Editing SAS Institute (section)

=== 1966–1979: Founding and early history ===
The Statistical Analysis System (SAS) began as a project at [[North Carolina State University]]'s agricultural department. It was originally led by [[Anthony James Barr]] in 1966, then joined by NCSU graduate student [[James Goodnight]] in 1967<ref name="observer">{{cite news|title=SAS: A hard-to-define product but simple success|first=Steven|last=Eisenstadt|date=July 21, 1996|newspaper=News & Observer|url=http://www.biostat.wustl.edu/~phil/stuff/si.html|access-date=May 19, 2014}}</ref> and [[John Sall]] in 1973.<ref name="AgrestiMeng2012"/> In the early 1970s, the software was primarily leased to other agricultural departments<ref name="O'ReillyPfeffer2000">{{cite book|author1=Charles A. O'Reilly|author2=Jeffrey Pfeffer|title=Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People|url=https://archive.org/details/hiddenvaluehowgr00orei|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Harvard Business Press|isbn=978-0-87584-898-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hiddenvaluehowgr00orei/page/101 101]}}</ref> in order to analyze the effect soil, weather and seed varieties had on crop yields.<ref name="sixtyeight">{{cite news |last=Lohr |first=Steve |date=November 21, 2009 |title=At a Software Powerhouse, the Good Life Is Under Siege |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/business/22sas.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> The project was funded by the [[National Institutes of Health]] and later by a coalition of university statistics programs called the [[University Statisticians of the Southern Experiment Stations]].<ref name="AgrestiMeng2012">{{cite book|author1=Alan Agresti|author2=Xiao-Li Meng|title=Strength in Numbers: The Rising of Academic Statistics Departments in the U. S.: The Rising of Academic Statistics Departments in the U.S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kPGJUiUCJZkC&pg=PA177|date=November 2, 2012|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4614-3649-2|pages=177}}</ref>

By 1976, the software had 100 customers<ref name="forbesss">{{cite news|title=Pampering the customers, pampering the employees|date=November 8, 2007|url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/11/08/sas-corestates-goognight-biz-cz_rl_1108sas.html|newspaper=Forbes|access-date=April 10, 2014|first=Randall|last=Lane}}</ref><ref name="Cascio2011">{{cite book|author=Wayne Cascio|title=Responsible Restructuring: Creative and Profitable Alternatives to Layoffs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6G9jRo_jRzAC&pg=PA120|date=August 2011|publisher=ReadHowYouWant.com|isbn=978-1-4596-2635-5|page=120}}</ref> and that year, 300 people attended the first SAS user conference in Kissimmee, Florida.<ref name="intervieww">{{citation|title=Oral History Interview with Jim Goodnight|date=July 22, 1999|url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/I-0073/excerpts/excerpt_976.html|access-date=April 8, 2014|publisher=Oral Histories of the American South}}</ref> Goodnight, Barr, Sall and another early participant, [[Jane Helwig]], founded SAS Institute Inc. as a private company on July 1, 1976, in offices across the street from the university.<ref name="AgrestiMeng2012"/><ref name="NourseGreenberg1978">{{cite journal|last1=Nourse|first1=E. Shepley|last2=Greenberg|first2=Bernard G.|last3=Cox|first3=Gertrude M.|last4=Mason|first4=David D.|last5=Grizzle|first5=James E.|last6=Johnson|first6=Norman L.|last7=Jones|first7=Lyle V.|last8=Monroe|first8=John|last9=Simons|first9=Gordon D.|title=Statistical Training and Research: The University of North Carolina System|journal=International Statistical Review / Revue Internationale de Statistique|volume=46|issue=2|year=1978|pages=171|issn=0306-7734|doi=10.2307/1402812|jstor=1402812}}</ref> Barr and Helwig later sold their interest in the company.<ref name="observer"/>

During its first year of operation, SAS adopted a tradition of polling users for suggestions to improve the software through the SASware Ballot.<ref name="one">{{citation|url=http://www.sas.com/company/about/history.html|title=Company History|publisher=SAS|access-date=April 9, 2014}}</ref><ref name="jane">{{cite news|last=Romani|first=Jane|title=SAS Institute: 21st Century Technology&nbsp;... Today|newspaper=Business Leader|date=December 1993}}</ref> Many of the company's employee perks, such as fresh fruit, reasonable work hours<ref name="seventyeight">{{cite news|first=David|last=Kaplan|newspaper=Fortune|title=SAS: A new no. 1 best employer|date=January 22, 2010|access-date=April 8, 2014|url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/index.htm}}</ref> and free [[M&M's]] every Wednesday became part of its practices that first year.<ref name="fortynine">{{cite news|first=Rebecca|last=Leung|publisher=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/working-the-good-life/|title=Working the Good Life|date=February 11, 2009|access-date=October 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|title=Firms use perks to relieve HR stress Massages, health clubs and M&Ms among extras that keep staff happy and productive|date=October 14, 1999|first=Kevin|last=Marron|pages=T4}}</ref><ref name="crnn">{{cite news|newspaper=Computer Reseller News|date=December 12, 2005|title=James Goodnight, Founder and CEO, SAS Institute|first=Barbara|last=Darrow|pages=23}}</ref> In the late 1970s, the company established its first marketing department.<ref name="incinc"/>