SAS Institute to Offer Linux Version of SAS Software

SAS Institute is planning to ship a production version of SAS software for Red Hat Linux on Intel hardware near the end of the year. The company has surveyed its customers and closely monitored the Linux marketplace, and based on positive customer feedback and the increasing number of Fortune 1000 companies looking seriously at Linux as a viable operating-system choice for their enterprise-wide business applications, they have decided to offer a Linux version of SAS software. The Institute will work to ensure that the Linux version of SAS software runs on all major distributions of Linux. Before production of the new Linux version of SAS software, SAS Institute will work with existing customers in business, public sector and academic settings to field-test the new Red Hat Linux version. This field-testing will provide SAS developers with valuable feedback on hardware configuration, compatibility, software installation and other issues. SAS Institute already delivers solutions that run on all the major operating-system platforms, including the leading versions of UNIX (Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, and Tru64, with support for Project Monterey planned), as well as Windows 2000, Windows NT and mainframe operating systems. Linux is fast becoming a key platform for e-business and e-commerce, and SAS Institute's support for Linux broadens the scope of enterprise business applications available on this platform.