SAS acquires marketing software company

Analytics software giant SAS intends to beef up its offerings for corporate marketing departments by acquiring a California-based software company.

SAS, which is headquartered in Cary, announced this morning that it has acquired Assetlink, a 60-employee company that is a pioneer in marketing resource management software that helps companies improve their marketing operations. The purchase price for Assetlink, which was founded in 1997, wasn't disclosed.

SAS plans to integrate its business analytics software with Assetlink's so that customers can "identify what's working and what needs improvement," Jim Davis, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at SAS, said in a prepared statement. "Marketers can be more efficient, while delivering smarter campaigns on a larger scale than would otherwise be possible."

Among the features that the integrated SAS/Assetlink software will offer, according to SAS, is the ability to:

-- Predict customer attrition.
-- Calculate the profitability of a customer.
-- Select which offers work best for which customers.

SAS is one of the largest companies based in the Triangle with more than 11,500 workers worldwide, including more than 4,650 in Cary. Corporations and other customers use SAS business intelligence and analytics software to analyze their operations and predict trends.

Last year SAS' revenue rose 5.2 percent to a record $2.43 billion.