Latest Business Intelligence News
Martin Memorial Health Systems Realizes Fast ROI with Kronos
Hospital saves $600,000 on overtime in one year; gains significantly through swift implementation
San Antonio, Texas (April 15, 2009) –
Martin Memorial Health Systems replaced its previous disparate, partially manual scheduling system with a centralized, automated solution from Kronos® Incorporated and realized ROI within one year of implementation. The Kronos scheduling solution, purchased in July and implemented successfully by November 2007, tightly integrates with the Kronos time and attendance application that the hospital has been using since 2003 and completely automates the scheduling process. As a result, every nursing unit uses a single workforce management system and enjoys the benefits of accurate schedules rid of manual errors.
News Facts
* The fast implementation of the Kronos scheduling solution helped the organization save significantly as the final deployment costs were half of the budgeted amount.
* Additionally, Martin Memorial saved $600,000 in overtime costs within one year of the Kronos implementation and expects to save an additional $380,000 through reduced agency costs.
* Kronos also enables electronic self-service capabilities, boosting staff morale by allowing employees to select their shifts online and eliminating paper schedules.
Supporting Quotes
* Karen Ripper, senior vice president and administrator, chief nursing officer, Martin Memorial Health
“We selected Kronos to have a centralized solution with complete automation and real-time capabilities. Controlling labor costs and boosting staff morale through a fair and consistent system ensures the highest level of productivity, which is essential for quality care delivery. We also achieved swift ROI with Kronos in just one year and we’re looking forward to more results.”
* Brian Graves, global practice leader of healthcare, Kronos
“Martin Memorial Health Systems is committed to embracing the best practices in workforce management to support the delivery of quality care. Simplifying workforce processes, improving workforce productivity, and controlling labor costs are cornerstones of effective workforce management, which the organization has successfully put into effect in just one year. We are committed to helping Martin Memorial for long-term success and productivity gains.”
Supporting Resources
* About Martin Memorial Health Systems
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in workforce management solutions that enable organizations to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Tens of thousands of organizations in 60 countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000® — use Kronos time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications. To learn how Kronos uniquely delivers complete automation and high-quality information in an easy-to-use solution, visit www.kronos.com.
© 2009 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos is a registered trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Source: Kronos
MicroStrategy’s Report Services Product Rated “Excellent” by Leading Industry Analyst Firm
MicroStrategy 9 Offers New Self-service Reporting Features for Business Users
McLean, Va., (April 14, 2009) –
MicroStrategy® Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence (BI) software, today announced that MicroStrategy’s Report Services product was rated “Excellent” by Gartner, Inc. in its recent report, Critical Capabilities for Business Intelligence Reporting1. The Critical Capabilities report is a comparative analysis which scores competing products against a set of critical differentiators identified by Gartner. To view the entire Gartner report, compliments of MicroStrategy, visit www.microstrategy.com/GartnerBIReporting2009.com.
“MicroStrategy’s powerful reporting platform is designed for business user productivity, with an intuitive, user-friendly Web interface,” said MicroStrategy’s COO, Sanju Bansal. “We have recently released a significantly enhanced version of our software, MicroStrategy 9. MicroStrategy 9 offers compelling new reporting functionality that puts even more control in the hands of business people to access the information they need without relying on support from IT personnel.”
MicroStrategy’s enterprise reporting engine delivers a full range of report formats, including dashboards, scorecards, financial reports, customer invoices and statements, and highly detailed operational reports. Some of the new MicroStrategy 9 reporting features allow people to:
* Develop reporting applications in less than one day
* Build reports with easy-to-use templates and tools that are intuitive to Microsoft Office users
* Deliver time-critical business information to colleagues with automated exception reports
* Assemble report data from any source across the company with new Multi-source ROLAP functionality
* Present reports in the local language of the business user viewing the information
* Make faster decisions by interactively exploring cause-and-effect on any data with performance dashboards
About MicroStrategy
Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy is a global leader in business intelligence (BI) technology. MicroStrategy provides integrated reporting, analysis, and monitoring software that helps leading organizations worldwide make better business decisions every day. Companies choose MicroStrategy for its advanced technical capabilities, sophisticated analytics, and superior data and user scalability. More information about MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is available at www.microstrategy.com.
MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy 9, and MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
About the Gartner Critical Capabilities Report
The Critical Capabilities report is copyrighted February 18, 2009 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Critical Capabilities report is a comparative analysis which scores competing products against a set of critical differentiators identified by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Critical Capabilities report, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
1Gartner, Inc. “Critical Capabilities for Business Intelligence Reporting” by James Richardson, Kurt Schlegel, Rita L. Sallam, Feb. 18, 2009
MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy Report Services, MicroStrategy 9 are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Wende Cover
MicroStrategy, Incorporated
1-703-770-1646
wcover@microstrategy.com
Source: MicroStrategy
U.S. Transportation Command Saves Lives with BI Technology from Information Builders
Global Logistics System Orchestrates Critical Patient Movement Activities for U.S. Department of Defense
NEW YORK, NY (April 13, 2009) –
A critical function of the United States Transportation Command (US TRANSCOM) is patient evacuation, a complex, logistical challenge where speed is essential. As a leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, Information Builders is helping TRANSCOM devise optimal patient movement plans based on urgent medical needs, available facilities, in-transit visibility, and enterprise-wide cost and performance analytics. Thanks to the successful deployment of a pervasive operational BI system, the military’s evacuation and care activities are more efficient, minimizing suffering and improving care. Authorized users can generate detailed reports to monitor the status of patients from the beginning of transport to the outcome of treatment, potentially saving the lives of thousands of soldiers.
“When soldiers are wounded in battle, the military needs to provide efficient medical transport in conjunction with real-time information and pinpoint accuracy,” said Lieutenant Colonel Keith Lostroh, TRAC2ES functional program manager. TRAC2ES helps us provide advanced care for our troops.”
TRAC2ES, an acronym for the TRANSCOM Regulating and Command and Control (C2) Evacuation System, is a decision-support, reporting, and analysis tool that helps the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), coordinate patient movement on a global basis. Built on Information Builders’ WebFOCUS BI platform, it supports patient movement from the battlefield to definitive care and, when necessary, to rehabilitative care in hospitals such as Walter Reed. The system also tracks and coordinates patient information throughout the U.S. military’s worldwide network of healthcare facilities.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Lostroh, the operational decision-support system provides critical data that helps military personnel minimize the severity of injuries and improve treatment. “TRANSCOM’s goal is to provide good medical care, not simply move people around,” he said. “Our utmost concern is for patient safety, quality of care, and efficient use of resources. Business intelligence technology is helping us meet these objectives.”
TRAC2ES supported the troops during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom by providing 100 percent patient in-transit visibility for more than 73,000 patient movements. During these crucial operations it generated standards reports about the number of patients and movements, the number of missions, and the associated costs. From the clerk who arranges a patient’s transfer to the doctors and nurses who determine his or her eligibility and fitness for movement to the supporting agency personnel who arrange the aircraft and determine when the flight will leave and where it is going, the BI system helps the military track a patient’s welfare and whereabouts as each mission unfolds.
Today, approximately 2,500 users have access to the system, which provides three different domains to access personal, medical, and movement data. WebFOCUS enables data-level and role-based security to partition the data based on each user’s needs and requirements. TRANSCOM used WebFOCUS Reporting Server, WebFOCUS User Administration Services, WebFOCUS Analytical Reporter, and WebFOCUS ReportCaster to create the BI environment.
TRAC2ES not only orchestrates patient movement operations, but also provides critical metrics related to patient safety. The pervasive BI technology is providing one unified system for the entire DoD, enabling complete in-transit visibility of patient movements and treatments.
“TRAC2ES has transformed the DoD’s distribution network with an extensive information technology backbone,” said Gerald Cohen, president and CEO of Information Builders. “TRANSCOM now has a patient movement system that helps to assure positive outcomes for sick and wounded soldiers anywhere in the world.”
About USTRANSCOM
The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), working under the Department of Defense (DoD), is a joint command responsible for creating and implementing world-class global asset deployment and distribution solutions in support of the United States President, Secretary of Defense, and Combatant Commander-assigned missions. Around the globe, USTRANSCOM’s superb force of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, DOD civilians, and commercial partners accomplishes a wide array of joint mobility missions. With its people, trucks, trains, aircraft, ships, information systems, and infrastructure, USTRANSCOM provides the U.S. with the most responsive strategic mobility capability the world has ever seen.
About Information Builders
Information Builders’ award-winning combination of business intelligence and enterprise integration software has been providing innovative solutions to more than 12,000 customer for the past 30 years. WebFOCUS is the world’s most widely utilized business intelligence platform. It provides the security, scalability and flexibility needed at every level of global extended enterprises. Its simplicity helps create executive, analytical, and operational applications that reach dozens to millions of users. Information Builders’ iWay Software suite provides state of the art, multi-purpose, pre-built integration components that address all SOA, application, data and information management requirements. Its integration adapters have been adopted by the leading software platform providers. Together, these products give Information Builders’ customers the ability to grow and innovate according to their needs.
