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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
The 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 The 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.
The 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.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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