Application Development

Client: A major healthcare provider

Need: The client engaged CATCH Intelligence to assist in tracking scholarship and bonus repayments.

Solution Steps: CATCH Intelligence designed the Incentive Management System (IMS), which helps manage nursing and other employee incentives that must be managed and accounted for within an organization.

The application integrates with HR ERP systems and accounting systems to automate the management of scholarships, bonuses, and incentives. These scholarships and bonuses are benefits that have been awarded to prospective employees and current employees as incentives to commit to employment for specified lengths of time. If leaving employment before the commitment time ends, an employee must repay the scholarships and/or bonuses paid out. Additionally, the management, oversight, and tracking of scholarships and bonus benefits are critical for tax obligations.

Accurate, end-of-year reporting on W-2 and 1099 tax forms was a critical part of this project’s success. The system’s tracking functionalities had to include:

• Employee monthly benefits
• Payout and payoff amounts
• Employee defaults

Reporting functionalities also included 11 different customizable ways to report on key areas. Some of them were:

• Invoice transactions
• Participant accounts past due
• Participant’s default tax transaction
• Participant deferment aging
• Participant estimated graduation date aging
• Participant grades, grade point average (GPA), school
• Participant repayment schedule

The client was pleased with the system and liked that Incentive Management System is easily scalable and customizable to meet other incentive needs. Consequently, IMS will work well to manage and track future incentive and bonus programs. This application is available to other healthcare provider organizations.

CATCH Intelligence created a generic version of this application to apply to other in-demand industries where bonuses and incentives are leveraged. These industries include engineering, GIS, Geospatial, Technology, and software development, to name a few.

Application Development

Client: A major healthcare system comprised of nine hospitals and 30 clinics.

Need: This client engaged CATCH Intelligence to develop a centralized hospital call center to track requests for scheduling patients’ diagnostic test services.

Required: Automation of patient diagnostic test scheduling processes. Existing labor-intensive processes needed streamlining to minimize effort duplication and reduce numerous potential entry points for error.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence worked with the client to determine the features and functionalities required for the new scheduling application. The existing process was labor-intensive, duplicated effort, and contained numerous entry points with the potential for errors. Clinics submitted requests by fax or phone, requiring call center staff to manually file documents or complete new forms while managing communications primarily by phone.

CATCH Intelligence developed the patient scheduling application, integrating SharePoint, InfoPath, and Active Directory. The application automated the patient diagnostic test scheduling process while allowing individual clinics to view the status of their requests in real time.

The new patient scheduling application streamlined the workflow, eliminated unnecessary steps, and provided a real-time view of call center metrics. Key functionalities included:

• Web-enabled forms for clinics
• Form tracking system and interface for call centers
• Clinic interface to view submitted forms and add comments

The client considered CATCH Intelligence’s solution an immediate success. In addition to improving scheduling efficiency, the application prompted a reevaluation and improvement of existing business processes.

CATCH Intelligence also mentored and trained the client’s designated staff throughout the application’s development and implementation, ensuring a smooth transition and long-term success.

Application Development

Client: A state government agency.

Project 1 – Assessment / Strategic Plans

Need: The client requested that CATCH Intelligence assess and develop a detailed strategic plan to replace a core legacy system that had been in place for more than 20 years. The legacy system no longer kept pace with organizational changes, required months of training for new employees, increased costs and turnover, and frustrated users with an outdated, inefficient interface.

Required: CATCH Intelligence assessed the existing system and facilitated interviews with key stakeholders to identify future business requirements, priorities, and implementation estimates for the replacement system.

Solution: The CATCH Intelligence team developed a strategic roadmap outlining anticipated business process improvements and system enhancements. The team also provided cost estimates and implementation guidance to help the client understand the investment required to replace the legacy system.

Project 2 – Architecture & Implementation

Need: The client selected CATCH Intelligence to upgrade its Business Objects environment across both development and production servers.

Required: The BusinessObjects Enterprise (BOE) environment was installed and upgraded. An Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) solution using Data Integrator (DI) was implemented, along with single sign-on security using the client's LDAP environment.

