Date:         Wed, 10 Mar 1999 10:19:35 -0600
Reply-To:     "Lambert, Bob" <Bob_Lambert@AFCC.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         "Lambert, Bob" <Bob_Lambert@AFCC.COM>
Subject:      Re: Yet more  thoughts on SAS for Linux -Reply
Content-Type: text/plain

A few years back, I took a stat course that required SAS.  Having SAS on my
PC would be much more convenient than driving to the computer lab to do my
homework.  I was one of those who was hit with "sticker shock" when I called
SAS to place an order.   The sales person openly admitted that they do not
target the individual user and that basically they don't care (she was not
this direct but this is what she meant) about not getting that business.
This is not a negative statement on her or SAS' part.  It's simply a
representation of their marketing strategy -- which appears to be very
successful.
 
Bob Lambert
Associates Capital Bank, SLC.
 
 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim CHURCHES [SMTP:TCHUR@DOH.HEALTH.NSW.GOV.AU]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 6:27 PM
> Subject:      Re: Yet more  thoughts on SAS for Linux -Reply
>
> John Whittington writes:
>
> > Jack, I been watching this debate silently up until now, but the point
> you
> > have just made is one that occurred to me very early on.  I couldn't
> agree
> > with you more.  No manufacturer/supplier is really going to want to 'try
> to
> > interest people in their products' by exposing them to versions of that
> > product which are seriously inferior to the current ones.  It would be a
> bit
> > like trying to persuade the general public of the advantages of buying a
> > state-of-the-art 1999 PC by giving away free DOS-only 386 ones;  the
> > chances are that this would 'confirm the worst fears' of potential
> >  purchasers!
>
> John,
>
> The motivation behind my suggestion was to make SAS available to people
> for whom it is currently beyond reach due to cost and/or hardware
> requirements, with the aims of a) allowing such people to benefit from
> using SAS and b) increasing the global pool of people who are SAS-literate
> (in terms of what SAS can be used for as well as understanding  SAS
> programming syntax). I doubt that many of those people would go on the
> take out SAS licenses themselves, but they might end up working as SAS
> programmers for companies which do license SAS, or they might end up
> suggesting SAS as a solution to employers who don't currently license SAS.
> But I agree that it would be important to steer individuals or
> organisations who CAN afford SAS licenses away from outdated versions and
> make it easier for them to try out the current version. The SI web site
> doesn't exactly make it clear to a first time visitor that free trials are
> available.
>
> I suspect that an even greater turn-off than an antiquated version for
> many prospective SAS licensers  is the "sticker shock" when they learn the
> price, particular individual users and smaller organisations. These people
> and organisations end up buying SPSS or similar. Please note that I am not
> whingeing about the cost of SAS - I have come to regard it as quite good
> value for money, all things consiered, but such value for money may not be
> apparent at first. And talking of antiquated interfaces, I regularly get
> calls from first-time SAS users in our organisation (running V6.12 for
> Windows) who ask (reasonably) "Where is the menu choice to do a
> cross-tabulation?" (Obviously they  used SPSS at uni!) You can imagine the
> response when I tell them "No, no, you just type in this little
> programme...". Yes, we have a few licenses for SAS/ASSIST but I wouldn't
> put it forward as a paragon of modernity with respect to the  user
> interface...
>
> Cheers,
>
> Tim C