The deal was announced on Wednesday by Microsoft Australia chief partner officer Rachel Bondi and Lynette Clunies-Ross, regional vice-president of SAS Australia and New Zealand [seen right, below].
It expands on a global deal that was announced in June this year.
As part of that deal, the two firms agreed to migrate SAS’ analytical products and industry solutions onto Microsoft Azure as the preferred cloud provider for the SAS Cloud.
{loadposition sam08{SAS’ industry solutions and expertise were claimed to bring added value to Microsoft’s customers across healthcare, financial services and many other industries.
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 democratise AI and analytics.
Clunies-Ross said in a statement: "Together, Analytics and AI from SAS with the power of Microsoft Azure will underpin the new operating system for Digital Transformation.
"It represents a tangible local investment in the global strategic partnership when coupled with the establishment of our SAS Cloud Centre of Excellence in Sydney to serve Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
"Our joint local commitment brings confidence to our current and future customers and partners that they have access to the analytics technology and solutions they need for their digital transformation journey."
Bondi said: "Australian organisations are increasingly aware of the power of data, analytics and AI to support their people, to deliver exceptional customer experiences and to ensure businesses thrive and succeed.
"Our partnership with SAS and the establishment of the SAS Cloud on Azure streamlines access to this capability for local organisations and we are delighted to partner on this initiative."
