Tag: "Information Builders"

Information Builders Presents Customers With Awards of Distinction for Exceptional Business Intelligence and Integration Implementations

Jun 08, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

Columbus City Schools, Ford, New York Public Library, US TRANSCOM, and TNT Recognized at Annual User Conference

NASHVILLE, TN (June 08, 2009) –

Information Builders, an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, and iWay Software, an Information Builders company and an innovator of enterprise integration solutions, today announced the winners of the annual Awards of Distinction for original and innovative use of BI and integration technology. Information Builders is honoring the winners at its 2009 Summit User Conference, which highlights successful customer implementations from around the world along with contributions from leading industry analysts and pundits.

Featuring more than 100 customer-led sessions addressing relevant business issues, this year’s Information Builders Summit also showcases new products and features throughout the event.

The honored customers are deploying BI and integration solutions for a variety of business issues – from improving patient care to becoming more efficient organizations. The companies that are receiving awards exemplify the Summit theme of expanding the scope of business intelligence as these organizations are continually finding innovative applications for BI and integration technologies.

“The companies receiving awards have all found new and exciting ways to leverage Information Builders technology,” said Information Builders Founder and CEO Gerald Cohen. “By identifying new uses for BI and expanding the number of BI users, these companies are getting the maximum value for their BI investment. Through BI and integration technology, the award winners are more productive and are improving decision-making throughout their organizations.”

The following Information Builders customers are being recognized with Awards of Distinction:

* Best Enterprise BI Application – Ford
While the automotive industry is facing tough challenges, Ford Motor Company found a way to save money through BI. With Information Builders’ Web-based reporting system deployed across 9,000 dealerships, dealers can compare their performance on warranty costs with peers. The system enables dealers to identify anomalies and isolate problems, saving Ford $40 to $60 million per year in covered warranty expenses.
* Most Innovative BI Implementation – New York Public Library
The library created a BI system called Metrics On Demand (MOD) that allows employees to effectively track visitor traffic, borrowing habits, and other key metrics. This information helps library personnel make judicious decisions about which library resources and services are most important to the general public. These capabilities have become extremely important in the face of recent budget cuts. The library faces budget reductions from both public and private sources, which means managers need to make tough, strategic choices about where money is spent. Personnel at 91 locations use MOD to analyze many facets of the library operation, helping personnel track traffic patterns, use of materials, and inventory to preserve the services people care about most. The dashboard-driven environment empowers hundreds of employees to share information and create customized reports.
* Most Humanitarian Use of BI – Nationwide Insurance and Columbus City Schools
Columbus City Schools is bringing greater insight and accountability to the education of more than 55,000 students at 130 schools in central Ohio. Nationwide Insurance, which is headquartered in Columbus, developed a tool with the school district using BI technology that helps administrators analyze student data. The resulting environment connects 4,000 teachers and administrators to student assessment data, attendance data, and discipline data with the overall goal of improving student achievement.
* Best Use of BI in the Public Sector – US TRANSCOM
A critical function of the United States Transportation Command (US TRANSCOM) is patient evacuation, a complex, logistical challenge where speed is essential. BI technology is helping US 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 an operational BI system, the military’s evacuation and patient movement activities in places like Iraq and Afghanistan are more efficient – boosting overall patient care.
* Best Use of iWay Software – TNT
TNT meets the mail and express delivery needs of customers worldwide. With high volumes of data in multiple locations, in a variety of languages, and on several platforms, the company brought in iWay integration solutions to help. Integrating with legacy systems, iWay’s service-oriented architecture (SOA) solutions allow business units to access the data they need, when they need it for improved decision-making.

About iWay Software

iWay Software’s integration methodology is simple: it uses a single, integrated set of graphical design tools to assemble powerful pre-built components for enterprise-class business-to-business (B2B) integration, business process automation (BPA), or enterprise information management (EIM) integration scenarios – without the use of custom code. Integration configurations can be deployed in a stand-alone manner to any environment supporting a JVM – or to Web application servers from any vendor. iWay delivers the fastest, most cost-effective, and simplest way to integrate and streamline critical business processes. iWay Software’s vendor-, platform-, and protocol-neutral solutions achieve the promise of SOA: true reusability. For more information visit: www.iwaysoftware.com
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.

