One leading indicator of the intellisphere's continuing expansion is the success of Cary, North Carolina-based SAS. Touting itself as “the largest privately held software company in the world,” SAS recently reported overall revenue of $1.34 billion for 2003 -- a 13.5% increase in revenue growth.

"At a time when other large software vendors have experienced reduced revenue and slashed both headcount and R&D spending, SAS has continued to grow in both market presence and revenue," says SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. "Our ability to tailor our software to industry-specific needs and help companies create data-driven approaches to managing cost pressures, regulatory requirements and the profitability of their customer relationships, were key factors behind another successful year." SAS's customer intelligence solutions fared particularly well with new sales for marketing automation applications increasing by 70%.