SAS named Leader in IDC decision intelligence MarketScape

SAS has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for worldwide decision intelligence platforms, which assesses the 2026 global market for the technology category.

The recognition applies to SAS Intelligent Decisioning, a platform that brings together data, AI models, business rules and analytics in governed decision flows. It runs across cloud, hybrid and on-premises environments using the same decision logic and governance approach.

Decision intelligence platforms help organisations automate and manage decisions based on data analysis, predictive models and business policies. They are used in sectors such as banking, insurance, telecoms and manufacturing, where companies must make large volumes of operational decisions while keeping a record of how those decisions were made.

IDC identified three main strengths in its assessment of SAS: hybrid decisioning architecture, governance and explainability, and the use of entity resolution and graph analytics.

On architecture, the report said SAS can combine deterministic rules, predictive and prescriptive models, and generative AI in a single governed flow. It added that the same logic can run in real-time or batch environments without duplicate coding.

On governance, IDC highlighted data-to-decision lineage, versioned audit trails and model cards documenting bias and sensitivity analysis. These features are likely to matter in regulated industries that need compliance documentation and clear records of how automated decisions are made.

The assessment also noted the platform's entity resolution and graph-based network analysis tools. Developed for financial crime and fraud use cases, these features allow relationship data to be built directly into decision logic without separate external tools.

Megha Kumar, Research Vice-President at IDC, linked the category to broader questions about the use of AI in organisational decision-making.

"SAS is a platform for organisations that need decision logic to be explainable, auditable and defensible to regulators," said Megha Kumar, Research Vice-President at IDC. "As leaders and practitioners determine when and where to give AI greater autonomy in decision-making, ensuring that an agent's chain of logic is transparent and understandable to humans is increasingly important."

SAS framed the result around the challenge of maintaining consistent rules and oversight when organisations deploy systems across different computing environments. The issue has become more prominent as businesses try to apply AI in settings that also involve internal controls and regulatory scrutiny.

Albert Qian, Market Strategy Lead for Decision Intelligence at SAS, said companies often struggle when decision logic must be rewritten for separate deployments.

"AI doesn't replace human judgement, it scales it," said Albert Qian, Market Strategy Lead for Decision Intelligence at SAS. "Once decision logic that honours organisational values and regulatory requirements has been established, rewriting it for different deployments is often stressful and time-consuming. When the same, consistent decision logic can be used across cloud, on-premises and edge deployments, users can get to work quickly, confident that AI is making trustworthy, traceable decisions."

Industry use

SAS cited several customers using Intelligent Decisioning in live operations. In banking, S-Bank uses the software in loan processing, while VietCredit has used it in credit scoring and customer acquisition.

In insurance, Gjensidige Baltics uses the platform for real-time claims fraud evaluation. In customer engagement, Telekom Srbija uses it for real-time marketing personalisation based on customer behaviour and context.

SAS also pointed to manufacturing user Georgia-Pacific, which applies the technology to support operational decisions and productivity improvements. These examples reflect the broad use of decision intelligence software across industries seeking to connect analytics, policy rules and automated action in a single workflow.

The market for decision intelligence has expanded as businesses look for more structured ways to govern AI-based decisions. For suppliers, analyst rankings such as the IDC MarketScape can influence technology buying decisions, particularly in sectors where explainability, auditability and regulatory compliance carry as much weight as speed or automation.

IDC's assessment highlighted end-to-end lineage, audit trails, model documentation and graph analysis as key features of SAS's offering.