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March 25, 2004
Cingular Wireless Honors SAS for Innovative Use of Wireless Technology
RALEIGH, N.C. - Cingular Wireless announced today that SAS, the leader in business intelligence, is the first recipient of its Leadership in Enterprise Application and Data Deployment (LEADD) award, a national honor recognizing aggressive development and outstanding insight into the use of wireless technology. Cingular selected SAS for the 2004 LEADD Award for successfully rolling out a customized wireless implementation that has boosted productivity for customer-facing employees. SAS utilizes Cingular's advanced GSM/GPRS voice and data network as well as the BlackBerry 7280™ from Research In Motion (RIM)(Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) - a combination that enables both voice calls and access to critical internal data applications (such as their business intelligence portal and the global company address book) within a matter of seconds, all from one handheld device.
Cingular and SAS jointly embarked on this award-winning implementation a year ago when SAS wanted to enable its targeted employees to quickly respond to internal and external customer inquiries by phone or email and data access. The need for international roaming and access to critical data through a high- speed network led SAS to Cingular. In addition, SAS developed a proprietary Web-based application using the Mobile Data Service feature of BlackBerry Enterprise Server(TM) that gives its employees with BlackBerry handhelds the ability to track field requests and close out internal customer service tickets on the go, which further enhances customer responsiveness. This application runs seamlessly and securely on RIM's BlackBerry Wireless Solution using the Cingular data network.
"A successful mobile data strategy must provide for the delivery of actionable information at the point and time of need. When an enterprise is globally dispersed, like SAS, this becomes a challenge," said Mike Carman, manager of wireless technology at SAS. "By leveraging Cingular's GSM/GPRS network and RIM's BlackBerry solution, we have been able to not only meet the demand for domestic and global interoperability, but we are doing so without additional support staff. We've reduced our total cost of ownership and are meeting the need for real-time information."
Wireless technology continues to change the way businesses communicate internally with employees and externally with partners and customers. Cingular has more than ten years of experience in delivering wireless business solutions, and hundreds of customers run mission-critical and vertical solutions on Cingular's Mobitex and GSM/GPRS networks.
"Cingular has a solid track record of effective solutions for managing, securing and delivering information throughout the mobile enterprise that allow our customers to achieve measurable returns, and we're thrilled to give our very first LEADD award to SAS for their innovative use of wireless technology," stated Andrew Spence, Director of Business Sales for Cingular Wireless-Carolinas. "Our relationship with SAS demonstrates what can be accomplished when we work with clients to enhance the value of existing enterprise applications by extending them to their mobile workforces through wireless technology."
GSM is the Global System for Mobile Communications, giving customers the latest technology advances, including phones with greater functionality and unique features, high-speed data connectivity and superior sound quality. With almost 1 billion people in 200-plus countries using this technology, more than 70% of the world's total wireless market is GSM. And what GSM delivers for voice, GPRS technology delivers for data. GPRS, or General Packet Radio System, is an enhancement for GSM that transmits and receives data in packets. It provides consumers with "always-on" connectivity and greater bandwidth and connection speed - all from a wireless handheld.
About Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth, serves more than 24 million voice and data customers across the United States. A leader in mobile voice and data communications, Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(TM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Cingular has launched the
world's first commercial deployment of wireless services using Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology. Cingular provides cellular/PCS service in 43 of the top 50 markets nationwide, and provides corporate e-mail and other advanced data services through its GPRS, EDGE and Mobitex packet data networks. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/.
About SAS
SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 40,000 sites – including 90 percent of the Fortune 500 - to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For nearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®. Visit us at http://www.sas.com/.
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.