Information Builders’ customers include most of the Fortune 100 and U.S. federal government agencies. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has more than 350 business partners.
Source: Information Builders
Kronos
Recognizing the inherent deficiencies of time and labor products offered by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendors, local government entities are increasingly turning to Kronos® Incorporated to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity.
CHELMSFORD, Mass (April 13, 2009) –
Recognizing the inherent deficiencies of time and labor products offered by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendors, local government entities are increasingly turning to Kronos® Incorporated to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity.
News Facts
*
Local governments are finding that rudimentary time and labor products offered by ERP vendors are unable to meet their requirements. ERP solutions that rely on custom code and scripting languages take longer and are more expensive to implement and maintain. They also waste employees’ and managers’ valuable time by forcing them to live with sub-standard functionality.
*
Time and attendance data collection is a common weak point in any government infrastructure, one that usually escapes detection and can leak hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars each year. Considering that labor costs represent one of the largest expenses for local governments, time and attendance data collection is a great place to look for quick payback.
*
Local governments such as the City of Atlanta (Ga.), City of Dayton (Ohio), City of Denver (Colo.), City of El Paso (Texas), City of Ontario (Calif.), and City of Stamford (Conn.) use Kronos time and attendance solutions to extend the value of their ERP investment.
Supporting Quotes
*
Beth Machann, city controller, City of Denver
“Payroll is typically a local government’s largest expense and even a month’s delay in automating time and attendance can have a significant impact on the bottom line. Kronos helped us orchestrate a swift deployment, which allowed us to plan our budgets more effectively, and also enables us to reign in those budgeted dollars with increased efficiency and reduced payroll errors.”
*
Steve Conrad, fiscal systems manager, County of Santa Clara, Calif.
“We’d rather focus our energy on serving our public efficiently than worry about software customization, which is both expensive and time consuming. Kronos helps us track time and attendance information of our diverse and widespread employees and helps us balance the demands of tight budgets and quality service.”
*
Lori C. Austin, manager, accounting and finance/CFO, Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
“Our employees benefit tremendously from the enhanced accuracy and predictability that Kronos provides in the area of payroll. And our ratepayers benefit from the reduced costs and increased efficiency through better data acquisition and improved reporting. Given the complexity of our payroll environment, the more rules and issues a time and attendance system can handle, the greater the reduction in error and higher the ROI.”
*
Christine Carmichael, director of government industry marketing, Kronos
“Government entities that use Kronos for automated time and attendance rather than an ERP system cite results such as lower software costs, better data acquisition, and less customization. Kronos provides local governments with a completely configurable solution with full workforce management functionality out-of-the-box.”
Supporting Resources
*
Kronos recently announced a new integration tool which makes it even easier for organizations to integrate Kronos applications with existing ERP, payroll, and human resources systems (see “Kronos Announces Availability of Workforce Central 6.1”).
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in workforce management solutions that enable organizations to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Tens of thousands of organizations in 60 countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000® — use Kronos time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications. To learn how Kronos uniquely delivers complete automation and high-quality information in an easy-to-use solution, visit www.kronos.com.
© 2009 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos is a registered trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Source: Kronos
Johnston McLamb Signs Global Consulting Partner Agreement with MicroStrategy
Expands Johnston McLambâ??s Business Intelligence Solutions
McLean, Va., (April 08, 2009) –
MicroStrategy® Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence (BI) software, today announced that Johnston McLamb, a management and technology consulting firm headquartered in Chantilly, VA., has signed a Global Consulting Partner Agreement with MicroStrategy. The agreement will help Johnston McLamb continue to build its practice in business intelligence, with a strong emphasis on visualization and geospatial intelligence.
In addition to offering MicroStrategy BI software, this agreement allows Johnston McLamb and MicroStrategy to collaborate to develop opportunities in both the federal government and commercial markets. The two companies plan to work together closely on solutions that help enterprise customers better visualize and analyze data, conduct predictive analyses, and draw conclusions more quickly. Furthermore, the companies plan to engage in joint marketing activities, such as trade shows and industry group participation.
By incorporating MicroStrategy’s software into their business intelligence practice, Johnston McLamb has been able to offer solutions that empower businesses and government to transform data into actionable information. Business users are able to easily interpret visually-displayed information and more quickly focus on problem areas. The visualization capabilities provided by MicroStrategy allow Johnston McLamb to build information interfaces that provide users with the benefit of real-time analysis and predictive “what if” scenario modeling.
