Conference Sections
| Technology Solutions | ||
| Applications Development | Data Integration | Posters |
| Beyond the Basics (formerly Advanced Tutorials) |
Data Mining and Predictive Modeling | Reporting and Information Visualization |
| BI Forum - BI User Applications | Foundations and Fundamentals (formerly Beginning Tutorials) |
|
| Code Doctors | Hands-On Workshops | Statistics and Data Analysis |
| Coders' Corner | Planning, Development and Support | Systems Architecture |
Technology Solutions
Applications Development
Section Chairs:
Pete Lund, Looking Glass Analytics
Curtis Mack, Looking Glass Analytics
The Application Development section focuses on implemented solutions to real-world problems. Solutions run the gamut of SAS products from those using only Base SAS to those using the highest end of SAS' offerings, such as SAS Integration Technologies and SAS Enterprise BI Server. The papers are presented from the point of view of an applications developer. As such, they present the challenges at hand and show how those particular challenges were overcome, including code samples if appropriate. If you have developed what you think is a unique approach or technique, this is a great place to share it with the SAS community.
Beyond the Basics (No Contributed Submissions Allowed)
Section Chair:
Sue Douglass, Independent Consultant
Now that you have learned SAS fundamentals, the Beyond the Basics section is the perfect place to add new techniques and further hone those SAS skills. Whether you want to know more about Data Step components, SQL and data access, advanced programming or even how to share your expertise with others, this is the place. Beyond the Basics will have presentations on the latest and most up-to-date how-to techniques using efficiency techniques for large data sets, PROCs, stored processes, hashing, ODS, interaction with Microsoft Office products and much more.
BI Forum - BI User Applications
Section Chair:
Harry Droogendyk, Stratia Consulting Inc.
Business Intelligence refers to technologies, applications and practices for the collection, integration, analysis and presentation of business information, and also sometimes to the information itself. The purpose of business intelligence is to support better business decision making.
This section includes papers that not only discuss the technical subject areas, but also those that show how best practices of data integration, analytics and reporting are applied to an integrated business solution, resulting in a competitive advantage and positive ROI.
Successful papers might cover:
- Query, Analysis and Reporting - providing quick and meaningful answers to important business questions.
- Use of online analytical processing (OLAP) for data summarization and presentation.
- Integrated analytics - use of statistics, data mining, optimization and modelling techniques to analyze and interpret data.
- Visualization - presenting key results and data trends in an intuitive manner.
- Enterprise Dashboards - depicting concise, meaningful results
- Microsoft Office integration.
Code Doctors
Section Chair:
MaryAnne Hope, Arizona Blue Cross
Emergency treatment is available for your SAS code! Does your SAS code lack energy? Are your macros not "mending?" Is your data out of sorts? The Code Doctors can diagnose the problem and prescribe a treatment.
This new section will provide SAS users the opportunity to bring their problematic SAS programs to a SAS subject matter expert from the SAS user community. This is your chance to let the experts advise you, debug your errors or just recommend some fine-tuning. Questions can address syntax, logistics or concepts in a variety of SAS areas, such as Base SAS, Statistics, Macros, Report Writing, ODS, SQL and SAS Enterprise Guide. Bring a hard copy and/or e-file with your code and/or log for a Code Doctor to examine the symptoms, diagnose the problem and prescribe the remedy. Time will be available for a one-on-one hands-on consultation with an experienced user. Take advantage of this great personalized learning experience!
Coders' Corner
Section Chairs:
Andrew T. Kuligowski, The Nielsen Company
Diana Suhr, University of Northern Colorado
The Coders' Corner section is a place where you could share your knowledge. Do you have a:
- Great tidbit of code you almost always include in your programs?
- Technique or trick that helps you on a regular basis?
- Tip about a powerful SAS feature that is relatively unknown or underused?
- Practical piece of advice you think everyone should know and should be using?
If so, you will want to make a submission to Coders' Corner. The usefulness of your information, rather than the length of your presentation, is important in this section. Most presentations are limited to 10 minutes, while selected presenters receive 20 minutes. Coders' Corner welcomes and encourages submissions from both first-time and veteran presenters on topics ranging from Base SAS through the specialized SAS solutions.
Data Integration
Section Chair:
Paul Gorrell, Social & Scientific Systems, Inc.
