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Frequently Asked Questions about SAS Global Forum

What is SAS Global Forum?
Why should I attend SAS Global Forum?
When and where is the next SAS Global Forum?
I've never been to SAS Global Forum before. How can I meet people and tell who else is a first time attendee?
What is a BOF?
What are Hands-on Workshops and how do I participate?
How can I participate in SAS Global Forum?
Are there other conferences or user group meetings?
How can I stay informed about all SAS Global Forum activities?
Why is SAS® Users Group International (SUGI) changing its name?
How will the conference change?
What is the relationship between SAS Global Forum, BetterManagement Live and SAS Forum?
What is the difference between SAS Global Forum and The Premier Business Leadership Series?
Will SAS have more involvement in SAS Global Forum?
Why have 'users' and 'international' been dropped from the new name?
Will this change affect the cost of the conference?
Who attends this conference?
Is this conference turning into a marketing event?
Why drop the conference number?

1 - What is SAS Global Forum?: SAS Global Forum is a nonprofit organization that is open to all SAS software users throughout the world. There is no membership fee. SAS Global Forum exists to provide a means for SAS software users to exchange ideas, explore ways of using SAS software and participate in activities of mutual interest. Each year, SAS Global Forum plans and sponsors an international conference to promote educational, training, networking and professional development opportunities for SAS users. SAS Global Forum is governed by an Executive Board that is made up of past and future SAS Global Forum conference chairs and representatives from SAS.
2 - Why should I attend SAS Global Forum?: SAS Global Forum attendees have the opportunity to meet and network with SAS professionals from around the world. Conference activities to attend include invited and contributed papers and posters; lunch seminars; birds-of-a-feather (BOF) sessions; hardware and software demonstrations; hands-on workshops; a training materials and documentation competition; SAS information booths for consulting, training, publications, technical support, quality assurance and users groups; a consultants' registry; and informal mixers. You also can meet with SAS staff and discuss ideas for future product development. During the opening session, SAS staff members introduce new products and enhancements to SAS software, announce the SASware Ballot® Survey results, and present the Enterprise Computing and User Feedback Awards.
3 - When and where is the next SAS Global Forum?: SAS Global Forum 2009 will be held March 22 - 25, 2009 in National Harbor, Maryland. Once again, over 3000 SAS users representing more than 35 countries are expected to gather for 3-1/2 intense days of learning and networking.