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Information Builders Customer US TRANSCOM Wins at Computerworld Honors Awards Celebration

Jun 04, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

New York Public Library and Columbus City Schools are Named Finalists for Innovative Use of BI Technology

WASHINGTON, DC (June 04, 2009) –

Information Builders, an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that its customer, United States Transportation Command (US TRANSCOM), was declared a winner at the 2009 Computerworld Honors Awards ceremony in Washington DC. US TRANSCOM was recognized for utilizing BI technology to benefit society. Two additional Information Builders customers, New York Public Library and Columbus City Schools, were honored as finalists for their innovative use of BI technology.

Other Information Builders clients honored included the Erlanger, Kentucky Police Department, the engineering department of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, the Federal Student Aid Office of the Federal Department of Education, Prince George’s County Police Department, and Spain’s Ministerio de Trabajo e Inmigracion (Ministry of Immigration).

The United States Transportation Command (US TRANSCOM) developed TRAC2ES, a Web-based BI system that transports sick or injured personnel and coordinates their movement throughout the U.S. military’s worldwide network of healthcare facilities. TRAC2ES also provides critical reporting capabilities to more than 2,500 users, from senior command officers to the President and Congress, including data such as the number of patients and movements, number of missions, and costs. Detailed reports follow the status of patients from the beginning of transport to the outcome of treatment. TRAC2ES supported operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom by providing 100 percent patient in-transit visibility for more than 11,500 patients. This system improves efficiency in medical transport and access to advanced care for wounded troops, patient movement from the battlefield, and operational decision support.

The New York Public Library created a BI system called Metrics On Demand (MOD) that allows employees to effectively track visitor traffic, borrowing habits, and other key metrics. This information helps library personnel make judicious decisions about which library resources and services are most important to the general public. These capabilities have become extremely important in the face of recent budget shortfalls. The library faces budget reductions from both public and private sources, which means managers need to make tough, strategic choices about where money is spent. Personnel at 91 locations use MOD to analyze many facets of the library operation, helping personnel track traffic patterns, use of materials, and inventory to preserve the services people care about most. The dashboard-driven environment empowers hundreds of employees to share information and create customized reports.

Columbus City Schools and Nationwide Insurance are bringing greater insight and accountability to the education of more than 55,000 students at 130 schools in central Ohio. Nationwide Insurance, which is headquartered in Columbus, developed a tool with the school district using BI technology that helps administrators analyze student data. The resulting environment connects 4,000 teachers and administrators to student assessment data, attendance data, and discipline data with the overall goal of improving student achievement.

The Erlanger, Kentucky Police Department created an operational business intelligence system with integrated search capabilities that combines data from 19 government agencies to link information about suspects, incidents, arrests, and crimes. The BI environment helps patrol officers and supervisors respond more knowledgeably to calls and provide better services to Northern Kentucky citizens.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway created a Maintenance Excellence Dashboard to monitor its infrastructure of tracks, signals, and structures, which improved safety, limited train delays, and minimized revenue loss.

The Federal Student Aid Office of the Federal Department of Education created the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) tool to improve assistance to students completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). ISIR enhances verification efforts and ensures that the right students are receiving the aid they need to achieve their higher education goals. The tool has helped more than 150 schools identify discrepancies of more than $600 million in FAFSA applications.

Prince George’s County Police Department developed the Active Crime Reporting dashboard to display statistics on calls for service such as robbery, homicide, car theft, and auto accidents, helping police officers lower crime within the county.

Spain’s Ministerio de Trabajo e Inmigracion (Ministry of Immigration) implemented Project Lince, a BI environment that enforces immigration requirements by improving information integrity. A new BI portal streamlines access to information and enforces immigration rules for the entire staff.
About the Computerworld Honors Program

Founded by International Data Group (IDG) in 1988, the Computerworld Honors Program is governed by the not-for-profit Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation. In its 21st year, Computerworld Honors is the longest running global program to honor individuals and organizations that use information technology to benefit society.
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Information Builders Named Finalist in 2009 American Business Awards

May 28, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

Business Intelligence Leader’s Customer Service Recognized for Second Straight Year

NEW YORK, NY (May 28, 2009) –

Information Builders, an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, has been named a finalist in the 2009 American Business Awards (ABA) for “Customer Service Department of the Year.” This is the second straight year that Information Builders’ Customer Support department has been recognized as a finalist by the ABA. More than 2,600 entries from companies of all sizes in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories.

In 2008, Information Builders Customer Support achieved stellar results and collaborated more effectively than ever before with three community-building programs: Focal Point, which unites 4,500 developers to collaborate on solutions; InfoResponse Survey, which proactively addresses customer feedback; and World-Class Training, which provides a common service language for more effective CSS training across Information Builders’ communities. The results of these programs included increased customer satisfaction and collaboration, all while reducing training costs for Information Builders.

