Category: Business Intelligence Case Study

Adobe Uses Brightidea to Streamline the Innovation Process

Adobe is a 3.2 billion dollar company, with nearly 6800 employees worldwide. With more than half of its revenue generated outside the United States, Adobe’s Flash® Player and Reader® software combined are installed on more than 700 million connected PCs and devices worldwide. Furthermore, Adobe’s Reader software is distributed in 26 languages and on 10 major platforms worldwide. All of the world’s top 10 PC manufacturers ship their systems with Adobe’s PDF technology pre-installed, and over 250 million PDF files currently exist on the web. As the world’s leading creative technology provider, over one million designers and developers use Adobe Flash and Adobe Dreamweaver® software has more than 3 million active users. More than 90% of the world’s creative professionals have Adobe Photoshop® installed on their desktops.

Adobe has revolutionized the way the world engages with ideas and information. For 25 years, the company’s award-winning software and technologies have redefined business, entertainment and personal communications by setting new standards for producing and delivering content that engages people virtually anywhere at anytime. From rich images in print, video, and film to dynamic digital content for a variety of media, the impact of Adobe solutions is evident across industries and felt by anyone who creates, views and interacts with information. With a reputation for excellence and a portfolio of many of the most respected and recognizable software brands, Adobe is one of the world’s largest and most diversified software companies.

The Challenge

Adobe has historically been one of the top technology companies on the cutting-edge with respect to innovation. Having always regarded innovation as a key differentiator, Adobe has maintained a company-wide culture that has promoted innovation for many years.

However, in addition to implementing an entire division devoted to innovation, the company also created a leadership position dedicated to championing innovation at all levels within the organization.

The Idea Mentor, who reports directly to Adobe’s Chief Technology Office, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the New Business Initiatives Unit (NBI), a department which bears ultimate responsibility for growing new idea development and fostering Adobe’s innovation culture.

Yet, despite an already thriving culture for innovation, Adobe’s top idea engagement team within the NBI Unit knew there was room for growth, as an immediate need existed for an enterprise scale idea platform. Furthermore, the solution would be complicated, as it would necessitate flexible functionality so as to not only perform with, but also improve, the existing innovation programs and processes currently in place. Solution requirements would also need to be particularly flexible, as making radical changes to the current programs was not an option.

The Solution

Adobe used WebStorm to conduct an internal competition called “Product Ideation Shootout.” Following a conference hosted by the Silicon Valley Product Management association, an event consisting of the leading Product Managers in the technology sector, various members of top management at Adobe and Brightidea met and began discussing potential idea management solutions and the various program options.

 

Adobe was currently in the process of sourcing an idea management solutions provider that could achieve the many technical and functional requirements necessary to run alongside its existing ideas platform.

Up to this point, however, Adobe management had not been successful in sourcing such a flexible and customized solution. Thus, after learning of the many features and benefits of the Brightidea Solution, Adobe management requested Brightidea engineers develop and implement an enterprise scale idea management trial adhering to the very specific and detailed requirements necessitated by an organization as complex as Adobe.

Initially, Adobe utilized Brightidea’s WebStorm Solution to headline an upcoming Tech Summit in both India and the United States.

By first utilizing WebStorm in a one-time, trial capacity at such high-profile events, both organizations had a great deal at stake – but also a great deal to gain.

Depending on the outcome, Brightidea would likely have the opportunity to implement its WebStorm technology in a much broader capacity.

And, from the converse perspective, if the idea platform at the Tech Summits proved successful, the NBI Unit at Adobe would have secured huge wins in its quest for furthering innovation. Furthermore, quality ideas submitted via WebStorm would also serve as evidence that regular innovation initiatives are not a luxury, but a business necessity.

The Results

Upon the unveiling of WebStorm at Adobe’s U.S. Tech Summit, the solution proved an enormous success.

Debuting as Adobe Idol, a spin-off of American Idol, the solution served as a “Product Ideation Shootout” whereby awarding the best idea submissions with prizes at the Adobe Idol finals at the close of the Summit. As part of the prize package, the winning three ideas are being further reviewed by Adobe project teams and possibly slated for product development and implementation.

