Clinical SAS programming in India: A study of industry needs versus wants

BACKGROUND: The clinical SAS (www.sas.com) programming industry, in India, has seen a rapid growth in the last decade and the trend seems set to continue, for the next couple of years, due to cost advantage and the availability of skilled labor. On one side the industry needs are focused on less execution time, high margins, segmented tasks and the delivery of high quality output with minimal oversight. On the other side, due to the increased demand for skilled resources, the wants of the programmers have taken a different shift toward diversifying exposure, unsustainable wage inflation due to multiple opportunities and generally high expectations around career progression. If the industry needs are not going to match with programmers want, or vice versa, then there is the possibility that the current year on year growth may start to slow or even go into decline. AIM: This paper is intended to identify the gap between wants and need and puts forwards some suggestions, for both sides, in ways to change the equation to benefit all. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Questionnaire on similar themes created to survey managers and programmers working in clinical SAS programming industry and was surveyed online to collect their perspectives. Their views are compared for each theme and presented as results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two surveys were created in www.surveymonkey.com. Management: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SAS_India_managment_needvswant_survey. Programmer: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SAS_India_programmer_needvswant_survey. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Bar chart and pie chart used on data collect to show segmentation of data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, it seeks to highlight the future industry direction and the skillset that existing programmers need to have, in order to sustain the momentum and remain competitive, to contribute to the future pipeline and the development of the profession in India.