At its European users conference, SAS said the upcoming SAS Version 9 will add Java-based user interfaces that are being designed to simplify the software. SAS also plans to add new analysis functionality and multithreading technology designed to reduce the amount of server resources required by the applications.
Pieces of SAS Version 9 will be released this summer, and the new user interfaces are due to start rolling out by September, said Don Hatcher, vice-president of technology strategy at SAS. The interfaces will offer role-based views for end users in different parts of a company, Hatcher said.
Also during the summer, SAS plans to ship a Java-based management console that will allow IT workers to distribute upgrades of the software from a central point instead of having to separately install them on individual PCs.