Project deliverables included:

• Recommendations and best practices review
• Installation and upgrade of BusinessObjects 3.1 software, including Desktop Intelligence, Web Intelligence, Data Integrator, Crystal Reports, and Xcelsius
• Mentoring of key staff and BOE administrators
• Migration, upgrade, and testing of environments, security, universes, and reports
• Disaster recovery, backup, and maintenance best practice recommendations

CATCH Intelligence also provided training and mentoring to the client's staff on the following tools and technologies:

• Central Management Console
• Life Cycle Manager (version control)
• Data Integrator (DI)
• Web Intelligence (WebI) for ad hoc querying and analysis
• Xcelsius dashboard development

By combining strategic planning with technical implementation, CATCH Intelligence helped the client modernize its technology environment, improve system administration, and prepare staff to effectively manage and maintain the upgraded BusinessObjects platform.

Assessment and Strategic Planning

Client: This client is one of the largest medical-surgical supply businesses in the United States and Canada. Through strategic acquisitions of other medical-surgical distributors over several decades, the organization has positioned itself as an industry leader. The company aspires to be a world-class supply chain management solutions provider for selected healthcare industry segments.

Required: The client required an assessment and implementation plan to upgrade and migrate current reports, identify reports and universes for consolidation, identify reports requiring enhancements or rework, recommend a new server architecture and security structure, and configure servers for clustering and load balancing.

Need: CATCH Intelligence provided an Enterprise Reporting and Business Intelligence assessment to identify specific software and hardware return on investment (ROI) opportunities. The client needed to migrate existing Business Objects 6.5 environments and upgrade a XIR2 environment, as Business Objects no longer supported the 6.5 platform.

CATCH Intelligence was also tasked with developing recommendations for server architecture, including the use of virtual servers, and updating the existing security model. The team recommended transitioning to securely delivered, web-enabled reports across the enterprise for both internal and external users.

A unique requirement of the project was the client’s challenge for CATCH Intelligence to identify at least $25,000 in hardware or software savings over a five-year period. CATCH Intelligence was also asked to identify cost savings opportunities related to:

• Licensing
• Hardware servers and clustering
• Virtual servers

CATCH Intelligence approached the engagement by applying extensive BusinessObjects expertise and experience to provide a practical, results-driven assessment with measurable value.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence consulted with the client and delivered an assessment that provided a strategic roadmap aligned with the organization’s current needs and future enterprise reporting goals.

The assessment included an analysis of the existing reporting environments, future enterprise reporting requirements, training needs for internal and external users, and opportunities for report and universe consolidation.

CATCH Intelligence’s assessment helped the client define its future-state requirements. The recommended solution included report consolidation, system cleanup, and an upgrade to the latest BusinessObjects Enterprise platform. The final recommendations outlined the business benefits, ROI justification, technical architecture, and implementation strategy.

The assessment identified first-year hardware and software savings of $578K. Additionally, the ROI analysis projected five-year anticipated savings of $1.1 million.

Additional future cost savings opportunities were identified through operational improvements, including:

• Upgraded server architecture to improve stability and reduce outages
• New security platform requiring fewer resources for ongoing maintenance
• Universe consolidation to reduce maintenance efforts and resource costs
• Report consolidation and enhancements to reduce report proliferation and resource costs by at least 30%

Additional efficiencies were identified through the use of auditing tools to analyze report and user utilization, as well as version control capabilities to track document versions and improve reporting governance.

Assessment and Strategic Planning

Client: A growing software and services company.

Need: The client’s explosive growth, combined with increasing customer demands for its broad product offerings, led the company to engage CATCH Intelligence to assist with redefining its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy.

The company wanted to establish an organization-wide vision for customer support and determine the right people, processes, and technology required to make that vision a reality. The client also needed to identify the benefits, costs, and timeline associated with implementing the new CRM vision.

