SAS releases JMP® 8 for Mac, Linux

Users of all major desktop operating systems can now explore and visualize data through intuitive drag-and-drop interaction

CARY, NC - SAS, the leader in business analytics, today begins shipping JMP 8 statistical discovery software for Macintosh and Linux. SAS also starts shipping JMP 64-Bit Edition, Version 8, for both of these operating systems. These releases extend JMP’s groundbreaking new way to explore and visualize data to more users.

“Now whether you are a Mac, Linux or Windows user, you can find out what your data is telling you in a dynamic, visual and totally interactive way. And because JMP 8 connects seamlessly to SAS, Mac users now have access to the most powerful business analytic engine,” said Jeff Perkinson, JMP Product Manager.

Users of JMP 8 get instantaneous visual feedback as they explore data and construct graphs. They also can design and analyze choice studies to find out which product features consumers value most; use new platforms that provide immediate, visual representation of product reliability; and experience even better integration with SAS® products. JMP 8 for Windows and JMP 64-Bit Edition, Version 8, for Windows were both released in November 2008.

“Exploring and learning from data should be an interactive process – a process you drive and steer – and JMP 8 lets you do that better than ever,” said John Sall, SAS co-founder and Executive Vice President.

JMP 8 for the Mac has been written to take advantage of new capabilities in the Macintosh operating system. This enabled the development of JMP 64-Bit Edition, Version 8, for the Macintosh, which can handle nearly unlimited amounts of data and help solve the increasingly challenging problems organizations face.

“JMP was originally developed for the Macintosh in 1989. This release of JMP, in our 20th year, shows SAS’ continuing commitment to Mac users,” Perkinson said.

JMP 8 enables users and organizations to:

Build graphs on the fly: Using the new Graph Builder, statisticians and business analysts can construct and modify graphs interactively, or make a new graph with just a few clicks and drags of a mouse. This new feature provides instant results as users drag variables onto a graph.

Design and analyze choice studies: The Choice platform in JMP 8 lets users design surveys that ask respondents to choose among sets of prospective product features. This new feature enables companies to tailor their products and services to the needs of specific market segments.

Make products that last: New reliability platforms in JMP 8 add powerful new capabilities. Engineers can examine the distributional properties of lifetime events. They can discover failure causes in a system and understand the effects of repair. And they can analyze the effect of acceleration factors – such as temperature, pressure or humidity – on the lifetime of products and parts.

Integrate with SAS: JMP 8 can connect to both SAS 9.1.3 and SAS 9.2. A new SAS toolbar offers faster access to SAS features. Users can browse data from a local SAS connection using the familiar JMP interface. And SAS statistical graphics now flow seamlessly into JMP, making SAS analyses better than ever.

Leverage other new capabilities: JMP 8 handles multiple currency types in a single data table as well as international character sets with ease. The Mixture Profiler visualizes and explores mixture experiment models, where three or more factors in an experiment are components in a mixture, such as a prescription drug. The Bubble Plot and Profiler can be exported as Adobe Flash animations for use in Web pages and presentations. Trail Lines are available in the Bubble Plot to connect bubble trails for enhanced visualization of change over time.

Key quotes:

“I’ve used JMP for a while and am pleased that the significant enhancements in JMP 8 now let me do most of my job with JMP,” said Danny L. Kugler, LightScribe Reliability Engineer at Hewlett-Packard.

“JMP 8’s ability to export models as interactive Profiler graphics that can be distributed and easily accessed in any Flash-enabled Web browser provides an easy, powerful and superior solution to presenting complex statistical models in a simple and useful manner,” said Leighton Spadone, R&D Associate at Goodyear.

“JMP 8 has exciting new reliability tools for fitting distributions, analyzing accelerated life test data and dealing with multiple failure modes,” said William Q. Meeker, Professor of Statistics and Distinguished Professor at Iowa State University.

How to try JMP 8: Download a fully functional, 30-day trial version of JMP 8 for free.
About JMP

JMP is a business unit of SAS, established in 1989 to create interactive software for desktop discovery analytics. John Sall, SAS co-founder and Executive Vice President, also heads the JMP business unit.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know® .