SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence
SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence is set in 2007 and traces the history of a great analytics software firm, considered to be the leader in a domain loosely characterized as Business Intelligence. The firm is one of the world's largest private companies, global leader in Analytics and Business Intelligence and the 33rd largest software company in the world. Ownership of SAS is concentrated in the hands of two programmers, one of whom, Jim Goodnight, holds two thirds of the shares and has acted as CEO for the last 30 years, piloting the strategy of the firm. SAS was originally a statistical analytics software package developed by Jim Goodnight and his original partners before the founding of the firm in 1976. Between its founding and 2007 the firm developed a breathtaking array of software add-ons and capabilities that allows firms to perform data storage, data mining, reporting and generate scorecards that enable managers to forecast opportunities and make data-based decisions for the future.
Swot Analysis of "SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence" written by Stephanie Hurt, Marcus Hurt includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sas Intelligence facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Growth strategy, IT, Marketing and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , technology disruption, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sas Intelligence, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sas Intelligence operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sas Intelligence
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sas Intelligence
Strengths SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Sas Intelligence in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence Harvard Business Review case study are -
Diverse revenue streams
– Sas Intelligence is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Analytics focus
– Sas Intelligence is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Stephanie Hurt, Marcus Hurt can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Sas Intelligence are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Learning organization
- Sas Intelligence is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Sas Intelligence is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sas Intelligence to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sas Intelligence to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Sas Intelligence is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Sas Intelligence has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of Sas Intelligence
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Sas Intelligence does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Sas Intelligence has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Sas Intelligence has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Sas Intelligence has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Sas Intelligence digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Sas Intelligence has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Weaknesses SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Sas Intelligence, firm in the HBR case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Sas Intelligence has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence, is just above the industry average. Sas Intelligence needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of Sas Intelligence products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Sas Intelligence needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Sas Intelligence 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence HBR case study mentions - Sas Intelligence takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Stephanie Hurt, Marcus Hurt suggests that, Sas Intelligence is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Sas Intelligence supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sas Intelligence vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Sas Intelligence has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Sas Intelligence has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Opportunities SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sas Intelligence can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sas Intelligence operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Sas Intelligence can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sas Intelligence to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Sas Intelligence to increase its market reach. Sas Intelligence will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Sas Intelligence has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sas Intelligence to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sas Intelligence can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Sas Intelligence to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Sas Intelligence to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sas Intelligence can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Sas Intelligence can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Sas Intelligence has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sas Intelligence to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence case study. Sas Intelligence can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sas Intelligence in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Sas Intelligence in the consumer business. Now Sas Intelligence can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Sas Intelligence can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence are -
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sas Intelligence with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Sas Intelligence
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Sas Intelligence.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Sas Intelligence in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sas Intelligence can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence .
Environmental challenges
– Sas Intelligence needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Sas Intelligence can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Sas Intelligence can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Sas Intelligence high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sas Intelligence in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Sas Intelligence needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Sas Intelligence has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sas Intelligence needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Sas Intelligence can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of SAS: Leadership in Business Intelligence is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Sas Intelligence needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
