SAS acquires software firm IDeaS

CARY, USA: SAS, the leader in business intelligence and analytics, has acquired IDeaS Revenue Optimization, the premier provider of advanced revenue-management software for the hospitality industry.

With its existing broad and powerful portfolio of market-leading advanced analytics, business intelligence and industry-specific solutions, SAS now has the leading revenue-management offering designed specifically for the travel and hospitality industries. IDeaS customers will benefit from the global resources of SAS, a $2 billion company.

This acquisition further establishes SAS as a leader in this area by complementing SAS’ retail revenue optimization suite, which is currently deployed by a number of global retailers such as Hudson’s Bay Company of Canada and Kohl’s Department Stores.

SAS gains a robust application portfolio and technology foundation for extending IDeaS price and revenue optimization to other industries. SAS solutions will leverage these revenue- and price-optimisation capabilities to help organizations gain deeper insights into their customers and operations to maximize profitability.

"Effective revenue management is an essential tool, process and discipline for nearly all asset managers who serve customer demand that varies by market segment, season and economic cycle,” said Bill Carroll, Senior Lecturer at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. “Getting it right can make the difference between profitability and non-profitability. An RM system based on advanced analytics is critical to any firm’s overall revenue-management strategy."

Since deploying the IDeaS solution, the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles has enjoyed an approximately four percent revenue increase.

“IDeaS is extremely successful in the hospitality industry, and its highly regarded application base is capable of much more,” said Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS. ”SAS will build on that for other industries while remaining attentive to the extremely loyal IDeaS customer base. SAS has the will, the resources and the domain expertise to nurture the potential of IDeaS.”

Price- and revenue-optimization solutions such as IDeaS grew from airline industry deregulation, when carriers sought to maximize profitability in a newly competitive industry. The revenue management discipline (sometimes called yield management) now permeates hospitality and travel sectors, taking limited, perishable resources, predicting consumer behavior and adjusting pricing to maximize profit. A prime example: business hotels offering deep discounts for weekenders to encourage bookings for soft demand days.

IDeaS delivers solutions via “software as a service.” Customers access applications over the Internet, eliminating costs for new hardware and software installation. Software upgrades are painless, as IDeaS makes the changes on its Internet host.