Sagent Plans To Resell SAS Apps Next Quarter

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March 07, 2001 (6:18 AM EST)

Sagent Plans To Resell SAS Apps Next Quarter

Sagent Technology, which has signed a reseller agreement with SAS Institute, plans to ship by the middle of next quarter business intelligence applications integrated with SAS's data-mining software for better analytical capabilities.

Sagent Technology Inc. (stock: SGNT) provides a data mart and business intelligence platform in which customer data is collected and analyzed for developing sales strategies and marketing campaigns. Business managers access Sagent applications through an information portal provided through a deal signed last fall with Sequoia Software Corp. (stock: SQSW).

SAS Institute Inc.'s data-mining software will extend Sagent's analytical capabilities to automatically look for patterns, associations, or relationships among customer data and deliver the results to business managers, said Ben Barnes, president and CEO of Sagent, Mountain View, Calif. The current set of Sagent business intelligence tools delivers results based on user queries.

Sagent plans to deliver software incorporating SAS technology in the middle of the second quarter, Barnes said.

The 2 and 1/2-year-old co-engineering, sales, and marketing agreement gives Sagent the software it needs, while SAS, which focuses on large enterprises, can use Sagent's salesforce to move into the mid-market for business intelligence, Barnes said.

Michael Schiff, industry analyst at Current Analysis, Sterling, Va., said SAS, which Schiff calls a "gentle giant" in the data-mining market, gives Sagent the credibility it needs.

Sagent stock is currently selling for less than $3 and the company reported a loss of $24.5 million for 2000, compared with $13 million the prior year.

"This is clearly a move that puts more feet on the street for SAS and helps Sagent by showing it has the credibility of SAS behind it," Schiff said. "There's technology that each vendor can potentially benefit from, although I expect the immediate gain will go to Sagent."

In other news, Sagent plans to add an event server to its platform next year, enabling, for example, promotions, cross-selling, or up-selling to occur automatically based on a customer's Web shopping, Barnes said.