAS, we reimagined SAS Global Forum and created a new virtual experience that informs and inspires members of the business and analytics community as they navigate change and disruption.”

The greatest gathering of analytics professionals, reimagined

Designed to bring together SAS users, executives, partners and academics from around the world, SAS Global Forum 2020 marks the first-ever virtual analytics event of this scale. Participants will hear insights from thought leaders and industry experts, exploring sessions on the latest advances in AI, cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT) and more. They’ll learn how organizations across industries are harnessing the power of SAS to make better, faster decisions that matter – including how to respond to COVID-19, navigate uncertainty and plan for recovery.

Optimized for a virtual experience, participants will have access to traditional conference features, including analytics-packed sessions, a virtual Quad experience, super demos, and educational and training offerings – all from the convenience and safety of their own desktops.

User, executive and academic program content featured in May

Adding to the 80 SAS Global Forum 2020 sessions currently available, over 45 additional sessions will debut on May 19, including user, executive and partner sessions, SAS presentations and tutorials. Highlights include a special containers seminar, where attendees will learn more about key technologies, functionalities and benefits of containers and images; and the annual Student Symposium, showcasing and awarding postsecondary students’ analytic skills in solving a real-world problem of their choosing.

New this year, SAS will also offer an Executive Connection, bringing together industry leaders to initiate an exchange of critical insights for navigating the COVID-19 crisis. During these sessions, attendees will learn how data and analytics help keep business’ doors open, supply chains moving and resources optimized.

The May 19 program will also feature a keynote by frontline ER physician Ryan McGarry, MD, co-creator and Executive Producer of the Netflix series Pandemic, providing an insider’s look at the worst pandemic since the Great Flu of 1918.

Executives, customers, partners – and games – on tap in June

The analytics showcase continues June 16. Attendees can personalize and tailor their virtual experience from a variety of program content spanning technologies, solutions and industries – and, just for fun, the experience will be gamified, with activities throughout the day.

June’s virtual program will combine elements of the traditional opening session and Technology Connection combined with additional user, executive and presenter sessions, and Partner Forum presentations. Attendees will learn from SAS customers and partners as well as SAS executives, including:

• Jim Goodnight, founder and CEO of SAS.
• Oliver Schabenberger, Executive Vice President, COO and CTO of SAS. Twitter: @oschabenberger.
• Bryan Harris, Senior Vice President, R&D Engineering at SAS. Twitter: @BryanHarris.

Additionally, through an interactive, virtual Quad experience, attendees can meet SAS experts and get a first-hand look at SAS technology through super demos and more. SAS training offerings will include virtual tutorials and workshops.

Save your spot: Bookmark the channel and add to your calendar

Now is the time to get inspired to make a difference. The year’s largest – and perhaps most important – gathering of the analytics community begins May 19. Users content will be available via the SAS Users YouTube channel, and executive content will be available by registration and stream via the SAS Global Forum website. For those unable to view live, user and executive sessions will be available on demand following the event.

2020 SAS Global Forum conference proceedings, including 374 papers, are now available for download.

Visit SAS’ COVID-19 Data Analytics Resource Hub for an assortment of free resources and tools, unleashing the power of analytics to track and curb the coronavirus pandemic.