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In June, SAS hosted its second annual business forecasting conference, F2007 (www.sas.com/events/fx/07/) , at SAS world headquarters in Cary, NC. F2007 drew 282 attendees representing 124 companies, 35 states, and 14 countries. Attendees were treated to two full days of educational sessions and case studies, from some of the world's leading experts in forecasting from industry, academics, consulting, and government. Companies presenting included Cisco, Dow Chemical, Union Pacific Railroad, IBM, Bank of America, Wachovia, AstraZeneca, HP, TD Meloche Monnex, and Natura.

"We are pleased with the broad range of learning opportunities the F-series has offered," said Mike Gilliland, Analytics Product Marketing Manager at SAS. "F2007 attendees could hear about revenue forecasting for the State of Nebraska, new product forecasting at Cisco, call center forecasting at Bank of America, or Executive Sales and Operations Planning from a renowned expert, Tom Wallace. And six keynote speakers provided a 25 year perspective on the progress in business forecasting and lessons learned."

"Easily the most interesting talk I've heard," raved an F2007 attendee about keynote Albert Segars, University of North Carolina. "I appreciate how this information could be understood at any level."

In addition to the speaker sessions at F2007, SAS teamed up with conference sponsors IBM, HP, Comsys, Quantec, Delphus, and the Institute of Business Forecasting to display the latest technologies and services in the Exhibit Hall. The event was beneficial for both attendees and exhibitors. Andy Wachs, program director, POWER Integrated Offerings at IBM noted, "Looks like another successful conference and Test Drive. This continues to be one of the best co-marketing activities I have ever been involved with."

Plans are already underway for F2008, to be held June 2-3, 2008 at the SAS campus in Cary, NC. Attendees will again have the chance to participate in three days of post-conference training, June 4-6.

By Mike Gilliland, Analytics Product Marketing Manager, SAS