Solution Steps: CATCH Intelligence assessed and evaluated the client’s current state. The two-week assessment process analyzed the organization’s existing customer service environment, including:

• Existing technologies
• Customer interaction processes
• Internal organizational structure related to customer service and support
• Customer contact center, account management, and solution delivery processes
• Customer interactions with the company
• Interactions between internal departments

CATCH Intelligence team members identified customer interaction best practices and used them to define a future-state customer service and support model. The model addressed key areas including:

• Data management
• Contact center foundational components, including ACD, IVR, and multimedia blending
• CRM software
• Workflow processes
• Web-enabled self-service
• Extranet capabilities
• Knowledge management

CATCH Intelligence also identified implementation options and developed a list of potential vendor solutions for additional consideration. Each component of the customer service and support model included defined benefits, measurements, priorities, and implementation options.

After defining the desired future-state model, CATCH Intelligence developed the business justification required to support the transformation. An extensive business case was created to guide the migration plan and provide senior leadership with the information needed to gain organizational support and move the initiative forward.

The business case addressed the following areas:

• Software requirements
• Hardware requirements
• Services and implementation support
• Organizational change management
• Business process improvements

CATCH Intelligence completed this rapid 12-week engagement to help the client define a comprehensive customer service and support strategy. The team continued supporting the implementation initiative process to help ensure successful execution of the CRM transformation.

Business Intelligence Competency Center

Client: Healthcare claims processing client.

Need: The client required the development of a Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC) along with the creation of a Business Intelligence (BI) Vision and Strategy.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence organized a Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC) and developed a comprehensive BI Vision and Strategy to support enterprise-wide reporting initiatives.

The Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC) provided a structured framework to support all aspects of BI across the enterprise. The BICC served as a collaboration and knowledge management system where BI initiatives and tasks were prioritized, defined, managed, and implemented.

The BICC improved decision-making, encouraged the sharing of best practices, enhanced communication processes, eliminated report duplication, reduced redundancy, and provided consistency and standardization throughout the report development lifecycle.

A primary objective of the BICC was to establish a BI Vision and Strategic Plan that would guide future business intelligence development.

CATCH Intelligence formulated and assisted with the implementation of the BICC in June 2006 as part of a BI assessment. CATCH Intelligence also supported the development of a BI Vision and Strategy with executive sponsorship in place.

A comprehensive cross-functional business unit reporting assessment was conducted in January 2007. During this assessment, CATCH Intelligence helped prioritize and identify two business units based on potential revenue generation opportunities.

A report development team consisting of approximately 80% CATCH Intelligence team members, including report and universe developers/designers, a project manager/business analyst, and an ETL developer, began the initiative in February 2007.

The team developed more than 100 Web Intelligence (WebI) and Crystal Reports, multiple dashboards, and 12 universes. CATCH Intelligence also augmented several internal client projects, including the upgrade of client-facing Crystal Reports to a newer version and updating reports with a new company logo after the organization was acquired during the project.

CATCH Intelligence designed standardized templates and documentation processes, including:

• Report development workflow and lifecycle process
• Report requirements documentation
• Technology issues tracking document
• Project tracking document
• Universe Policies, Standards, Procedures, and Guidelines (PSPG)
• Quality Assurance process checklist
• Data validation checklist
• Report control guidelines
• Weekly executive sponsor status report template
• Iteration review documentation for business and executive sponsors

Additional BICC processes developed included:

• Report development workflow process
• Report change control process
• Universe change control process
• Quality event signoff process

Additional project documentation included:

• Metadata and glossary dictionary of current database systems
• Transition to Production Support Plan
• Report Development Decision Tree

Standard meetings were established to improve communication, governance, and project execution:

• Report Team Status Update FLASH meetings (twice weekly, limited to 15 minutes)
• Technology Issues review meetings with BOE administrators, IT personnel, and reporting technical leads
• Weekly requirements review meetings with report owners, developers, and business analysts
• Monthly universe change update meetings
• Quarterly iteration reviews with sponsors and stakeholders
• Bi-monthly project team lead meetings

CATCH Intelligence also participated in report consolidation and requirements gathering. SharePoint was used as the primary repository for report requirements and development signoff tracking.

