Leading Edge R&D:

SAS JOINS MICROSOFT/HYPERION ON XML FOR ANALYSIS COUNCIL

Hyperion Solutions Corp, Microsoft Corp and SAS Institute Inc announced that SAS has joined Microsoft and Hyperion as a co-chair on the XML for Analysis (XML/A) Council. The XML/A Council was formed in April 2001 to develop and define specifications that enable the easy deployment of sophisticated, analytically rich business intelligence (BI) solutions.

XML for Analysis is an open-standards-based messaging interface designed specifically for online analytical processing (OLAP) and data-mining functions. This interface will promote the standardization of the data access interaction between a client application and business intelligence systems and other applications over the Web and in distributing environments. These benefits enable businesses to develop and deploy Web-service-based business intelligence solutions more quickly and easily, as well as integrate diverse applications in today's information technology environments.

SAS was previously a contributing member of the council, and its participation in a leadership role offers additional expertise in advanced analytics for the development of the XML for Analysis Specification. To date, the council has issued beta and version 1 releases of the specification. SAS' increased level of involvement in the XML for Analysis Council, along with the contributions of other data-mining vendors ANGOSS Software Corp and SPSS Inc, illustrates the increased emphasis of data-mining in analytic Web services.

Current contributing council members include Alphablox Corp, Applied OLAP Inc, Applix Inc, arcplan Information Services AG, Aspirity LLC, Brio Software Inc, Business Objects SA, Cognos Corp, Comshare Inc, Crystal Decisions, Dimensional Systems, Harmony Software Inc, Lawson Software, MicroStrategy Inc, ProClarity Corp, Simba Technologies Inc and Temtec.

"SAS Institute's decision to co-chair the XML/A Council emphasizes the commitment by industry leaders to support open standards, encourages further growth of the specification and eliminates the need for developers to program to multiple APIs," said Bill Baker, general manager of SQL Server Business Intelligence at Microsoft. "This broad cooperation will enable customers and partners to more easily and rapidly deploy Web-based intelligence solutions."

"The development of viable industry standards for XML-based business intelligence is critical for the growth of our industry," said Jim Davis, chief marketing officer at SAS. "SAS is excited to be working with Microsoft and Hyperion to lend our experience in data-mining and business intelligence to lead the development of the XML/A specification."

"Having SAS as a co-chair brings additional momentum to XML/A," said Robert Gersten, chief development officer at Hyperion. "Moving this initiative forward in an open forum with other leaders in the business intelligence community will benefit customers, who will gain the ability to protect server and tools investments and ensure that new analytical deployments will interoperate smoothly and efficiently."

XML for Analysis will enable application developers to incorporate business intelligence into their Web services or distributed computing applications by supporting standard-based protocols such as XML, SOAP and HTTP. The specification does the following:

• Creates a much-needed standard interface to provide reliable access to business data over the Web to devices on any platform
• Allows transfer access between OLAP and data-mining services, which elevates the role of data-mining within the scope of the specification
• Enables applications developed in any programming language and running on any platform to access data from any place on the Web

The efforts of the XML/A Council will extend the widespread adoption of business intelligence solutions by enabling a broader access of timely business information to users everywhere. More information on the XML for Analysis Council can be found at xmla.org.

About SAS

SAS, www.sas.com, is a market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 38,000 sites -- including 99 of the top 100 businesses on the Fortune 500 list -- to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data-warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For 25 years, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know.

About Hyperion

Hyperion, www.hyperion.com, a global leader in business performance management software, creates solutions that help businesses measure performance and drive profitability. Its flagship product, Hyperion Essbase, as well as its financial analysis, performance management and eCRM analysis solutions are used by more than 6,000 companies around the world. Hyperion has a network of more than 400 strategic partners to provide innovative business intelligence solutions, specialized applications and services. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Hyperion had annual revenues of more than $500 million in fiscal 2001. The company has more than 2,300 employees in 20 countries and is also represented in 16 other countries through distributor relationships.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft, www.microsoft.com, is a worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.