4 - I've never been to SAS Global Forum before. How can I meet people and tell who else is a first time attendee?: There are a number of activities designed to help you meet fellow SAS users and get the most out of your conference experience. Conference-specific registration and program publications include information on activities for first-time attendees.
5 - What is a BOF?: A BOF is a birds-of-a-feather session. In contrast to formal presentation sessions, BOFs provide attendees an opportunity to discuss a topic of mutual interest in an informal setting. BOFs are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in designated rooms. Times and topics are posted on the BOF sign-up board in the Registration Area during each conference.
6 - What are Hands-on Workshops and how do I participate?: Hands-on workshops give users of all experience levels the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with SAS software. This is always one of the most popular features of each SAS Global Forum conference. Specific details on participation vary from year to year due to logistics and space at the conference location; therefore, check conference-specific registration and program publications, including Web sites.
7 - How can I participate in SAS Global Forum?: There are several different ways to participate, depending on your level of expertise and areas of interest. If you start the process early in the planning year, you may wish to submit a paper for consideration. You can also organize a birds-of-a-feather (BOF) session to meet informally with users in your specific areas of interest. Lastly, you can volunteer to be a session coordinator. Session coordinators assist the section chairs prior to the conference with administrative duties and during the conference with logistical duties, such as passing out handouts, working the lights, keeping speakers on the correct time schedule and so on.
If you are interested in submitting a paper or volunteering, please visit the SAS Global Forum 2009 website to submit a paper or volunteer application.
8 - Are there other conferences or user group meetings?: Yes. SAS users groups exist worldwide from New York to Taiwan. Users in many foreign countries meet annually at conferences patterned after SAS Global Forum. There are conferences or users days in Europe and individual European nations, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Taiwan. Several of these conferences also publish proceedings. There are also many users groups throughout the United States and Canada, including special-interest, in-house, local and regional users groups. Many of these groups meet on a regular basis and publish newsletters.
9 - How can I stay informed about all SAS Global Forum activities?: You can find information about the upcoming conference on the World Wide Web at www.sasglobalforum.org. SAS Global Forum news, including abstracts of invited and contributed presentations, hotel accommodations, and areas of interest in the conference city can be found on the Web site. You can also find information in sascom, SAS' quarterly news magazine, or by contacting the SAS Global Forum Coordinator at SAS.
10 - Why is SAS® Users Group International (SUGI) changing its name?: From its beginnings in 1976, SUGI was the first and – for many years – the only users conference specific to SAS organized by SAS users. As SAS software expanded across new solution areas and industries, the number and diversity of SAS software users and events have expanded exponentially. The SUGI conference has evolved as a forum not only for SAS users and SAS, but also for SAS partners, publishers and business decision makers new to the SAS environment.
Changing the name of SUGI to SAS Global Forum will more accurately reflect the role and value of this annual conference. SAS Global Forum will differentiate itself as the single most important SAS global event, not just for users, but for anyone who relies on SAS to move their organizations forward.
11 - How will the conference change?: SAS Global Forum will remain the premier SAS conference. As the intent of the conference stays the same, the new name reflects the evolution of the conference as a forum for IT professionals and business decision makers – at all levels of experience – from every part of the world.
12 - What is the relationship between SAS Global Forum, BetterManagement Live and SAS Forum?: BetterManagement LIVE and SAS Forum will transform into a multi-city, global conference series for C-level executives. The new conference series will be called The Premier Business Leadership Series. The Premier Business Leadership Series will headline well-known keynote speakers, industry-specific presentations, and cross-industry tracks that appeal to a broad executive audience. The conference agenda will be customized to meet the needs of executive audiences in the Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific regions.
13 - What is the difference between SAS Global Forum and The Premier Business Leadership Series?: SAS Global Forum will maintain a focus on SAS® software users, both in its content and its administration. The Premier Business Leadership Series will address critical management issues relevant to all business audiences.
14 - Will SAS have more involvement in SAS Global Forum?: SAS will continue its current role in supporting the conference by hosting the opening session, organizing the Demo Area and other duties to support the success of this event. However, this conference is still organized and run by the Executive Board for SAS users, from the selection of papers to the organization of each section. The Executive Board consists of SAS users who are either past or future conference chairs and a select number of SAS staff who work together to make the conference a success.
15 - Why have 'users' and 'international' been dropped from the new name?: SAS Users Group International (SUGI) was the most descriptive name for this conference for many years. The word "forum" is defined as a public meeting or assembly for open discussion. Using this word in the new name simply reflects that our conference is not just for users but for a larger audience of SAS professionals, partners, and others who want to learn more about SAS and discuss the software's potential. Using "global" instead of "international" helps to differentiate our conference from SAS Forum International; it also highlights this conference as the premier SAS global event.
16 - Will this change affect the cost of the conference?: Additional costs are not anticipated due to the name change.
17 - Who attends this conference?: As SAS software has evolved, so have the types of participants at our conference. Initially, this conference was attended by users of core SAS products. As observed in recent conferences, the attendees have evolved to include SAS programmers, IT professionals, business decision makers, managers, partners and publishers. The bottom line is that the Executive Board recognizes how the makeup of conference attendees has changed; the board plans to guide the conference as it evolves to keep it meaningful for all attendees.
18 - Is this conference turning into a marketing event?: Since this conference is SAS' premier event, SAS will always take the opportunity to announce new products. Attendees use this conference as one of the vehicles for learning about new offerings, as well as to hear success stories on how other companies have used SAS to move their organizations forward. New product announcements and success stories are presented during the opening session and shown on the demo floor. The rest of the conference is organized by the members of the Executive Board, and they, along with the section chairs, select the topics and content most relevant for the attendees. The focus of the conference will always remain on the different tracks that highlight the core SAS products and the best practices to support them.
19 - Why drop the conference number?: The Executive Board has recognized the need to change the conference name to better reflect the attendee base and make this conference the premier global SAS event. As exciting as it may be to some longtime SAS users, using the conference number can be intimidating to new attendees, who make up a large percentage of conference participants.
SAS Global Forum Coordinator c/o SAS Institute Inc. SAS Campus Drive Cary, NC 27513 Phone: 919-531-5000 Fax: 919-677-4444 E-mail: Contact SAS Global Forum