If you're interested in using SAS Visual Analytics 8.2 to visualize a state by regions, it's not as hard as you might think. In this SAS User blog post, SAS' @DRostovtseva shows you how. To get started, though, you'll first need a country shapefile. Not to worry, Daria has already taken care of that part for you. Extract all components in the attached zip file, follow the remaining steps and you're there!   Read Daria's post in its entirety: How to create custom regional maps in SAS Visual Analytics 8.2 ... View more

If you're responsible for monitoring availability and performance of various resources (platforms, servers, services) Dave Naden has posted a great blog for getting summary data from the "30,000-foot" view. Looking at this data one resource at a time works great with SAS Environment Manager; Dave's method show you how you can look at it across multiple resources.   He includes code and step-by-step instructions.   Take a look: http://blogs.sas.com/content/sgf/2016/10/06/auditing-sas-server-availability-from-30000-feet/   ... View more

If you're not a regular reader of SAS blogs, you may have missed some of these great blogs from SAS Global Forum 2016. Not to worry, here's a recap. Enjoy.   Data is the new soil; get your hands dirty 10 SAS Global Forum speakers to follow on Twitter How to run SAS programs in Jupyter Notebook Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn Highlights from SAS Global Forum: Technology Connection Sleep: Your legal performance enhancer Highlights from SAS Global Forum: Opening Session How to embed advanced analytics in your biggest ideas Highlights from SAS Global Forum: Cybersecurity, analytic failure and getting arrested Highlights from SAS Global Forum: Fantasy football, the data science talent gap and data storytelling How to participate in SAS Global Forum 2016...even if you're not going     ... View more

SAS Data Loader for Hadoop can be configured to copy data from any external database that offers JDBC database connectivity. This SAS Users blog post by Uttam Kumar, Senior Technical Architect in the Global Professional Services and Delivery Enablement team, shows you how to use the “Copy Data to Hadoop” directive to accomplish this task.   This is one of the many great tips you get in the SAS Tech Report, SAS' twice monthly newsletter that includes tips, tricks and resources to make you a better user. If you're not already getting it, subscribe here. ... View more

If DS2 is new to you, you might wonder why you should invest time to learn about it rather than staying with the ever-reliable DATA step. In this blog post from the SAS Users blog, SAS Technical Support Analyst Kim Wilson discusses several reasons why many SAS users are finding that DS2 is a welcomed addition to Base SAS.   This is one of the many great tips you get in the SAS Tech Report, SAS' twice monthly newsletter that includes tips, tricks and resources to make you a better user. If you're not already getting it, subscribe here.   ... View more