India crucial component of SAS global operations – Harris

India plays a pivotal strategic role within SAS's global operations, according to SAS Chief Technology Officer Bryan Harris.

Speaking at the SAS Innovate 2024 event in Las Vegas, Harris said the SAS R&D India business, located in Pune, is an extended arm of the company’s headquarters and an integral part of its growth strategy. 

"India is very strategic to SAS," says Harris. “For us, our Pune R&D organisation is really like an unofficial second HQ. We have almost over a thousand employees out there operating and working there. And we are going to continue to invest there,” he said. 

Harris says SAS views its presence in India as more than just an offshore outpost.

“We see great talent in that part of the business, and we are investing a lot in that location to build the depth of roles to enable real career growth. That's how important the India market is for us.”

SAS R&D India is the largest R&D center outside of the SAS Headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. 

Over the past two years, the headcount indicates a growth of more than 50%.

Apart from R&D, the center also hosts various other teams such as Product Management, Enterprise Excellence, Pre-sales, Tech Support, User Experience, Technical Publication, Professional Services, and a Hosting support team for our SaaS division.

Currently, the Americas contribute the majority of SAS revenues, although the Asia Pacific market, especially India, is emerging to be one of the fastest growing markets.

Harris says SAS is not a company that is looking for lower rates of labour.

"Our presence in India is about having a presence around the world, with regional support, and an ability to speak to different cultures in a much more effective way, and our ability to support our customers through different time periods of the night,” he says.

"Yes, labour rates might be effectively cheaper. That is, I promise you, not the goal. We want to invest more and actually put more people in our Indian business. In doing so, we have got to make sure there are career opportunities for those people, that we are not a flat organisation where we're just saying, please solve these problems for the lowest cost. So India is strategic to SAS, and we're very excited about what we've done together already there and how we are going to move forward.”

Last month, SAS India announced a partnership with India's P P Savani University to enhance business analytics education. 

The strategic partnership aims to equip students with cutting-edge analytics skills. Through this collaboration, students pursuing BBA & MBA in Business Analytics will gain practical insights and hands-on experience using SAS analytics software, preparing them to confront real-world business challenges effectively.