“We chose MicroStrategy because their business intelligence platform has consistently helped Johnston McLamb achieve our strategic priorities as we continue our innovative work in geospatial intelligence and visual business intelligence,” said Wendy Henry, vice president and chief operating officer, Johnston McLamb. “Speed of deployment is critical to our customers, and our relationship with MicroStrategy means we’ll be able to deliver robust and complex data visualization solutions even faster.”
“We are delighted to work with Johnston McLamb and provide enhanced reporting and analytics for their new BI solution,” said Sanju Bansal, MicroStrategy COO. “With MicroStrategy, business users are able to analyze a tremendous amount of information in an easy to use and highly visual manner, which helps them to quickly identify trends and gain greater insights into data to make analytically-based decisions.”
Johnston McLamb recently addressed a timely data issue by utilizing MicroStrategy software to graphically represent the new American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) information reported by a federal agency. This solution leverages Johnston McLamb’s expertise in business intelligence and data mining, enabling agencies to comply with President Obama’s vision of transparency and accountability. Learn more at http://www.johnstonmclamb.com/recovery.
About Johnston McLamb
Johnston McLamb is a small business with a 17-year track record of success serving government and commercial customers. A management and IT consulting company headquartered in the Washington, D.C. region, they bring specialized expertise in data visualization, business intelligence, geospatial solutions, data management, enterprise strategy and modernization and more. For more information, visit www.johnstonmclamb.com.
About MicroStrategy
Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy is a global leader in business intelligence (BI) technology. MicroStrategy provides integrated reporting, analysis, and monitoring software that helps leading organizations worldwide make better business decisions every day. Companies choose MicroStrategy for its advanced technical capabilities, sophisticated analytics, and superior data and user scalability. More information about MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is available at www.microstrategy.com.
MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Wende Cover
MicroStrategy, Incorporated
1-703-770-1646
wcover@microstrategy.com
Source: MicroStrategy
Southwest General Health Center Saves $10 Million in Annual Staffing Costs with Kronos
Hospital positively impacts bottom line with time and attendance and labor analytics
CHELMSFORD, Mass. (April 02, 2009) –
Challenged by labor costs that were exceeding budgets, Southwest General Health Center chose to implement time and attendance and labor analytics applications from Kronos® Incorporated to collect and analyze productivity data of 2,500 employees.
News Facts
* Prior to Kronos, Southwest General did not have a software solution for managing productivity and labor cost management. It selected Kronos for its depth of functionality and approach to complete automation as a centralized solution with real-time capabilities.
* Southwest General used the Kronos solution to identify cost centers with the highest variances between actual versus budgeted staffing costs. At the top of the list was the Emergency Department, which was exceeding its staffing budget by $25,000 per pay period. Further analysis revealed that the department was basing its staffing needs on historical patient volume data that was outdated. Using high-quality information in the Kronos solution, Southwest General adjusted the department’s staffing levels based on recent patient volume data, and immediately reduced the budget overage by $23,000 per pay period. The staffing changes had no negative impact on care quality or patient satisfaction.
* With increased visibility and control over labor-related metrics, Kronos helped Southwest General improve productivity, avoid over scheduling, and reduce over-payments. As a result of using the Kronos solution, Southwest General has reduced its total labor costs by more than 10 percent, representing a $10 million annual labor cost reduction.
* While salaries accounted for 39 percent of net revenue in 2005, with the help of Kronos, Southwest General lowered the percentage further to 35 percent in 2008.
Supporting Quotes
* Kelly Linson, director of financial services and corporate controller, Southwest General Health Center
“We needed an easy-to-own system to boost our productivity and maintain our competitive edge. Overall, with Kronos we have been able to combat rising supply costs, reduce agency spending, and optimize our staff productivity to deliver quality care.”
* Brian Graves, global practice leader of healthcare, Kronos
“Southwest General has a strong commitment to accountability and high-quality care. Automating with Kronos helps the organization simplify workforce management processes, optimize staff productivity, and make a difference to the bottom line. All these benefits are helping Southwest General to further improve the delivery of its nationally recognized care at a reasonable cost.”
Supporting Resources
* About Southwest General Hospital
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in workforce management solutions that enable organizations to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Tens of thousands of organizations in 60 countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000® — use Kronos time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications. To learn how Kronos uniquely delivers complete automation and high-quality information in an easy-to-use solution, visit www.kronos.com.
