Conference demos often face the same challenge: showing people what technology can do without requiring them to sit through another product presentation.
in SAS Innovation 2026SAS partner Notilyze took a different approach.
Instead of a traditional presentation, Notilyze showcased an interactive football game that encouraged attendees to first play, then discover the analytics behind the experience. Built on SAS® VIA®the experience combines gameplay, real-time analytics, and data visualization to show how raw data can quickly become actionable insights.
The concept behind the kiosk experience is inspired by the idea that games and sports bring people together. With the global excitement around football, the Notilyze team turned to a theme that would appeal to a wide range of attendees. They further elevated the experience with custom visuals and branding, creating the immersive environment that set SAS Innovate apart.
The game was designed, developed and fully tested by Notilyze Analytics team members Amalia Musters, Job Boehm, and Nortje Peters.
Reimagining the conference pavilion
Attendees stepped onto a laptop and took five virtual penalty kicks, competing for a place on the live leaderboard. Behind the scenes, each shot generated data flowing through SAS Viya, where it was captured, organized and visualized in real time.
Within seconds, participants were able to view their performance – including shot accuracy, speed, shot placement, and leaderboard position – creating a competitive energy that kept attendees coming back for opportunities to improve their scores. Next, each participant received an email with their personal results.
The experiment demonstrated an important point: analytics become more engaging when people experience them firsthand.
Turn data into experience
While the game of football attracts people, the technology behind it has become the real conversation starter.
The Notilyze team built an entire data pipeline using SAS Viya running in Sovereignty Notilyze Cloudis specifically designed to host SAS Viya. Data is captured directly from the game, converted into structured data sets and instantly visualized in SAS Visual Analytics dashboards.
Rather than just describing how analytics works, the demo allowed attendees to experience the entire data journey – from collection and integration to visualization and personalized insights.
Our close partnership with SAS has enabled us to create an end-to-end experience at our SAS Innovate suite. Kiosk operators and game developers made sure that every step in SAS Viya, from collecting and organizing data to visualizing and sharing ideas via email, flowed naturally into the next step. This turns data into action in one seamless journey. Eric Mathura, Notilyze Business Development Manager and Notilyze Cup Goalkeeper
Innovation through partnership
The experience highlights the power of partnership.
Instead of focusing solely on the software’s features, Notilyze used gameplay to create a fun and memorable example of real-time analytics in action. This approach has sparked conversations with customers and partners while demonstrating how organizations can create engaging, data-driven applications using SAS technology.
The project also reflects more than a decade of collaboration between SAS and Notilyze, demonstrating how partnerships can help organizations explore new ways to apply analytics to real-world experiences.
Impact beyond the conference room
Attendees, customers and partners noticed the Notilyze booth, expressing interest in learning more about the company and the process behind the game. This experience has already motivated other SAS partners to experiment with interactive approaches, raising the bar for future events.
