Lynette Clunies-Ross (SAS)
The Australian arms of analytics vendor SAS and Microsoft have come together to launch SAS Cloud on Azure in Sydney following strong demand in the local region.
Developing on a global partnership between the two vendors, this sees SAS Cloud’s data, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) workload capabilities to Azure for the wider Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
The decision to launch in Sydney was due to Australia and New Zealand being one of the most successful markets for SAS Cloud globally, according to the analytics vendor, which it claims indicates strong local demand for cloud services.
Lynette Clunies-Ross, region vice president of SAS Australia and New Zealand, said the combination of analytics and AI from SAS and 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,” she said.
“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”.
Rachel Bondi, chief partner officer at Microsoft Australia, added the launch is said to streamline access to data, analytics and AI capabilities for local organisations.
This marks the second Azure region globally to launch SAS Cloud, following the initial launch in the US.
The partnership between the two Australian arms of the vendors comes a week after the appointment of Clunies-Ross as SAS’ A/NZ head, taking over from former managing director David Bowie.