© 2009 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos is a registered trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Source: Kronos
Information Builders Offers MLB Fantasy Active Report
Visualization Combined With Industry Statistics Provides Insight on 2009 Baseball Season
NEW YORK, NY (March 31, 2009) –
Information Builders, an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) and integration solutions, today announced that it has a new MLB Fantasy League Active Report to provide baseball enthusiasts and fantasy players with a free, easy way to quickly access MLB statistics. With opening day less than two weeks away, fantasy participants are under pressure to make their final picks and are looking for ways to gain statistical insight on players and teams to make more educated decisions.
Anyone with Web access can crunch the numbers with the MLB Fantasy League Active Report to analyze the results and gain real insight into the 2009 baseball season. The report can be accessed at: http://www.informationbuilders.com/mlb/. Almost instantaneously, users can answers questions such as who are the fastest base stealers in the West? Who are the hottest power hitters in the American League? Are National League pitchers at a disadvantage because they have to bat? The report allows filtering on many criteria – lefty, righty, position, players, team, league, etc. It allows users to generate comparative charts, reports and calculations with the ability to easily e-mail results to anyone. Data will be available for the duration of the 2009 MLB season.
As the industry’s first portable BI platform for delivering interactive analytic applications, WebFOCUS Active Reports has its own API, components, security, and analytic engine, enabling users to create active dashboards and receive Active Reports on mobile devices. They enable anyone with access to a Web browser to retrieve information and centralized data available online. Additional benefits of WebFOCUS Active Reports include: improved user experience and decision-making, guaranteed single version of the truth, scalability that reaches unlimited numbers of users, and it requires no specialized software or Web connection.
Information Builders recently shared how leading organizations around the globe including Dealer Services Corporation (DSC) and Israeli Credit Insurance Company (ICIC) are rapidly adopting WebFOCUS Active Reports for portable sorting, filtering, and analysis to better understand customer needs in real time, greatly improve decision-making, and operate more cost effectively.
About Information Builders
Information Builders’ award-winning combination of business intelligence and enterprise integration software has been providing innovative solutions to more than 12,000 customers for the past 30 years. WebFOCUS is the world’s most widely utilized business intelligence platform. It provides the security, scalability, and flexibility needed at every level of global extended enterprises. Its simplicity helps create executive, analytical, and operational applications that reach dozens to millions of users. Information Builders’ iWay Software suite provides state-of-the-art, multi-purpose, pre-built integration components that address all SOA, application, data, and information management requirements. Its integration adapters have been adopted by the leading software platform providers. Together, these products give Information Builders’ customers the ability to grow and innovate according to their needs.
Information Builders’ customers include most of the Fortune 100 and U.S. federal government agencies. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has more than 350 business partners.
Source: Information Builders
Kronos
Seven science team members from Kronos® Incorporated will lead panel discussions and deliver research at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) 2009 Annual Conference.
USA (March 30, 2009) –
What:
Seven science team members from Kronos® Incorporated will lead panel discussions and deliver research at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) 2009 Annual Conference.
When:
April 2-4 in New Orleans
Who:
The Kronos science team speaks frequently on a broad range of topics related to industrial and organizational psychology and how it can be applied to the field of selection and hiring. Recognized for their deep expertise, many of the speakers have authored journal articles, books, and encyclopedia entries. In addition to SIOP, they are active members of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Human Resource Management, and Society of Occupational Health Psychology, and are often quoted in the media about issues related to industrial and organizational psychology.
The Kronos science team is delivering six sessions at the SIOP conference:
*
Autumn Krauss, Ph.D. and I/O psychologist, will lead a panel discussion on “Performance Management Technology: Advantages, Limitations, and Possibilities.”
*
Kristin Charles, Ph.D. and I/O psychologist, and David Scarborough, Ph.D., will co-chair a Forum on “The role of I/O Psychology in Resolving the Healthcare Crisis.”
*
Kyle Mack will present his recent study on the “Effects of Corporate Social Irresponsibility on Justice Perceptions and Attitudes.”
*
Elizabeth McCune will speak on “Proactive Personality Meta-Analysis: Relationships with Performance and Job Satisfaction.”
*
Phillip Mangos, Ph.D. and I/O psychologist, will deliver a presentation on “Innovations in Adaptive Simulation-based Assessment, Training, and Feedback.”
*
Aarti Shyamsunder, Ph.D. and I/O psychologist, will lead a panel discussion on “Practical Issues in Developing Construct-based Situational Judgment Tests.”
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in workforce management solutions that enable organizations to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Tens of thousands of organizations in 60 countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000® — use Kronos time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications. To learn how Kronos uniquely delivers complete automation and high-quality information in an easy-to-use solution, visit www.kronos.com.