Papers in the Data Integration section include not only the core areas of data warehousing, ETL operations, data quality processes and data management, but also the use of metadata, data cleansing procedures, data synchronization and enterprise-level integration of disparate data sources within a unified query or reporting system. Papers may address the development of customized, SAS-based, programming solutions, the use of the SAS Enterprise Intelligence Platform, or implementing SAS Data Integration Studio. Throughout, the focus is on creative and practical approaches to integrating the various processes involved in efficiently transforming data into accurate and useful information.
Data Mining and Predictive Modeling
Section Chair:
F. Joseph Kelley, University of Georgia
Data mining and predictive modeling encompass advanced analytical methods, including sampling, data preparation, exploration, missing value imputation, visualization, and model building and validation techniques.
In this section, papers should address case studies involving business intelligence that highlight how data mining is being used to help enterprises achieve their goals and how it helps marketing analysts, database marketers, risk analysts, fraud investigators, engineers and scientists solve critical business or research issues. Topics can range from marketing applications such as profiling, response modeling or churn analysis to production applications like inventory optimization or call-center queuing. Papers that cover applications from a variety of industries - such as financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, retail, government, environmental and life sciences, health informatics, institutional analytics and agriculture, etc. - are welcome. In addition, this section explores methods for interpreting data using predictive and descriptive modeling, all facets of data mining, online analytical processing, and both new and novel approaches that can be used to drive decision making. Appro priate papers should highlight applications using Base SAS Enterprise MinerTM, SAS/STAT® software, or other components of SAS Analytics that enable user-friendly data mining and predictive modeling solutions.
Foundations and Fundamentals (No Contributed Submissions Allowed)
Section Chair:
Lisa Eckler, Lisa Eckler Consulting Inc.
This section will provide an overview of tools and core concepts upon which a solid understanding of SAS programming can be built. It will offer learning opportunities for newer SAS users, as well as some best practices which may appeal to those with more experience.
Hands-on Workshops (No Contributed Submissions Allowed)
Section Chairs:
Nancy Brucken, i3 Statprobe
Peter Eberhardt, Fernwood Consulting Group Inc
The name says it all. The attendees get real hands-on experience in directed workshops. The common name for Hands-On Workshops, HOW, describes the goal: Attendees will learn how to use the aspect of SAS you are showing.
Hands-on Workshops require focus and a delicate blend of lecture and exercises. If you have the imagination to show people how to use your corner of SAS and the creativity to put together a meaningful mix of lecture and exercises, we want to hear from you.
Planning, Development and Support
Section Chair:
Derek Morgan, Washington University School of Medicine
Papers in this section cover acquiring and expanding the skills needed to stay at the top of your game as a SAS professional, as well as skills and best practices in keeping your team of SAS professionals at the top of their collective game. Papers should focus on developing and evaluating these skills in others, or attaining them yourself, and should describe real-world approaches and solutions. Topics that would be appropriate for this section include:
- Managing people and/or projects, including offshore projects.
- Effective training methods and programs.
- Developing and deploying in-house best practices and standards.
- How to work effectively with co-workers and/or external clients.
- Methods of providing technical support and how to best use SAS Technical Support resources.
- How to get the most out of SAS Global Forum and regional, local and in-house user groups.
- Certification issues and preparation.
Posters
Section Chairs:
Erik S. Larsen, Independent Consultant
Lois Levin, LSL Consulting
The Posters section includes visual presentations and written papers that present ideas in an illustrated display that informs and captures the attention of the audience. Presenters can offer interesting visual concepts for study, and viewers can consider and discuss these concepts at their own pace and at their own convenience. Presenters participate in an informal discussion during a "meet the presenters" session, but the visual presentation carries the bulk of the message.
This section is ideal for presentations containing high-resolution graphics and/or thought-provoking concepts requiring some independent study by the conference participants. It is also perfect for the author who does not wish to conduct a formal oral presentation.
The subject matter of these presentations is varied and that is one thing that makes a tour of Posters so interesting. Tutorials, statistics, graphics, data integration and business intelligence are just some examples. Some displays may be enhanced with computer demonstrations of applications and multimedia such as audio/video.
Reporting and Information Visualization
Section Chair:
Maribeth Johnson, Medical College of Georgia
The Reporting and Information Visualization section is looking for papers that highlight techniques for presenting data in new and innovative ways. Over the years SAS has made significant advances in the tools available for information dissemination. Gone are the days of green-bar reports! Today the sky's the limit in terms of creativity and possibility. The range of possible topics is endless:
- From customizing output with the Output Delivery System (ODS) to generating reports with SAS Enterprise Guide® or SAS BI Server.