To put the Solution in a practical perspective, the final results of the U.S. WebStorm/Adobe Idol competition generated over 750 participants, and almost 100 idea submissions, 3 of which were actually submitted by Adobe’s Co-Founder. The India Tech Summit also proved a success, generating over 320 participants and 65 idea submissions. These numbers, in addition to the overwhelming buzz and excitement generated internally about innovation, led Adobe’s NBI team to not only praise the work undertaken by Brightidea, but further extend the scope and nature of their relationship.

Furthermore, Adobe felt so positively about the Brightidea Solution, WebStorm technology is now being implemented in many additional areas of the company.

Feature enhancements, including updates to Adobe’s number one product, Creative Suite, are among the many facets of Brightidea’s extended involvement with the Adobe organization.

“WebStorm by Brightidea was the best way for us to globally collect, rank, and categorize our ideas that we could find. By rolling out Brightidea company-wide, we are now able to measure and monitor our innovation, turn our ideas into implementable projects, and foster innovation culture.- Rick Bess, Idea Mentor and Innovation Officer

The Future

Adobe is now rolling out WebStorms on a global scale for multiple business units. The Brightidea Platform is being used to turn collected ideas into implementable projects. Adobe’s NBI Unit is also collaborating with Brightidea on additional new products and feature enhancements, even the possibility of creating an Adobe AIR version of Brightidea. By linking Brightidea with some of Adobe’s key partners in the industry, the two organizations are building, strengthening, and leveraging key relationships that can only bolster business opportunities for both companies.

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Harvard Business School to Benefit from WiseWindow Business Intelligence Program

WiseWindow recently announced it has gifted Harvard Business School’s Baker Library a $5 million dollar program. The program will provide the library with real time data and toolsets for educational use in the development of post-graduate curriculum and research.

The new program, MOBI 2.0, (Mass Opinion Business Intelligence) is designed to help train the next generation of MBAs on how to effectively manage business in real time which is something the students have never had access to before.

The initial deployment to students and faculty was completed in early February. Harvard Business School’s MBA candidates now have full access to the MOBI platform and they are using it in their curriculum development.

The program is teaching students about real-time business decision-making and management, business economics and demand-based modeling, and in research. It also includes how to support case study-based coursework.

The Executive Director of Knowledge and Library Services at Harvard Business School, Mary Lee Kennedy said they support Harvard Business School’s mission by enabling the creation of ideas, expertise and information.

The MOBI 2.0 combines cloud computing, proprietary deep website crawling, relevance recognition and statistical natural language analysis, which provides business decision makers with the unmatched ability to identify, measure and qualify consumer intent information in real time before it turns into action.

MOBI distills the data into a pre-defined, structure database providing an up to the minute view of consumer sentiment. This is done by collecting, analyzing and classifying the billions of unbiased consumer comments made online annually from across the web.

President of WiseWindow, Marshall Toplansky, said they are thrilled to be at Harvard Business School training some of the world’s future business leaders, especially since Harvard is one of the most prestigious educational facilities in the world.

 

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UltiPro to Deliver Business Intelligence for Equipment Depot

Ultimate Software recently announced that Equipment Depot has selected its UltiPro to consolidate its payroll, Human Resources, compensation management, and recruitment processes into one unified solution.

Equipment Depot is a diversified equipment dealership that sells, services, rents and provides parts for many leading brands of forklifts, aerial lifts, and construction equipment. They employ more than 1,450 people in 13 states in the U.S. which makes handling their scope of human capital management a challenging proposition.

Vice President of Human Resources with Equipment Depot, Leora Kirby, says as they continue to acquire new subsidiaries and grow organically, they need smarter, more agile answers to manage its business operations, especially related to Human Capital Management.

Kirby says they are in the process of combining five companies into one. The company wants one centralized payroll solution will could accommodate their current needs, as well as keep pace with their company as they grow in the future.

Equipment Depot was looking for a high-caliber HCM platform with a single database, 24-7 Web accessibility for their workforce, and end-to-end functionality and they wanted to take advantage of SaaS innovation, according to Kirby.

Equipment Depot selected UltiPro in November of 2010 and their company leadership is anxious to combine its multiple data platforms into a single, uniform solution that delivers real-time visibility across the business.

