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Information Builders > Case Studies > Saint Louis University Streamlines Reporting with WebFOCUS
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Saint Louis University Streamlines Reporting with WebFOCUS

Technology Category
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
  • Education
Applicable Functions
  • Business Operation
Use Cases
  • Process Control & Optimization
  • Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Services
  • Software Design & Engineering Services
  • Training
The Challenge
Saint Louis University (SLU) was transitioning from its SCT/Plus ERP applications to SCT Banner. The challenge was to enable end users across 300 departments to generate reports from the new ERP system, with no disruption to their familiar reporting activities. The university also wanted to isolate end-user reporting activities from the back-end ERP infrastructure to keep business processes on track during the changeover. The goal was to create a Web-based reporting system as a front-end for the ERP applications, providing instant end-user access to information from the desktop and create an executive dashboard for new types of forecasting, trending, and analysis exercises.
About The Customer
Saint Louis University (SLU) is one of the largest employers in the area, with 6,200 people working in 150 buildings across a 300-acre campus. The university offers a broad array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs on campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, and Madrid, Spain. The university depends on WebFOCUS for everything from student registration and admissions to financials, human resources, payroll, alumni development, and fundraising. Reports for all these departments were previously created on a mainframe computer and delivered to recipients as hardcopy.
The Solution
To create an enterprise-caliber reporting environment for the new ERP system, SLU chose Information Builders WebFOCUS. The university was able to deploy WebFOCUS without outside help, building on their existing knowledge of FOCUS. The transition involved teaching COBOL programmers HTML and Java since they were new to the Web environment. WebFOCUS provided a lot of flexibility, giving SLU options they never had before. The programmers learned how to create many types of reports and display results in formats such as Microsoft Excel and Adobe Acrobat. WebFOCUS has been rolled out to users across many departments. Faculty members can create reports to help them manage student performance, while administrators use it for backoffice functions such as registration and accounting.
Operational Impact
  • Eliminated paper-based reports, saving $100,000 per year
  • Freed IT from fielding report requests so they can focus on more valuable tasks
  • Boosted productivity and strengthened decision-making by providing faster access to information
Quantitative Benefit
  • Saved more than $100,000 per year in printing, labor, supplies, and maintenance
  • Zero downtime during the transition to the new ERP system

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