SAS Unveils Innovative Features in SAS Viya to Enhance AI and Data Productivity

Innovations in SAS Viya

In a significant announcement during the SAS Innovate event, SAS, a leader in data and artificial intelligence, has unveiled exciting new features for its SAS® Viya® platform. These innovations are designed to enhance productivity, speed, and trust in data management and AI integration among users, all while supporting various business needs.

Enhancing Efficiency with New Offerings

SAS is dedicated to overcoming the challenges of the current AI landscape. With the introduction of new products such as SAS Data Maker and SAS Viya Intelligent Decisioning, businesses can leverage enhanced tools that facilitate improved decision-making and operational efficiency. The SAS Data Maker, a private preview was completed last year, focuses on generating secure synthetic data, assisting organizations in addressing concerns regarding data privacy and availability. This robust generator, which is expected to be publicly available by Q3 2025, will be significantly bolstered thanks to SAS's acquisition of software assets from synthetic data pioneer Hazy.

SAS Viya Intelligent Decisioning is already available and enables the development and deployment of intelligent AI agents. With a focus on the right balance between AI autonomy and human involvement, this tool is tailored to various organizational task complexities, risk factors, and business objectives.

The Rise of SAS Managed Cloud Services

Newly launched in early 2025, SAS Managed Cloud Services SAS Viya Essentials provides a hosted managed service option, particularly beneficial for small and mid-sized businesses. This service reduces the barriers for organizations looking to utilize SAS Viya technologies, offering a quick start and easy access to the essential tools needed for data analysis and AI integration.

SAS Viya Copilot: A Salient Assistive Feature

SAS Viya Copilot stands out as a notable feature, utilizing AI-driven conversational assistance that aids developers and data scientists within the SAS Viya framework. Currently operating under an invitation-only preview, this assistant aims to streamline tasks, enhancing developers' productivity through AI-powered model development and coding support. The public release is anticipated for Q3 2025.

Evolution of the Coding Environment: SAS Viya Workbench

Released in 2024, the SAS Viya Workbench serves as an innovative cloud-based environment specifically designed for developers, data scientists, and modelers. This platform significantly boosts efficiency in conducting data management, analysis, and model development across multiple programming languages, including Python, R, and SAS, now expanded to include Microsoft Azure Marketplace accessibility alongside its original AWS Marketplace.

Driving Business Outcomes and Supporting Global Conservation

The advantages of SAS Viya extend beyond mere operational improvements. The platform plays a crucial role in supporting global conservation efforts. Fathom Science, a tech startup focused on ocean data and conservation, utilized SAS Viya to enhance its whale location prediction model aimed at protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. By generating synthetic data reflecting actual shipping lanes, SAS helped create a model to better understand the whales' proximity to marine traffic, ultimately resulting in better conservation strategies.

Concluding Thoughts

Today’s announcement by SAS not only reflects a commitment to advancing the capabilities of its users but also emphasizes its role in broader global issues, such as conservation and environmental management. These latest innovations in the SAS Viya platform aim not just to react to the fast-paced world of data and AI but also to lead it. SAS's goal, as stated by CTO Bryan Harris, is to equip organizations with the tools necessary to navigate the complexities of AI advancements and ultimately drive meaningful outcomes in business and beyond.

Learn more about the newly announced features of the SAS Viya platform by visiting sas.com/viya.