“Just as Information Builders delivers cutting-edge business intelligence technology to enhance information sharing and collaboration among users, our Customer Support department uses the same Web-based interactions to deliver powerful customer support,” said Gerald Cohen, CEO and founder of Information Builders. “I am incredibly proud of the CSS team for their efforts that garnered recognition two years in a row.”

Members of the Awards’ board of distinguished judges and advisors and their staffs will select Stevie Award winners from among finalists in final judging that will continue through June 3. Finalists were chosen by business professionals nationwide during preliminary judging in April through early May.

Stevie Award winners will be announced during the annual gala on Monday, June 22 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Six hundred executives from across the U.S. are expected to attend. The ceremonies will be broadcast on radio nationwide by the Business TalkRadio Network and hosted by Cheryl Casone of Fox Business Network.

“Despite very tough economic conditions, many organizations and individuals continue to perform well,” said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of The Stevie Awards. “The results of the 2009 ABAs thus far are a testament to the resilience, creativity, and hard work of American organizations like Information Builders.”

Details about The American Business Awards and the list of finalists in all categories are available at www.stevieawards.com/aba.
About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.
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 34 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.

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Haskell Maximizes the Value of its ERP Investments With Information Builders’ BI and Integration Technology

May 27, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

Leading Construction Firm Automates Operational Reporting With WebFOCUS and iWay Software, Cutting Costs and Boosting Productivity Across the Organization

NEW YORK, NY (May 27, 2009) –

In the construction business, periods of economic uncertainty can hit with the impact of a sledgehammer. For The Haskell Company, one of the foremost design-build organizations in the U.S., using business intelligence (BI) and integration technology from Information Builders, an independent leader in BI solutions, helps employees track costs and improve performance at a time when every dollar counts. Haskell has discovered many advantages to using Information Builders’ WebFOCUS BI platform and iWay Software to augment its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. By implementing a BI environment that enables developers and business analysts to deliver new reporting applications quickly, the mid-sized company is increasing its workers’ capabilities without increasing IT support costs.

“WebFOCUS and iWay have brought about a dramatic shift in our ability to extend operational information into day-to-day activities,” said David Ibach, manager of application development at Haskell. “In an era of economic uncertainty, having precise and accurate data makes us more credible with our clients.”

Haskell uses WebFOCUS to create self-service reporting applications for financial, payroll, and project users, making it easy for them to access ERP information and transform it into richly formatted reports. These users can select run-time parameters for sorting, summation, and sub-totaling, then display the results in a variety of output formats. These colorful reports – many with drill-down links to other reports – are more visually appealing and easier to comprehend than the standard reports from Haskell’s ERP system. For example, by organizing information in workers compensation reports in a more intuitive fashion, the payroll department identified report discrepancies and received a substantial refund in its workers’ compensation premiums.

iWay Software’s integration technology is helping Haskell streamline the report-development process and improve data quality. iWay automatically enforces the security in the ERP system so the WebFOCUS reports uphold existing access restrictions.

“ERP systems help companies compete more effectively, but only if users can leverage the data to enhance decision-making,” said Gerald Cohen, CEO and founder of Information Builders. “Like many mid-sized firms looking for an edge from technology, Haskell has discovered the power of giving business users direct access to analytical information.”

Currently Haskell has more than 50 regular WebFOCUS users in the human resources and finance departments. Another 50 or 60 people use the BI software periodically. That number is expected to grow as developers open up new reporting domains. For example, Haskell is using WebFOCUS ReportCaster to notify budgetary managers when new budget-to-actuals reports are available in the WebFOCUS Report Library. Each manager gets an e-mail message with a link to view the summary report(s), which include drill downs to the budgeting system, the detail data in JD Edwards, and the payroll sub ledger for certain accounts. Additionally, Haskell plans to replace a variety of Microsoft Excel reporting applications with WebFOCUS applications to enforce consistent data management. The company also plans to use WebFOCUS to help people access and analyze information in the company’s document imaging system.