© 2009 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos and the Kronos logo are registered trademarks of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other product and company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Source: Kronos
MicroStrategy Announces General Availability of MicroStrategy 9
Business Partners Support MicroStrategyâ??s Latest Software Release
McLean, VA (March 26, 2009) –
MicroStrategy® Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence (BI) software, today announced the release of MicroStrategy 9(TM), the company’s most significant software release in nearly a decade. MicroStrategy 9 was introduced in January 2009 at the Company’s annual user conference and was made generally available on March 20, 2009.
MicroStrategy 9 delivers new technology and features to:
* Extend the performance, scalability, and efficiency of enterprise BI;
* Enable the rapid deployment of departmental BI applications; and
* Provide a seamless consolidation path from departmental BI to enterprise BI.
Extending Enterprise BI
As BI systems grow to thousands of users and hundreds of terabytes of data, maintaining fast query performance can be a tremendous challenge. MicroStrategy 9 includes new adaptive caching technology called In-memory ROLAP, which takes advantage of the large addressable memory now available on 64-bit Unix, Linux, and Windows computer servers, and provides a performance-optimized middle-tier database that can respond directly to data requests from reports, dashboards, and OLAP analyses. MicroStrategy 9 also introduces new SQL generation optimizations that can greatly improve performance for sophisticated queries involving complex metrics.
As companies merge and expand, there is an increased urgency for business intelligence to span all operations, across business units, across departments, and across the globe. This expansion introduces new requirements on BI systems to support global deployments. MicroStrategy 9 offers the ability to present reports, dashboards, or OLAP analyses in the local language of business users viewing the information. In addition, MicroStrategy 9 offers numerous capabilities to streamline coordination between development teams working around the globe on the same BI applications.
Enabling Rapid Development and Deployment of Departmental BI
MicroStrategy 9 includes significant new architectural components and features designed specifically to support the needs of smaller-scale BI systems for departments. MicroStrategy 9 enables departmental BI applications to be set up quickly, providing end users with the ability to create reports and dashboards, and to distribute information among themselves with little or no IT support.
MicroStrategy’s new Multi-source ROLAP, In-memory ROLAP, and rapid metadata creation enables business departments to quickly set up small BI environments, accessing multiple databases without the time-consuming and technically-intensive work of first creating a data mart or data warehouse.
MicroStrategy 9 offers numerous new features that make assembling reports simpler and faster. Business users can quickly create their own dashboards using new features in MicroStrategy 9, including out-of-the-box dashboard templates, support for custom-designed templates, and new design assistants that aid novice users in creating their own dashboards.
Because of its ROLAP architecture, one of MicroStrategy’s long-standing strengths is the ability of business users to freely investigate the data or ‘surf’ through the data warehouse without having to design a new report for each new combination of data they want to see. MicroStrategy 9 has extended this ability by allowing users to perform these same OLAP manipulations such as pivoting and drilling directly on graphs.
MicroStrategy 9 gives users greater control of report and dashboard distribution with its new Distribution Services product. Users can set up report distributions for themselves or for other users, sending reports via e-mail, networked printers, or directly to recipients’ computers or servers. Business users are empowered to create and manage their own information subscriptions, without the intervention of a centralized IT administrator.
Providing Seamless Consolidation from Departmental BI to Enterprise BI
Organizations often have a mix of departmental and enterprise BI systems, and face the problem of having multiple ‘versions of the truth’ across these BI islands that can undermine the credibility of its BI systems. A solution to this problem is to merge the islands of BI into a more cohesive, enterprise-wide BI system gradually and incrementally.
MicroStrategy 9 was designed to enable the easy merger of independent islands of MicroStrategy BI into a more expansive enterprise BI system. Using the new Multi-source ROLAP capability, metadata and reports from departmental BI islands can be gradually merged into larger enterprise BI metadata, without also having to move any of the original data into data warehouses or data marts. As a next step, MicroStrategy 9 also enables companies to gradually move their data from disparate databases into the data warehouse simply by ‘re-pointing’ the metadata to access the same data, but at its new location, with no disruption to reports or redesign required.
MicroStrategy Business Partners Support MicroStrategy 9
MicroStrategy works with a broad range of business partners, including technology partners, consulting partners, systems integrators, resellers, and OEMs. Many of these business partners have previewed MicroStrategy 9 beta software and provided positive feedback on its new features and enhancements.