The team designed an Automated File Return Process (AFRP) system that automated incoming customer file processing and notified the appropriate business units when files were completed and ready for review. This solution supported the client’s goal of identifying and addressing key revenue accounts.

The project followed an agile iterative methodology with two-week deliverables. The Project Manager also supported quarterly project status reviews presented to executive management.

The reporting team developed and implemented multiple executive dashboards to support forecasting and predictive analysis.

Training: CATCH Intelligence provided comprehensive training in Web Intelligence, Universe Design, and InfoView. The team also developed two interactive Computer Based Training (CBT) programs for remote client locations covering InfoView Parts I and II, including supporting training manuals.

Engagement: CATCH Intelligence served as the client’s Reporting Team for a 16-month engagement. Before project completion, the reporting team provided a two-month transition and mentoring plan to ensure a successful knowledge transfer.

Data Warehouse

Client: A business alliance consisting of more than forty hospitals.

Need: The client needed to improve and optimize report delivery across more than forty healthcare organizations. The client also engaged CATCH Intelligence to migrate medical data reports to a new enterprise reporting toolset.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence reengineered the client’s reporting business processes and systems while ensuring that the future reporting environment complied with HIPAA security and privacy requirements.

CATCH Intelligence team members assessed the client’s existing environment to develop a strategy that addressed business and technical needs. The assessment identified that the existing legacy data warehouse was slow, difficult to maintain, and unable to efficiently support reporting requirements.

The existing reporting environment consisted of a collection of homegrown web-based reports and a desktop client application that required quarterly CD distribution to approximately 400 remote users.

CATCH Intelligence designed and implemented a new enterprise data warehouse that:

• Complied with enterprise data standards
• Eliminated previously orphaned data
• Imported historical data for improved analysis
• Consolidated archived information into a single data mart
• Expanded reporting capabilities by calculating new metrics from existing data

An Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) process was implemented to migrate five years of legacy data into the new warehouse. The ETL solution continues to be used quarterly to load new data into the data warehouse environment.

Executive reports were migrated to Web Intelligence (WebI) and delivered to users through InfoView, the Business Objects web portal. During migration, executive reports were enhanced to provide additional metrics and greater flexibility when selecting patient populations.

Ad hoc reporting capabilities were also provided to power users through Web Intelligence using the InfoView platform.

Results:

The new reporting environment significantly improved performance and response times. Benchmark testing of three client-selected reports demonstrated substantial improvements:

• Report A: Runtime reduced from 35 minutes to 2 minutes
• Report B: Runtime reduced from 27 hours to 6 minutes
• Report C: Runtime reduced from approximately 21 hours to 13 minutes

Through the implementation of a modern data warehouse and enterprise reporting platform, CATCH Intelligence helped the healthcare alliance improve reporting efficiency, enhance data accessibility, and provide a scalable foundation for future business intelligence initiatives.

Improved Report Delivery

Client: A carrier providing dental and oral healthcare and medical benefits.

Need: The insurance provider requested assistance creating a data staging area on a system hosted by an outside vendor to improve reporting capabilities and streamline data delivery.

Required: The initial objective was to migrate five years of historical data into a SQL repository. In addition, financial and risk management universes were required to support enhanced reporting capabilities. The financial universe focused on the client’s Great Plains accounting system and addressed specific financial reporting requirements.

Solution Steps:

CATCH Intelligence worked with the client to identify and prioritize key business areas for risk management and financial reporting, along with the required supporting data sets.

CATCH Intelligence team members extracted data from the client’s AS 400 system and loaded it into a SQL staging environment. The initial migration included five years of historical data through a bulk-load process using an Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) solution.

CATCH Intelligence also developed ETL processes to support daily updates of data within the repository. Data was pre-loaded multiple times throughout the testing and validation process to verify accuracy and ensure reliable reporting results.

The CATCH Intelligence team assisted with troubleshooting data issues identified with the third-party vendor and helped ensure successful data integration.

