S U C C E S S S T O R Y

E N T E R P R I S E I N F O R M A T I O N M A N A G E M E N T

INDUSTRY

Software provider

CUSTOMER

Integrated Data Services, Inc. (IDS)

CHALLENGES

• Provide seamless reporting within the existing CCaR application

• Create better access to data, with the ability to reach various data sources

• Empower end users with real-time access to data and enhanced visualization capabilities

SOLUTION

• OpenText™ Analytics Suite

BENEFITS

• Increased transparency, agility for DoD agencies

• Less time spent by IT on data extraction and creating ad hoc reports

• Improved internal and external communication through enhanced use of data

• Secure, embedded data access based on user role

Software Provider Empowers Clients with Embedded ReportingIntegrated Data Services’ government clientele can better access and enable data with the help of OpenText™ Analytics

Improving Reporting Functionality IDS’s primary solution, the Comprehensive Cost and Requirement (CCaR™) application, is an enterprise program and financial management tool, which automates the processes used by acquisition programs to capture financial requirements, track budgets, identify funded/unfunded requirements, establish spend plans, execute budgets and conduct accounting reconciliation. As the lead integrator for the DoD’s Project Management Resource Tools System, IDS integrated CCaR with other enterprise software solutions, including OpenText and Oracle, to provide Air Force and DoD life cycle acquisition organizations with an integrated toolset to manage their acquisition programs.

During a re-architecting of CCaR, IDS began looking at business analytics and reporting tools to integrate within the application. They hoped to enable users further with additional reporting functionality, and believed a third-party tool would save them money, while providing more user flexibility and opportunity for customization. “We evaluated a number of products to find a solution that would meet the needs of our end users while complying with strict security guidelines,” says John Cole, Chief Technology Officer for IDS.

The company eventually narrowed down their choices to solutions by three providers: Information Builders, MicroStrategy and OpenText Analytics and Reporting.

Integrating OpenText AnalyticsThe team in charge of the selection process knew they needed a full analytics and reporting tool that could create reports from various sources, with sorting and grouping capabilities. The OpenText™ Analytics Suite was eventually selected for a variety of reasons.

Integrated Data Services, Inc. (IDS) specializes in the development and integration of IT solutions for enterprise-level customers. Established in 1997, the veteran-owned software provider works largely with government organizations, including the Department of Defense (DoD), which makes up 90 percent of their revenue, most of that from the United States Air Force.

www.opentext.com • sales@opentext.com • 800 499 6544

S U C C E S S S T O R Y

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Its open source base, offered IDS greater control over functionality, while its embedding and license transfer model also appealed to them. The Analytics Suite’s secure multi-tenant architecture and the interactivity it offered all users, not dependent on role, were also deciding factors, as was its technical flexibility and data object security, and its ability to dynamically change data connections.

IDS opted for the commercial deployment and visualization platform for its superior design, ad hoc reporting, interactive viewing and data analytics.

Today, OpenText Analytics helps IDS serve approximately 13,000 user accounts—including military personnel at bases through-out the world—with about 1,100 active users, including financial managers, program managers and business analysts. Users have created more than 5,700 reports, tracking financial requests for system acquisition programs—including large weapons systems, parts, and studies testing—as well as Congressional appropriations.

Also, for the first time, the staff of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) has real-time access to current data across all acquisition programs and investment budgets, slicing and dicing as required in response to DoD and Congressional inquiries. “The Analytics Suite’s interactive viewing and web-based report design tools enabled us to provide our customers with access to their data in the formats they desire,” Cole adds.

While they had the option of embedding the software within CCaR, without product branding, IDS chose to display the OpenText brand, showing customers that they had powerful third-party analytics and reporting capabilities behind the functionality they offered.

“In selecting OpenText, we were able to reduce time to market and execute an accelerated deployment so our customers can have the best and most up-to-date solution to drive their reporting needs.”JOHN COLE, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, INTEGRATED DATA SERVICES, INC.

Freeing IT Resources, Improving AccessBy integrating OpenText Analytics Suite and multi-tenancy support into CCaR, IDS has expanded the use of data through-out its enterprise. It can now be seamlessly shared across organizations, while users can independently generate reports. The frequent requests for ad hoc reports and data extraction that used to inundate IT have stopped, freeing up developer time and leaving users feeling more empowered. “The biggest time saver is for people in the field,” adds Cole. “They would spend time reviewing requests [for reports] and information before sending it up the chain. A great deal of time was spent at HQ putting data together from various organizations.”

For the first time, DoD headquarters staff have real-time access to program, forecast and execution data. By enabling end users with direct access to their data, the analytics software increased transparency for various DoD organizations. “With OpenText, we were able to reduce time to market and execute an accelerated deployment so our customers can have the best and most up-to-date solution to drive their reporting needs,” says Cole. Reports can be created quickly, while the time needed for data collection within the DoD has also been reduced. Faster data collection means less time is also required to answer inquiries, resulting in better internal and external communication overall.

In addition, CCaR can now control report creation and access within the application by using the server security extension API, thus eliminating the need to manage report access from the admin console. “The ability to dynamically restrict data based on the user’s application privileges was instrumental in our decision to embed the Analytics Suite inside CCaR,” says Cole.