From the Editor
Real-Time Real-Life Business
If you caught the March 3, 2003 issue of InformationWeek magazine you probably enjoyed, as I did, John Foley’s intriguing article titled “Get It to Them Fast,” where he alludes to customers being the “next group to benefit from real-time information.”
Foley goes on to say that a new InformationWeek Research survey, which gauges where companies stand in their efforts to become real-time businesses, found 82 percent of the 261 business-technology professionals surveyed reported customer support as an area that would benefit most from quicker access
to information. Asked which group of people would derive the greatest benefit, 77 percent responded it would be their customers.
Companies cited in the article that deliver real-time information to their customers run the gamut from sporting-goods manufacturers, to airlines, to music and electronics retailers like Best Buy and retail giants like Macy’s Department stores ... not to mention PGA Tour, which is “turning its
real-time golfer-tracking capabilities into a revenue-generating service [on the Web where] ... die-hard fans will get a kick out of the ability to track every player, hole, and shot of a PGA Tournament ...”
Which brings me to our own customers, who – as you’ll see throughout these pages – are pushing real-time information to their constituencies for the very same reasons: to get closer to them, to heighten customer satisfaction, to add value to the products and services that are being offered ... and
ultimately to boost sales and return on investment.
For a real-life scenario of a real-time business, look no further than our cover story – BMO Bank of Montreal – whose Web-based information console became a key application for the bank’s management. Powered by WebFOCUS, the new system delivers financial reports over
the bank’s intranet, quicker and cheaper than ever imagined.
The City of Montreal is another case in point, where the City’s Finance Department re-deployed management information via a self-service reporting portal to hundreds of new users after more than two dozen municipalities were merged into a single government entity.
Across industries and around the world, we hear repeatedly from customers whose strategic business practices and everyday operations are wrapped around our software solutions. Customers like Time Inc., whose real-time information delivery environment boosted overall
efficiency and service to customers ... Verizon, who called on WebFOCUS for better visibility into its sales and forecasting processes ... and as far-reaching as Brussels’ Kinepolis theater chain, whose managers easily spot trends and calculate profits in
a business driven by fast access to information.
These real-life success stories share a common thread: real-time information ... and the technology that makes it happen: WebFOCUS.
As many of you already know, WebFOCUS just got even better! See for yourself!
 
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