MEGA and SAS Advances

MEGA International introduced the MEGA EA Accelerator for TOGAF. Meanwhile SAS Institute Inc. announced new analytics and anti-money laundering software, and the acquisition of Teragram Corp.

Focal Points:

• MEGA unveiled the MEGA EA Accelerator for TOGAF to expedite on-time, on-budget delivery of enterprise architecture projects and reduce the risk of project failure, the company claimed. The Accelerator implements the latest version of The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), a detailed method and tools for designing an enterprise architecture. The EA Accelerator for TOGAF provides a ready-to-use methodology, including a description of which MEGA modeling concepts and diagrams to use to produce TOGAF deliverables. It also provides graphical views of all phases, inputs and outputs of TOGAF 8.11, a repository-based implementation to facilitate tracking of deliverables and automation of documentation, and a comprehensive method adaptable for different types of projects.
• SAS announced enhancements to its SAS Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution. The new release helps users to classify and manage risk throughout the customer lifecycle, with an emphasis on the Third European Union Directive on AML. Using a point-and-click interface, users can create unique risk classifications and risk lists, and integrate them into their transaction monitoring process. High-risk entities can be monitored uniquely based upon their risk profile, employing a "risk-based approach" to AML compliance. The system risk scenarios have been enhanced to support grouping across risk levels. SAS has also updated the solution’s watch list management capabilities to support fuzzy name and address matching designation for specific geographic regions. SAS Anti-Money Laundering supports direct extraction from popular watch lists such as Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Bank of England, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and World-Check, according to the company.
• SAS launched SAS 9.2, which combines advanced analytics, data visualization and collaborative data management capabilities. The new release features new algorithms and procedures for predictive modeling, forecasting and optimization. SAS 9.2 can handle thousands of variables and is highly scalable. The release also has improved deployment, configuration and administration capabilities, including a new wizard-based interface, and adherence to standards for systems and change management and security. In other news, SAS stated it had acquired privately-held Teragram, the provider of natural language processing (NLP) and advanced linguistic technology. Teragram is a 40-person company headquartered in Cambridge, MA, and will be run as a SAS company. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition will enhance SAS' text mining and analytical business intelligence offerings, and extend them to enterprise and mobile search.

Experton Group believes risk management is a key 2008 initiative that business executives only partially understand. This tunnel vision will result in the acquisition and implementation of business risk mitigation solutions without a comparable focus on the IT risk management side. Failure to address both sides of the coin will leave the enterprise open to unnecessary exposures. IT executives should work with business executives to clarify the IT exposures, build a risk management portfolio that addresses all of the risks, and then implement those solutions that need to be addressed in 2008.