“The innovations in MicroStrategy 9 will enable our business partners to attract new customers looking for a BI platform that extends performance and scalability at the enterprise-level and is easy to deploy for smaller BI applications,” said MicroStrategy’s COO, Sanju Bansal. “We are delighted that MicroStrategy 9 has been well received by our business partners.”
Fujitsu Consulting
“MicroStrategy 9 supports our view of BI as a strategic enterprise asset, which is central to our approach to driving real and measurable change in the organization through the deployment of BI and Performance Management solutions,” said Norm Mackay, VP Business Intelligence, Fujitsu Consulting. “By leveraging this enterprise-caliber BI technology for departmental BI requirements, Fujitsu enables our clients to consolidate all their departmental applications into a single, integrated BI system. This truly represents a technological breakthrough that will allow our clients to maximize the returns on their BI investment.”
Harris Corporation
“MicroStrategy 9 is a huge jump from previous releases,” said Peter Wickwire, Product Manager, Broadcast Communications Division Report Services, Harris Corporation. “The features in MicroStrategy 9 will allow us to deliver the best business intelligence implementation possible to our very demanding clients.”
HP
“Customers want the ability to respond to business events faster with current and relevant information,” said Giuliano Di Vitantonio, director, marketing and alliances, Business Intelligence Solutions, HP. “The combination of HP platform and services and MicroStrategy software gives customers an integrated solution that supports and improves the decision making process with greater scalability, performance, and efficiency.”
Informatica
“MicroStrategy 9 sets a new standard for reporting and analysis for the enterprise as well as for departmental implementations,” said Don Tirsell, Senior Director Technical Alliances, Informatica. “The redesigned interfaces and many new self-service features of MicroStrategy 9 make information easily available to all levels of users across the organization.”
Marketing Direct
“The enhancements in MicroStrategy 9 are very exciting and will deliver instant value to our customer base,” said Chad Wainscott, Business Intelligence Analyst, Marketing Direct. “The features such as multi-source data access, personal prompt answers, and In-memory ROLAP address several of the demands from our user community. These enhancements will make all of our users more efficient and productive.”
Sybase
“MicroStrategy 9 sets a new standard for reporting and analysis decision-making when used in tandem with the Sybase® IQ Analytic Server,” said Dan Lahl, Director of Analytics at Sybase. “Using completely redesigned interfaces, hundreds of new features and optimizations for Sybase IQ 15, MicroStrategy 9 and Sybase IQ 15 quickly turn raw data into decision-ready information for all business owners throughout the enterprise.”
Teradata Corporation
“As a business intelligence Partner, MicroStrategy ensures that their business intelligence software easily integrates with all members of the Teradata Purpose-Built Platform family to leverage the data within our customers’ data warehouses,” said Randy Lea, vice president, products and services, Teradata Corporation. “MicroStrategy 9 will extend and improve the ability of our joint customers to make better, faster decisions by infusing real-time intelligence into frontline operations and long-range strategic planning.”
For more information on MicroStrategy 9, visit www.microstrategy.com/9info.
About MicroStrategy
Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy is a global leader in business intelligence (BI) technology. MicroStrategy provides integrated reporting, analysis, and monitoring software that helps leading organizations worldwide make better business decisions every day. Companies choose MicroStrategy for its advanced technical capabilities, sophisticated analytics, and superior data and user scalability. More information about MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is available at www.microstrategy.com.
MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform, MicroStrategy 9 are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Wende Cover
MicroStrategy, Incorporated
1-703-770-1646
wcover@microstrategy.com
Source: MicroStrategy
U.S. Department of Education Uses WebFOCUS to Accurately Allocate Billions of Dollars of Student Aid
Information Builders’ Business Intelligence Technology Helps Colleges Award Nearly Two Billion Dollars of Federal Pell Grants During the 2007-08 Year
NEW YORK, NY (March 25, 2009) –
Information Builders, the independent leader in operational business intelligence (BI) and integration solutions, today announced that its customer, Federal Student Aid (FSA), a division of the United States Department of Education, has successfully rolled out the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) Analysis Tool to 200 colleges and universities across the country. The tool helps these educational institutions assess the accuracy of student aid applications and determine eligibility for need-based aid such as grants, subsidized loans, and work-study programs.
FSA oversees the distribution of massive amounts of federal money to students. The 150 schools participating in the Quality Assurance Program are required to use the BI tool to monitor the accuracy of these awards. These schools deliver approximately $2 billion in Pell Grants each year. Billions more in federally subsidized loans as well as state and institutional grant aid are awarded based on the financial information students provide on aid applications. Previously, schools would collect the students’ financial aid data on their own, and then attempt to analyze it using a variety of distinct systems at each campus. Now FSA personnel, and all of the participating colleges and universities, use the tool to analyze their data under one highly effective system.