CATCH Intelligence designed a Risk Management universe to support reporting across critical business data elements and tables, including:

• Membership
• Groups
• Claims
• Providers
• Eligibility
• Billing
• Brokers and agents

The CATCH Intelligence team also developed a financial universe based on the client’s Great Plains accounting system. This solution addressed specific financial reporting needs and improved access to critical business information.

Training: CATCH Intelligence provided ongoing training and mentoring to the client’s staff throughout the project to ensure successful adoption and continued support of the new reporting environment.

Improved Report Delivery

Client: A Fortune 100 insurance company.

Need: The client was experiencing performance issues with numerous mission-critical reports. CATCH Intelligence was engaged to assess the client’s Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Warehouse (DW) environment and evaluate existing reporting applications and code used for report delivery.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence conducted discovery sessions with key business users and project stakeholders to identify, consolidate, and prioritize critical requirements and success factors.

A comprehensive review of the existing Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse environment was performed to evaluate:

• Data sources
• Report repository
• Data models, including table structures and aggregations
• Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) approach and tools
• Business Intelligence and reporting tools, including web delivery capabilities
• Business reporting processes
• Performance requirements, expectations, and issues
• Query challenges and unique reporting requirements
• Data security
• Current IT organizational structure and skillsets supporting BI/DW
• Current BI/DW tools and development methodologies

The assessment determined that the reports themselves were designed and developed correctly; however, the SQL statements and stored procedures supporting the reports were extremely inefficient and contributed to performance issues.

CATCH Intelligence developed both short-term and long-term optimization plans to prioritize improvements for mission-critical reports followed by additional reporting phases.

By optimizing stored procedures and improving report execution processes, CATCH Intelligence increased reporting performance by an average of 70%. The result was improved reporting system performance, enhanced application efficiency, and increased overall network performance.

SharePoint

Client: A non-profit community-integrated behavioral healthcare organization.

Need: The client engaged CATCH Intelligence to develop a case management system that supported the complete client lifecycle, from candidate entry through candidate release.

Required: The client required a management information system containing all necessary client, event, unit, outcomes, billing, and fiscal information to support multiple points of decision-making. The system needed to provide multiple stakeholder groups with secure access to information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence designed and developed a web-based management information solution for the healthcare organization called the Behavioral Health Management System (BHMS).

BHMS contained the necessary client, event, unit, outcomes, billing, and fiscal information required for multiple points of decision support. The system provided secure access for multiple stakeholder groups and allowed users to access critical information anytime, anywhere.

BHMS included the following functionality:

• Efficient caseload management and scheduling for caseworkers and supervisors
• Client history capture and retention for future system re-entry
• Clinic treatment plan management
• Internal reports for healthcare coordinators and caseworkers
• Mandatory state and federal reporting, including Department of Health and Human Services, Medicaid, and JCAHO reporting
• Automated reminders for staff and management
• Automation and pre-population of key forms
• Automated discharge forms and analysis to improve productivity and effectiveness tracking
• Scalability to support additional programs
• Remote access and PDA support for staff and management
• Real-time program evaluation
• Outcome analysis
• Family member service-level feedback and satisfaction measurement
• Billing capabilities
• Active Directory security integration
• Auditing capabilities to support HIPAA compliance
• Role-based security structure to protect patient health information (PHI) and support HIPAA compliance

Solution Growth:

The client identified a business growth opportunity requiring additional functionality from SharePoint. CATCH Intelligence consultants assisted with the migration to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 and upgraded the BHMS application.

The client also had another business application requiring similar client management capabilities. CATCH Intelligence consultants expanded the BHMS application to support and incorporate the client’s second business application.

Training: CATCH Intelligence developed a customized training manual that was delivered to users across the state through live internet-based training sessions. The training materials continue to provide the client with a reusable resource for onboarding and training future employees.

Web Based Solution

Client: A large insurance and federal government healthcare contracting firm.

Need: The client needed to deliver a new reporting framework that could securely and efficiently provide reusable web-based reporting capabilities. The project focused on implementing a self-service reporting extranet portal designed to empower healthcare agencies and users to access information independently.

