Integration of SAS software with Microsoft 365 SharePoint / OneDrive Data in Cloud

[LijunChen2]

Hi Community Members,

I have a question about the best way to use SAS with MS 365 Sharepoint data I would like to have your advice. I work for a SME firm that rely on the cloud-based MS 365 enterprise (SharePoint / Teams / One Drive / Outlook etc.) for our project work, including data storage and analysis. 

All staff work from home remotely using a firm-issued laptop. From the laptop we can access the files in the SharePoint folders through the file explorer. The online SharePoint project folders are synced with our laptop, so we can open the files through file explorer and work / collaborate on these files that will be automatically saved. 

We have a SAS windows / desktop that is installed on my laptop. I can use SAS to directly fetch and save data in the Sharepoint folders by specifying the path to the folder in libname.   

libname rawdata "C:\Users\lchen\... - Data Center\Aging & Adult Services".

I have had no problems with the arrangement so far except for some safety concerns about the temp work files that may be left in the laptop.

But recently we added a coworker who would also like to use SAS to analyze the data in SharePoint. That means we need to buy another license. My question is: instead of buying the SAS windows desktop version, is there a SAS cloud version that can be installed / deployed with our firm's MS 365 enterprise server that can accommodate multiple users?

I once worked for a firm that uses SAS deployed on a Linux server on premise. All users can have access to SAS remotely using a X-windows. I am just wondering whether there is a similar arrangement for could deloployment with MS 365. 

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.      

[SASKiwi · Accepted solution]

So how many SAS on PC licences do you have - only two? Changing to the complexity of a SAS server installation is really only worth it if you have a lot of users or your processing requirements are too large for PCs. If you stick with SAS on PCs only you need to ensure that any important data is not stored on local hard drives that are not backed up.

EDIT: SAS is available on cloud platforms. One option which would be worth exploring is Software as a Service which SAS is now also supplying. This is where SAS looks after the installation, support and maintenance and you are just end users.