“We can now analyze real-time data using common reports in spite of the schools’ disparate systems,” said Anne B. Tuccillo, senior management/program analyst at FSA. “By using the ISIR Analysis Tool, schools can ensure that the right aid is being distributed to the right students. The tool also helps schools to prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in potential improper payments within the Federal Pell Grant Program.”
These substantial savings stem from better procedures for verifying the accuracy of students’ Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a form that millions of students fill out each year. The reports generated by the ISIR tool allow schools to identify which FAFSA items are most likely to be misreported, which groups of students are most likely to make errors on the form, and which errors are most likely to affect eligibility for need-based aid. A recent FSA study determined that if Pell Grants were awarded with no verification at all, they would have awarded nine percent of grant recipients too much aid and six percent of grant recipients too little aid – a potential discrepancy of more than $600 million among the 150 schools participating in the Quality Assurance Program. The ISIR Analysis Tool allowed schools to prevent most of the potential 15 percent error rate by verifying the students most likely to make mistakes on their initial applications.
“With an increasing emphasis on online communication in government offices, FSA looked to increase the effectiveness of its interactions with both students and colleges, while simultaneously decreasing the cost of that enhanced communication,” said David Rhodes, senior management/program analyst at FSA. “BI technology is at the heart of these efforts.” FSA selected Information Builders’ WebFOCUS BI platform because it combines intuitive dashboards and drillable reports with complex analytic capabilities that casual business users can quickly comprehend. “WebFOCUS is powerful enough to handle hundreds of thousands of records from schools across the nation and process all of that information through standard Web browsers,” he added.
In the past, many financial aid departments at post-secondary institutions focused their verification efforts on the neediest students within their school populations. This seemed like a logical strategy, until the ISIR Analysis Tool helped FSA determine that errors on these student applications typically are not significant enough to change their eligibility for aid. This meant that schools were essentially wasting their time by asking students and their families for financial information that rarely led to any meaningful change in their eligibility. The ISIR Analysis Tool helps financial aid professionals use their time more wisely as they become more selective in students they decide to verify and which data elements to confirm. For example, the Field Change Report lists items on the FAFSA that are most frequently changed after the application verification process. Tracking this information allows schools to discern which items their students are most likely to answer incorrectly, enabling financial aid staff to specifically target those items for verification. Schools can also use this information to improve their community outreach and education efforts as they help new students fill out the FAFSA correctly.
“The ISIR Analysis Tool has enabled us to do some very in-depth analysis of the students we verify, thus giving us the information we need to focus on data elements that are most error-prone,” confirmed Janet Roecker, associate director, Office of Student Financial Aid, University of Kansas. “The tool has definitely made our verification process much more efficient.”
The FSA recently launched a demo site so that interested schools could “test drive” the BI environment before they sign up to use it. Their goal is to increase the user base to at least 500 schools in the next two years and ultimately to engage 1,500 post-secondary institutions throughout the U.S.
“The ISIR Analysis Tool allows me to easily import records for analysis,” added John McPherson, associate director of Scholarships and Financial Aid at Ball State University. “Once records are loaded, the built-in reports and point-and-click menus allow me to see immediate results. We have been able to use the data to modify processes and streamline communications with our students.”
About FSA
Federal Student Aid, a performance-based organization within the U.S. Department of Education, ensures that all individuals who meet the eligibility standards of the needs analysis formula created by Congress can benefit from federally funded or federally guaranteed financial assistance for education beyond high school. FSA plays a central role in supporting postsecondary education by partnering with postsecondary schools, financial institutions and other participants in Title IV Student Financial Assistance programs to help students and their families to afford education beyond high school.
About Information Builders
Information Builders’ award-winning combination of business intelligence and enterprise integration software has been providing innovative solutions to more than 12,000 customer for the past 30 years. WebFOCUS is the world’s most widely utilized business intelligence platform. It provides the security, scalability and flexibility needed at every level of global extended enterprises. Its simplicity helps create executive, analytical, and operational applications that reach dozens to millions of users. Information Builders’ iWay Software suite provides state of the art, multi-purpose, pre-built integration components that address all SOA, application, data and information management requirements. Its integration adapters have been adopted by the leading software platform providers. Together, these products give Information Builders’ customers the ability to grow and innovate according to their needs.
Information Builders’ customers include most of the Fortune 100 and U.S. federal government agencies. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has more than 350 business partners.
Source: Information Builders