“Our philosophy is simple: get data out to the masses first, then roll it up into executive dashboards for management,” says Mr. Ibach. “By adopting a BI environment that delivers timely operational data to the front lines, people can get 80 to 90 percent of the information they need, and are far more effective in their decision-making.”
About Haskell

Haskell is America’s leading integrated design-build firm practicing in the general building and civil infrastructure markets. The company has annual revenues of more than $750 million with offices in the United States and Mexico. More information can be found at www.haskell.com.
About iWay Software

iWay Software’s integration methodology is simple: it uses a single, integrated set of graphical design tools to assemble powerful pre-built components for enterprise-class business-to-business (B2B), business process automation (BPA), or enterprise information management (EIM) integration scenarios – without the use of custom code. Integration configurations can be deployed in a stand-alone manner to any environment supporting a JVM – or to Web application servers from any vendor. iWay delivers the fastest, most cost-effective, and simplest way to integrate and streamline critical business processes. iWay Software’s vendor-, platform-, and protocol-neutral solutions achieve the promise of SOA: true reusability.
About Information Builders

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City of Richardson Creates a Business Intelligence Community

May 11, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

BI Reporting From WebFOCUS to Help in Revitalization Efforts

NEW YORK, NY (May 11, 2009) –

Information Builders, the leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that the City of Richardson, Texas, is using its WebFOCUS BI platform to create a citywide reporting environment for departments as diverse as police, finance, and human resources. WebFOCUS reports are being used by every department in the city, helping city workers find the information they need to better support revitalization projects.

With a population of about 100,000 citizens, the City of Richardson sought to upgrade much of the city’s infrastructure which included updating information systems in addition to civic projects. Regarding IT, most city departments were using out-of-date BI software from Crystal Reports. The cumbersome reporting system made it difficult to access, combine, and distribute information, delaying the city’s revitalization projects. The city needed a scalable reporting environment that could easily translate large amounts of information into meaningful reports for decision-makers across several departments.

The city turned to Information Builders WebFOCUS platform for an effective reporting system that could accommodate Richardson’s diverse needs. The new system integrates reporting with GIS mapping from ESRI GIS software, creating important visualization capabilities. After converting Crystal Reports to WebFOCUS, city workers immediately experienced the benefits with a variety of informative reports. Every department in the city currently runs at least one WebFOCUS report, and many departments run several. In total, more than 500 city workers depend on WebFOCUS to run between 150 and 200 reports.

“While Richardson works toward revitalization, there is an increased need for timely, accurate information to help make real-time decisions regarding city resources,” said Eric Matthews, deputy CIO for the City of Richardson. “With WebFOCUS, we put the right tools in place to improve citywide communication and are reaching many of the city council’s goals for neighborhood improvements. To date, the reporting environment has provided impressive ROI with savings in both time and money.”

The City of Richardson is truly a business intelligence community. City administrators use the BI platform throughout departments including accounting, budgeting, building inspection, municipal court, police, fire, and neighborhood protection. Some departments, such as Neighborhood Services, have even created external reports for the general public. The group, charged with enforcing city codes and enhancing communication with citizens, uses WebFOCUS to maintain a running history of citations for citizens to view. WebFOCUS provides details about citations issued and all follow-up activity so that citizens can see, for example, what inspectors are doing about an abandoned car parked on a neighbor’s lawn. Publishing this type of information reassures citizens that, not only is the city writing tickets, but also following through on neighborhood issues until they are resolved.

WebFOCUS is a vital tool for Richardson’s fire and police departments. The fire stations use reports to track the operational status of fire hydrants. This task was previously done manually, but now all stations share a digital map linked to a database of information about the status of city hydrants. Police chiefs throughout the city leverage a mobile reporting environment that delivers relevant crime data to their BlackBerrys. For example, officers can obtain information about the criminals being held in the city’s jail, including specific details of each person’s incarceration. Police and fire chiefs can also track active 911 calls with their mobile devices, discovering the status of active patrol cars, fire trucks, and ambulances.

“Cities like Richardson, with complex infrastructures, benefit enormously from increased information access,” said Gerald Cohen, CEO of Information Builders. “The city was able to leverage business intelligence technology from WebFOCUS to empower city officers and city employees to make well-informed more timely decisions. These decisions are keeping revitalization initiatives both on track and on budget. Staff members across the city have the information they need to better support revitalization efforts and run the city more efficiently.”
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iWay Software Expands Universal Adapter Suite for IBM WebSphere

May 05, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

AmBev and Others Benefit From Enhanced Connectivity Between IBM WebSphere Products and Enterprise Information Assets decentralise

NEW YORK, NY (May 05, 2009) –

iWay Software, an Information Builders division and innovator of enterprise integration solutions, today announced the continued momentum of iWay adapter projects with IBM WebSphere business integration offerings. The company now offers support for WebSphere Message Broker, WebSphere Message Broker Toolkit, WebSphere Process Server, WebSphere ESB, and WebSphere Integration Developer.