The portal allowed members and customers to access standard reports and supported more than 300 users across various state departments.

Required: The solution required reporting, ad hoc query capabilities, and analysis tools for remote web-based self-service reporting. Due to the aggressive implementation timeline, secure access and authorization were critical to satisfy HIPAA security and privacy requirements.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence helped define the client’s reporting and data warehouse requirements and designed and developed a reusable reporting framework to ensure that only authorized users had access to appropriate information.

The delivered solution satisfied the client’s complex data security and privacy requirements. The application enabled users to perform ad hoc query and analysis reporting while providing external clients with secure portal functionality and self-service reporting capabilities.

The CATCH Intelligence team designed, developed, tested, and deployed the application within a short timeframe. Following implementation, the client’s customers reported substantial improvements in report access and performance.

CATCH Intelligence also assisted the client with upgrading to a higher-level application and migrating existing reports to the new platform.

Following the upgrade and migration, CATCH Intelligence provided a managed service agreement that allowed the client to access technical support through a bank of available hours whenever issues arose. This ongoing support model provided the client with an efficient solution for maintaining and enhancing their reporting environment.

Next Steps: CATCH Intelligence is currently working with the client to upgrade and migrate its sister organization to the same application platform.

The reusable framework developed by CATCH Intelligence reduces future development time and resource requirements. Existing knowledge of the client’s data environment enables faster migration and report transformation with minimal effort required from the client.

Web-Based Solution

Client: A large insurance and federal government healthcare contracting firm.

Project 1

Need: The client needed to deliver a new reporting framework that securely provided a web-based reporting portal. The project focused on implementing a self-service reporting extranet portal that empowered healthcare agencies and users to access information independently.

The portal provided members and customers with access to standard reports and supported more than 300 users across various state departments.

Required: The solution required reporting, ad hoc query capabilities, and analysis tools for remote web-based self-service reporting. Due to the project’s aggressive implementation timeline, secure access and authorization were critical to meet HIPAA security and privacy requirements.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence helped define the reporting and data warehouse requirements and designed and developed a reusable reporting framework to ensure users only accessed appropriate information.

The delivered solution met the client’s complex data security and privacy requirements. The application enabled users to perform ad hoc query and analysis reporting while providing external clients with secure portal-based self-service reporting capabilities.

The CATCH Intelligence team designed, developed, tested, and deployed the application within a short timeframe. Following implementation, the client’s customers reported significant improvements in report access and performance.

Project 2

Need: The client required a web-based environment to support insurance companies and healthcare providers in optimizing a subscription service used to identify health information and records.

Required: Data handling processes needed to comply with strict security requirements established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency.

Solution:

CATCH Intelligence developed a secure data management solution that included:

• Placement of data into a staging table for controlled processing
• Movement of data into a data mart through an Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) process

Results:

The data mart significantly improved the data handling process and enabled secure web-based access to critical information.

The solution is currently used by Medicaid agencies in Arizona and Utah to support secure healthcare information access and reporting.

SAP Experience

Client: Manufacturing organization.

Need: The client had an existing BusinessObjects 6.5 environment that required an upgrade. The legacy reporting system supported Supply Chain and Demand Planning reporting, while the organization relied on Manugistics and SAP as transactional systems to support manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution operations.

Required: The legacy reporting platform was no longer supported and needed to be upgraded. The client also required a strategy for integrating reporting capabilities across SAP, SAP Business Warehouse (BW), and non-SAP systems.

Solution: The client conducted a national bidding process to identify a consulting partner capable of supporting the BusinessObjects migration. CATCH Intelligence was selected as the finalist due to its extensive experience with BusinessObjects migrations and deep expertise working with SAP and SAP BW environments.

CATCH Intelligence successfully completed the Desktop Intelligence (DeskI) report migration and worked within the client’s Citrix server environment throughout the engagement.

CATCH Intelligence provided training, mentoring, and knowledge transfer sessions to the appropriate members of the client’s BusinessObjects Enterprise (BOE) administration team. Mentoring topics included auditing practices and disaster recovery best practices.

