Strength in Diversity

PDF Download free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Gerald D. Cohen, Information Builders President and CEO

In this edition of Information Builders Magazine, we are featuring seven customer stories. What do all of these stories have in common? They are all about happy users who quickly put up extremely successful applications that have saved their organizations a lot of money.

What is most distinctive, though, is the diversity of applications represented here. As you'll see, universities, government agencies, manufacturers, partners, and industry associations are all represented. The applications within each organization range widely, and they reach everyone: employees, managers, partners, students, faculty, administrators, government agencies, highway patrol members, stock traders, customers, and more.

ArvinMeritor, for example, is using WebFOCUS and iWay Software for accounting and financial reports, task forecasting, customer service, billing, quality control, shipping, engineering, purchasing, and other applications, supporting thousands of users both inside and outside the organization.

Another good example is the International Airline Transport Association (IATA). Airlines ship cargo all around the world in containers that belong to other airlines, and each airline wants to know where its containers are. IATA is using WebFOCUS to answer its member airlines' questions – much faster and at much less cost with a Web-based tracking system.

The reason I emphasize this diversity is I am often asked what Information Builders' strength is. My answer is we're strongest wherever people have a lot of data and where, if they can deliver information faster to the right parties, they can accomplish great things.

As you can see by the diversity shown here, such accomplishments can happen anywhere. If you are not delivering information to the right people fast enough, take a page from this book and see how others are doing it.

The Internet is all about letting people access the information they want through self-service, point-and-click environments. It allows us to deliver information in real time. And it allows us to easily share information not just inside the organization, but outside.

Information Builders has always sought ways to let people access information themselves. The Internet is the ideal way to access information: with pull-down windows and point-and-click selections, anyone can do it – without any software on the desktop.

Take heart. Use the technology of the times to deliver information to the right people at the right time, and see what great things you can accomplish.