Chief Sales Officer for Ultimate Software, Greg Swick, says they are delighted that Equipment Depot has selected UltiPro for the advantages of their cloud-based HCM and they look forward to collaborating with them and sharing expertise.

Ultimate Software is a provider of unified human capital management SaaS solutions for global business. It markets its award-winning UltiPro solutions as Software-as-a-Service and is based in Weston, FL. They have nearly 1,100 professionals currently employed.

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Alliance Agreement for Business Intelligence Announced by Deloitte

Deloitte recently announced it has signed an alliance agreement with MicroStrategy Incorporated to develop and deliver solutions to help clients improve their information, business intelligence and analytic capabilities.

Deloitte will combine MicroStrategy’s advanced business intelligence technology with its broad array of consulting, advisory and implementation services to assist their mutual clients in meeting information, business intelligence and analytic needs under the new agreement.

The alliance will include collaboration on solution, service and market development, education, training, sales and delivery.

The use of information and analytics can be a critical driver of revenue and competitive differentiation and can assist management in making more effective business decisions while managing information for a strategic business advantage.

Lee Dittmar, principal for Deloitte Consulting LLP, says the increasing emphasis on analytics has significant implications for IT and business leaders and the new alliance combines Deloitte’s information management services with MicroStrategy’s software to give clients a significant advantage in accelerating their analytical programs.

As expectations continue to rise, many leaders are shifting their thinking from a tactical approach for management reporting to a more strategic approach involving analytics. Deloitte is positioned well in the information management space with a demonstrated depth and breadth of competencies to help clients deliver on their analytics vision.

MicroStrategy’s chief operating officer, Sanju Bansal, says both Deloitte and MicroStrategy recognize that business priorities are increasingly driven by the need for better and earlier insights on markets, customers, suppliers, employees, regulation and risks, and that there is a need for solutions to integrate business, industry and functional capabilities with advanced information management and analytical technologies.

MicroStrategy was founded in 1989 and is a provider of business intelligence technology. The company provides integrated reporting, analysis, and monitoring software helping organizations worldwide make better business decisions each day.

 

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American Family Insurance Selects Millbrook for Enterprise Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence

Exton, PA — October 24, 2010

Millbrook, the leading provider of business intelligence and data warehousing solutions for insurance carriers, today announced that American Family has selected Millbrook’s Data Integration Platform, including its, Operational Data Store, Enterprise Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence solutions to deliver management information, reporting and analysis and to support system integration.

 

“American Family is developing the capabilities that will improve how we collect, store and analyze our data so we can use it to make better strategic decisions,” said American Family Information Services Senior Vice President, Kristin Kirkconnell.

 

John Search, Millbrook Executive Vice President said, “We are very proud to have been selected by American Family. We have a long history in the insurance BI space, beginning with our “BEACON” tool. Over the years, our solutions have evolved based on industry, regulatory and statutory changes and, most importantly, client feedback. Today our open infrastructure serves as the data hub, which enables a single source of data to seamlessly service migrations and conversions, data integration, enterprise data warehousing, web services, business intelligence, management reporting, and regulatory and statutory compliance”.

 

About American Family Insurance

 

Based in Madison, Wis., American Family Insurance offers auto insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, health insurance, business and farm/ranch insurance in 19 states. American Family insurance is the nation’s third-largest mutual property/casualty insurance company and ranks 344th on the Fortune 500 list. Web: http://www.amfam.com; Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/amfam; Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amfam

 

About Millbrook

 

Millbrook is the leading provider of information management solutions for property and casualty insurers. Millbrook has developed a complete data platform that enables companies to harness the power of their most important asset; their data and information. Robust models for Policy, Billing, Claims, Account and Customer Data are designed for flexibility and scalability providing carriers with the architecture that maximizes the value and usability of data across the enterprise. Our solutions leverage past investments in legacy systems and lower the total cost of ownership in replacement systems. Millbrook’s complete Integration Platform consists of the Operational Data Store, Extract Transformation and Load Processes, Enterprise Data Warehouse, Vendor Neutral Semantic Layer, BI Reports, Dashboards and KPI’s. Millbrook is headquartered in Exton Pennsylvania, with offices in San Diego and Boston.

 

More information about Millbrook can be found at http://www.millbrookinc.com.

 

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