Case Studies Westminster College Breaks Through Data Boundaries with Informer

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	Westminster College Breaks Through Data Boundaries with Informer

Westminster College Breaks Through Data Boundaries with Informer

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization
Applicable Industries	Education
Applicable Functions	Business Operation
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Kyle Rima, Database Administrator at Westminster College researched reporting options for about a year and had finally given up, deciding to stay with colon prompt reporting. However, users still suffered as these reports lacked interactivity, were in a static format, and requests had to be made to IT each time a new report was needed. As a result, creating reports took up a lot of IT’s time. Alternate reporting solutions they tested were very expensive, extremely time consuming to setup, and not user friendly. In addition, like many schools, Westminster has a SQL database for the admissions office and a MultiValue database for the rest of campus and struggle with data integrity and integration issues between the two systems. Read More
About Customer	Westminster College is an educational institution that faced significant challenges with its data reporting and integration systems. The college had a SQL database for the admissions office and a MultiValue database for the rest of the campus, leading to data integrity and integration issues. The existing reporting system was static and required IT intervention for every new report, consuming a lot of time and resources. The college sought a solution that would empower users to create and customize reports independently, thereby saving time and improving efficiency. Read More
Solution	When Westminster discovered Informer in 2006, they were immediately impressed by the simplicity, ease of setup, and flexibility. Users have created reports in Informer that look at the data between the two systems to uncover discrepancies. They use Informer’s calculated columns feature to compare data coming from both systems, and then sort and group report data on select fields to easily see errors. They are also using Informer to pull status reports for both systems. 'Possibly the nicest thing is having all reports accessible from one consolidated place', says Rima. Informer enabled Westminster to push report creation out to more users, and empower users to modify and customize reports based on their individual needs. 'The ability to export data easily has been great and the ability to schedule reports is awesome', says Rima. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Visualization

Applicable Industries

Education

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Kyle Rima, Database Administrator at Westminster College researched reporting options for about a year and had finally given up, deciding to stay with colon prompt reporting. However, users still suffered as these reports lacked interactivity, were in a static format, and requests had to be made to IT each time a new report was needed. As a result, creating reports took up a lot of IT’s time. Alternate reporting solutions they tested were very expensive, extremely time consuming to setup, and not user friendly. In addition, like many schools, Westminster has a SQL database for the admissions office and a MultiValue database for the rest of campus and struggle with data integrity and integration issues between the two systems.

About Customer

Westminster College is an educational institution that faced significant challenges with its data reporting and integration systems. The college had a SQL database for the admissions office and a MultiValue database for the rest of the campus, leading to data integrity and integration issues. The existing reporting system was static and required IT intervention for every new report, consuming a lot of time and resources. The college sought a solution that would empower users to create and customize reports independently, thereby saving time and improving efficiency.

Solution

When Westminster discovered Informer in 2006, they were immediately impressed by the simplicity, ease of setup, and flexibility. Users have created reports in Informer that look at the data between the two systems to uncover discrepancies. They use Informer’s calculated columns feature to compare data coming from both systems, and then sort and group report data on select fields to easily see errors. They are also using Informer to pull status reports for both systems. 'Possibly the nicest thing is having all reports accessible from one consolidated place', says Rima. Informer enabled Westminster to push report creation out to more users, and empower users to modify and customize reports based on their individual needs. 'The ability to export data easily has been great and the ability to schedule reports is awesome', says Rima.

Impact #1	Many users are now able to create 90% of their reports on their own, reducing the dependency on IT.
Impact #2	Informer has made it easier to uncover discrepancies between multiple database systems in one place.
Impact #3	The ability to export and schedule reports has been highly beneficial.

Impact #1

Many users are now able to create 90% of their reports on their own, reducing the dependency on IT.

Impact #2

Informer has made it easier to uncover discrepancies between multiple database systems in one place.

Impact #3

The ability to export and schedule reports has been highly beneficial.

Benefit #1	In the month of September, they ran 5,761 reports.
Benefit #2	They have 90 scheduled reports just from their main database, with many more from their alumni database.

Benefit #1

In the month of September, they ran 5,761 reports.

Benefit #2

They have 90 scheduled reports just from their main database, with many more from their alumni database.

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Overview

Westminster College Breaks Through Data Boundaries with Informer

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit