(Electronic billboard at SAS Innovate in Orlando, Fla. Photo by author.)
SAS (Cary, N.C.) has announced several new enhancements to its SAS Viya platform, including synthetic data generation tools, intelligent AI agents, and expanded managed cloud offerings. The updates, unveiled at SAS Innovate in Orlando, are designed to improve speed, scalability, and trust across the AI lifecycle for users at all technical levels.
Among the new offerings is SAS Data Maker, a synthetic data generation tool aimed at solving data scarcity and privacy issues. The product is expected to become generally available in the third quarter of 2025 and builds on SAS’s acquisition of Hazy’s core software assets.
Bryan Harris, CTO, SAS.
Also available is SAS Viya Intelligent Decisioning, which allows users to configure AI agents with a calibrated balance of automation and human oversight based on task complexity and risk. SAS Viya Copilot, now in private preview, introduces an embedded conversational assistant built on Azure AI Services to assist with model development and code generation. General availability is expected in Q3 2025.
Other updates include:
- SAS Managed Cloud Services: SAS Viya Essentials, launched in early 2025, delivers prepackaged Viya tools as a hosted managed service for small and mid-size businesses.
- SAS Viya Workbench, now expanded to support R coding and new IDE options, is available on both AWS and Microsoft Azure Marketplaces.
“The current economic climate and rapid pace of AI innovation can feel intense and overwhelming,” says Bryan Harris, CTO, SAS. “Our goal is to deliver cutting-edge AI capabilities that help organizations navigate the hype and disruption, make breakthroughs in problem solving, and gain a decision advantage.”
According to a 2024 study by the Futurum Group (Austin, Texas), organizations using SAS Viya accelerate AI workflows by a factor of 4.6 compared to selected competitors, with improved time to value, faster decision-making, and increased innovation cited as benefits.
SAS also highlighted real-world use cases, including a collaboration with Fathom Science, a technology firm that used SAS Data Maker and Viya Workbench to develop a machine learning model aimed at preventing ship strikes on critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The model was validated using synthetic data generated to mimic real-world maritime data, enabling researchers to simulate 500,000 data points and predict whale locations with improved accuracy.
The new capabilities reinforce SAS Viya’s position as a full-spectrum data and AI platform suited to both technical builders and business users.
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