- From reporting via the Web with SAS/IntrNet® or SAS Integration Technologies to integrating SAS reporting with Microsoft Office.
- From ODS Statistical Graphics to the Data Step Graphics Interface.
- From report layout and design to effective use of color.
- From static to interactive reports and graphics.
Statistics and Data Analysis
Section Chairs:
George Fernandez, University of Nevada Reno
Tyler Smith, DoD Center for Deployment Health Research
The Statistics and Data Analysis section offers a wide variety of analytic methods with accompanying SAS programming to statisticians, economists, epidemiologists, forecasters, and operations and market researchers. Presenting in this forum will advance, educate and shape the application of statistical methods in a multidisciplinary setting. Whether you have special insight or data use for one of the many known SAS statistical procedures in SAS/STAT®, SAS/QC® and SAS/ETS®, or you are on the cutting edge of statistical evolution and its implementation with SAS and JMP® products, your contribution will be welcome. Of special interest this year are SAS papers that describe the application of analytical methods to solve real data encounters. We encourage researchers and practitioners from all disciplines to submit abstracts related to SAS Analytics.
Systems Architecture
Section Chair:
Sunil Gupta, Quintiles Inc.
Papers in Systems Architecture will cover a wide range of topics: basic concepts of the multitiered architecture, deployment considerations, traditional issues of metrics and tuning, as well as more complex matters related to client and server interaction. Real-world implementations incorporating such issues as configuration, security, migration and administration in a modern IT environment are appropriate. Always of interest are papers about new and innovative techniques and applications as they relate to the systems field. SAS®9 server architecture has expanded the traditional Systems Architecture section to bring together many nontraditional parts of the SAS community. The technology can be complex and exciting; come share with your colleagues what you have learned.
Industry Solutions
Communications, Media, Entertainment and Travel
Section Chair:
Joe DeShon, Sprint Corporation
Not only are large corporations merging, but entire industries are coming together as the distinction between information and entertainment is blurred. Wireless companies provide streaming video, and Internet companies provide first-run television shows. At the center of it all, the consumer is exhibiting an insatiable need for data, entertainment and communication, commodities delivered by hardware and protocols that didn't even exist half a decade ago.
Data professionals are challenged with making sense of this convergence of technologies in an increasingly complex environment, satisfying the needs of executive and mid-level managers as well as the ultimate consumer. The Communications, Media, Entertainment and Travel presentations are geared toward offering business solutions SAS professionals need to excel in this fast-paced environment.
Customer Intelligence
Section Chair:
Harry Droogendyk, Stratia Consulting Inc.
Customer Intelligence relates to the gathering, analyzing and exploiting of enterprise information and intelligence of a company's customer base. This industry solution section welcomes presentations and case studies that demonstrate successful implementations of the following:
- Master data management best practices to ensure customer data quality and compliance.
- Campaign management and optimization to acquire, cultivate and retain customers and provide analysis of the effectiveness of advertising, promotions and incentives.
- Web analytics to analyze and optimize the effectiveness of the corporate Web site.
- Managing customers based on their current and future level of profitability.
- Strategic segmentation and predictive analytics relating to customer behavior and customer experience.
- Integration of insightful analysis into corporate strategy.
Education
Section Chair:
Donald L. Penix, Jr. (D.J.), Pinnacle Solutions, Inc.
Papers and presentations in this section will focus on SAS technologies and solutions for K-12, higher education and other learning institutions. Submissions in this section may address topics that discuss common challenges that today's teachers, administrators and students face: shifts in demographics, technology transitions, shrinking budgets, alignment of resources, strategic planning, state and federal government mandates, workforce development, student and teacher performance, or effectiveness of course curriculum as examples. Presentations addressing these key areas, as well as any other specific to education organizations, are welcome.
Energy and Utilities
Section Chair:
Greg Nelson, ThotWave Technologies
As a result of energy market deregulation in the United States, increased competition and dramatically changing markets, the energy supply chain is now composed of a number of independent companies from production/generation to the delivery of energy to the end user. This sector is characterized by strong growth, with considerable potential for profits, but with high risks. Companies have struggled to balance these two often distinct corporate objectives: operational excellence and customer intimacy. Organizations are constantly seeking ways to become more efficient in managing energy supply, improving work management and reducing overall operational costs, while at the same time trying to create customer intimacy that other industries have enjoyed for years.
