U.S. Department of Commerce Chooses SAS and APCG for Performance Management

Release Date: January 22, 2003

-- Agreement to enhance Commerce mission capability --

CARY, N.C. and WASHINGTON (Jan. 22, 2003) — SAS, the leader in business intelligence, today announced that it was selected to provide the U.S. Department of Commerce with more than $424,222 in software and services to build an executive information system (EIS). SAS is partnering with Advanced Performance Consulting Group, Inc. (APCG) to help ensure the EIS will be designed to support the Department of Commerce's Chief Financial Office's organizational and performance management goals.

APCG will work with the SAS and Commerce team to help define high-level strategic performance metrics and a balanced scorecard to measure agency results. SAS® Strategic Performance Management will allow in-depth analysis and comprehensive functionality to include multi-dimensional views, drill-down capabilities, hot spotting and traffic lighting to identify key business trends and long-term developments. SAS software will be acquired through Executive Information Systems, LLC, a small business/consulting firm that acts as a liaison between software providers and government agencies.

Commerce's Chief Financial Office, and any of the ten business units within the CFO/ASA (Assistant Secretary of Administration), may engage subject matter experts from APCG to provide a range of consulting services. These services include analysis of business needs, organizational assessment, performance measure framework design, strategy and measure development, and action planning. In addition, APCG may provide education services to Commerce and its units on developing balanced performance measures, portfolio planning in government, performance-based budgeting, and current federal requirements (e.g., GPRA, OMB's Program Assessment Rating Tool and the President's Management Agenda).

"The joint partnership between SAS and APCG will provide Commerce with the most advanced software scorecarding solution in the market. SAS' decision-support platform combined with APCG's consulting services will allow Commerce to identify critical success factors and key performance indicators that will help them focus on crucial issues leading to improved performance management," said Jeff Babcock, vice president of SAS Public Sector.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with SAS on the Commerce EIS. The combination of SAS' business intelligence software and services and APCG's performance management consulting expertise will provide a powerful end-to-end solution for the agency," said Kimberly McCabe, president and CEO of APCG.

About Advanced Performance Consulting Group, Inc.

Advanced Performance Consulting Group, Inc. (APCG) is a small, woman-owned management consulting firm serving the public sector and specializing in performance management, workforce development and transformation, and eGovernment support. The firm is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

About Executive Information Systems, LLC

Executive Information Systems, LLC ("EIS") is a small business that supports software developers and manufacturing partners' sales and marketing efforts to government customers. EIS provides outbound and inside sales, business development, contract management, and back-office functions to support government sales. EIS offers the complete line of SAS software, professional services, and software maintenance on its GSA Schedule and other federal contracts.

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 39,000 sites - including 98 of the top 100 businesses on 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 more than 25 years, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®. Visit us at www.sas.com.