Developed on, and built for, IBM WebSphere technology, the iWay Universal Adapter Suite for IBM middleware, now includes all iWay customized adapters for IBM customers, which are provided via a new on-demand delivery model. This allows companies to more effectively leverage underlying technologies for service-oriented architecture- (SOA) and WebSphere-based deployments. For example, AmBev, the biggest private producer of consumer goods in Brazil and the biggest brewery in Latin America, is leveraging the iWay adapter for i2 for WebSphere Message Broker and WebSphere Message Broker Toolkit to integrate their global transportation management systems to SAP.

The iWay Universal Adapter Suite for IBM middleware enables unparalleled connectivity for industry-leading applications to IBM’s middleware offerings. Recent iWay Software engagements with IBM customers include the following adapters: i2, Manugistics, Connect:Direct, HL7, MLLP, FIX, JD Edwards, Oracle eBusiness Suite, Amdocs/Clarify CRM, and MSMQ. iWay continues to provide adapters for these additional applications: Ariba, Baan, Broadvision, Documentum, Lawson, MFG/PRO, Oracle Retek, Salesforce.com, Tibco, and more.

“We are helping companies accelerate business integration by providing a foundation for business agility with a low cost of entry and full project reusability,” said Gerald Cohen, president and CEO of Information Builders. “Our simply assembled and configured off-the-shelf components allow for rapid data access and application integration without lengthy custom coding, expensive systems overhauls or costly delays.”

Also at IBM Impact 2009, iWay Software introduced a Salesforce.com resource adapter for WebSphere Integration Developer (design-time discovery and configuration), WebSphere Process Server, and WebSphere ESB run-time environments. The Salesforce.com adapter is available for free trial purposes at the Information Builders/iWay Software booth #P1B in area ZOS.
About IBM

For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com/soa
About iWay Software

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iWay Software Offers New Salesforce.com Adapter for WebSphere

May 05, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

Companies Reduce Time and Cost With Seamless Integration for all SaaS-Based Applications

NEW YORK, NY (May 05, 2009) –

iWay Software, an Information Builders company and innovator of enterprise integration solutions, today announced the addition of a new Salesforce.com adapter for WebSphere. This new adapter allows companies of all sizes, across all industries, to enhance their Salesforce.com environment with secure and code-free integration of “cloud- based” and on-premise applications. The iWay Salesforce.com adapter is available now. A free trial is being offered at the IBM Impact Conference at the Information Builders/iWay Software booth # P1B in area ZOS, as well as on the iWay Software Web site.

iWay’s Salesforce.com adapter provides interface and integration touchpoints for all software-as-a-service- (SaaS)-based Salesforce.com applications and services, including sales, service and support, partner relationship management, analytics, and industry or custom applications. It enables information-sharing between Salesforce.com and virtually any other type of information system including: packaged applications, e-business connections, transaction processing environments, database systems, message systems, and file transfer technologies. This tight integration will facilitate the rapid sharing of critical information about prospects and customers, sales and marketing programs, post-sales support activities, and more across the entire technology infrastructure.

“Our new Salesforce.com adapter provides seamless integration between Salesforce.com applications and other internal and external systems, eliminating the need for costly, time-consuming, high-risk hand-coding,” said Gerald Cohen, president and CEO of Information Builders.

iWay’s Salesforce.com adapter integrates with WebSphere Integration Developer, WebSphere Process Server, and WebSphere ESB run-time environments allowing users to:

* Share timely data between service and support applications as well as engineering, manufacturing, and quality management systems to more effectively identify and track product defects
* Link sales and inventory management systems to facilitate better stock and demand planning
* Synchronize sales pipelines and forecasts with accounting information for improved financial planning and management
* Exchange order status and delivery information with clients and partners
* Integrate sales, marketing, accounting, call center, and other applications, for a single, accurate view of prospect and customer details and histories across the business.

The iWay Salesforce.com adapter is available immediately. A free 90-day trial version is available at the iWay Software Web site.
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U.S. Transportation Command Saves Lives with BI Technology from Information Builders

Apr 13, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

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.

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Information Builders Offers MLB Fantasy Active Report

Mar 31, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

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.

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U.S. Department of Education Uses WebFOCUS to Accurately Allocate Billions of Dollars of Student Aid

Mar 25, 2009 | Computer & Electronics, Computer Software, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

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.

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