In this session, industry leaders will present case studies on the integration of business and technology strategies that deliver energy to both commercial and retail customers. Business topics will be taken from energy retailers who have to balance between customer acquisition and retention as well as pricing strategies and demand forecasting. Enterprise data integration, corporate compliance and risk management will also be discussed in the context of overall portfolio management and optimization.
Financial Services
Section Chair:
Zul Habib, Habib Consultants Limited
The financial industry continues to be challenged by severe regulatory compliance issues, vigorous competition, smaller profit margins, security concerns and escalating demand for increased customer services. All sectors of the financial industry, including banking institutions, insurance providers, investment and brokerage houses, and securities/mortgage providers, are affected by some or all of these challenges.
The Financial Services section is looking for papers that focus on new and innovative uses of SAS software and the sound business practices necessary to manage the above issues successfully by providing key decision makers with timely, accurate, useful information. Presentations will address effective finance industry-specific enterprise business intelligence solutions, risk analysis, data modeling, forecasting and customer behavior analysis.
Government
Section Chair:
Ann Stephan, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
For years, government agencies have used technology services and solutions to provide information and services to the public. More and more, agencies are being held accountable and are working to identify metrics that can tie back to performance and justify costs to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent in the best manner to achieve missions and goals. This section will show that by using SAS in areas such as data warehousing, analytics, data integration and program monitoring and evaluation, departments and agencies can make the best of their resources to efficiently and effectively speed information and services to the public.
Pharma, Life Sciences and Healthcare
Section Chair:
Rick Mitchell, Westat
Papers and presentations in this section will focus on SAS technologies and solutions within the life sciences industry, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare providers and insurers, and other key health areas. Submissions in the pharmaceutical industry may cover cutting-edge progress with CDISC and applications of SAS Drug Development that are used to manage, analyze and report clinical study data. Case studies are sought after from healthcare provider organizations that have used SAS analytics and reporting to enhance patient safety, quality of care or other aspects of performance. These solutions often arise from the integration of data across disparate parts of the organization, or from the innovative use of information in electronic health records (EHR). This section also seeks experiences from health insurers who have benefited from SAS strategies for the reporting of data to employers in real time, for identifying fraud before claims are paid, for predicting risk, or for partnering with providers to develop disease management strategies that lower costs and improve enrollee health. Paper and presentation submissions are also welcome for any other "hot topic" areas in the pharma, life sciences, and healthcare arena that you would like to share with the SAS community.
Retail
Section Chairs:
Donald L. Penix, Jr. (D.J.), Pinnacle Solutions, Inc.
Bryan Ramsey, Finish Line
The Retail Industry Solution section will offer attendees insight into solutions and strategies where companies leverage their consumer and market data with SAS to keep up with competitive retail trends that are both close to home and seen internationally. In today's world, retail companies are constantly reinventing solutions to enhance their customer relationships, their merchandise, their operations and the management of their overall performance. Presentations addressing these key areas, as well as any other vital issues specific to retail companies, are welcome.
Adjunct Sections
Pre-Conference Activities
Section Chair:
Debbie Buck, D.B. & P. Associates
Be sure to take advantage of the seminars and statistical tutorials that will be offered just prior to SAS Global Forum 2009. These extra-fee events require advance registration and are open to anyone who registers for the conference.
The seminars are topic-specific and offer practical techniques you are not likely to find anywhere else. The topics are appropriate for a variety of SAS experience levels.
Statistical tutorials provide an opportunity to learn how to use SAS/STAT® software straight from the SAS R&D staff. Some tutorials are directed at new methodologies recently implemented in the software, while others serve as introductions to standard statistical techniques that are widely used in practice. The tutorials provide a blend of methodology and helpful examples using SAS software.
SAS Presents
SAS Presents offers presentations by SAS staff on features and applications of newly developed or enhanced SAS tools and solutions. Recent and upcoming SAS developments are discussed in these presentations. Please feel free to provide feedback to the R&D staff either during a session or later on the exhibition floor.
Emerging Issues
In today's economy, no one is exempt from issues that challenge the way we currently work. Some of these issues may be familiar, but others may be completely new and unanticipated. How do these issues affect you? A select group of technology leaders will explore emerging issues that affect technology as well as specific industry-related topics including Solvency II, Emerging Countries/Developing Economies, etc. Specific topics will be announced closer to the conference, and they will address the issues of most concern in today's ever-changing market.