Dear Readers,

Each morning, I read new headlines about the worsening economy, rollercoaster market levels and the mounting credit crisis. It's no secret that major corporation failures in one nation ripple throughout the globe. This has sent everyone looking for answers.

In Integrated Analytics Plus BI Equals Business Edge, an excerpted article from a Computerworld Technology Briefing, Keith Collins said that relying on simple querying and reporting is like looking at your business through a rearview mirror. According to Collins, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at SAS, capabilities such as standard reports, ad hoc reports and alerts can only help you understand what's happened in the past. To drive your business forward, you need to look forward—a view created by applying predictive analytics. Collins said that with analytics you can "understand where the best opportunities are or how you might forecast better opportunities, or how you might predict customer behavior." That sounded like a pretty good way to do business while riding a rollercoaster.

I've included some articles from SAS thought leaders to help you make plans for the ride ahead.