CATCH Intelligence also conducted a focused mini-assessment with the Supply Chain and Demand Planning teams to identify opportunities for improving reporting capabilities and future BI strategy.

The following Business Intelligence recommendations and strategic plan items were reviewed with the client:

• Migration from Desktop Intelligence (DeskI) to Web Intelligence (WebI)
• Implementation of the CATCH Intelligence C3D portal application to support outside vendors, users, customers, buyers, merchants, and management
• Server expansion and support for global locations in Asia, Latin America, and Europe
• Report reengineering to provide improved drill-down capabilities and parameter-driven reporting
• Development of executive dashboard reports using Xcelsius

Through the BusinessObjects migration, strategic assessment, and BI roadmap development, CATCH Intelligence helped the client modernize its reporting environment and establish a foundation for future enterprise reporting improvements.

SAP Experience

Client: An educational institution.

Need: The client selected SAP® BusinessObjects as its Business Intelligence (BI) standard for reporting from SAP. The new SAP BusinessObjects environment needed to be installed, configured, and integrated with SAP, SAP Business Warehouse (BW), and SAP Portal.

CATCH Intelligence was selected to assist with the installation and integration activities and to conduct an in-depth assessment to help define the client’s BI Strategic Plan.

Required: The client needed experienced consultants to establish its new BI enterprise reporting standard using SAP data. The organization also required guidance in defining its BI strategy, determining the best methods for delivering BI content, and selecting the SAP BusinessObjects tools best suited for information delivery.

Solution: The client engaged CATCH Intelligence to lead the SAP BusinessObjects implementation and integration with SAP, SAP BW, and SAP Portal.

CATCH Intelligence was selected based on extensive experience helping organizations implement and upgrade Business Intelligence platforms, along with deep expertise working with SAP and SAP BW environments.

CATCH Intelligence completed the SAP BusinessObjects implementation, provided BI recommendations, developed a BI strategic plan, and delivered training, mentoring, and knowledge transfer sessions for key client team members.

CATCH Intelligence also supported the development of new reporting content using Crystal Reports, SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence (WebI), and Xcelsius dashboard reports.

Assessment and evaluation activities included:

• Evaluation and review of the existing BI/DW environment
• BI system integration requirements
• BI portal and web delivery integration requirements
• Identification, consolidation, and prioritization of key requirements and critical success factors
• Discovery sessions with IT personnel to identify BI/DW objectives, related projects, timelines, resources, budgets, and constraints

CATCH Intelligence provided customized recommendations and solutions including:

• Recommended BI roadmap and architectural blueprint
• People, process, practices, and technology recommendations
• Final training and mentoring plan

Implementation activities included:

• Installation, configuration, and testing of BusinessObjects Enterprise
• Verification of server setup and configuration
• System integration testing across client reporting systems
• Installation of the SAP Integration Kit

Additional BI and data warehouse architecture recommendations included:

• High-level data warehouse recommendations
• Front-end BI architecture and integration recommendations
• Business-oriented metadata recommendations to simplify data access
• Data security and data quality recommendations
• Metadata management considerations and recommendations
• Reporting tool recommendations for various use cases
• BI system integration recommendations
• BI portal and web delivery integration recommendations
• BI/DW organizational structure, processes, staffing, skill sets, and training recommendations

The client further engaged CATCH Intelligence to provide additional services including:

• Universe design and mentoring
• Training in Universe Design and Web Intelligence
• Customization of InfoView and BusinessObjects
• Development of a high-level future-state BI/DW architecture diagram
• Development of a long-term implementation roadmap supported by a short-term strategic plan

Through SAP BusinessObjects implementation, integration, strategic planning, and knowledge transfer, CATCH Intelligence helped the client establish a scalable BI foundation and improve enterprise reporting capabilities.

Healthcare

Client: A combined hospital system serving approximately 25 percent of the Omaha area healthcare market. The client is a licensed, 685-bed medical/surgical facility operating more than 300 clinics and healthcare centers serving communities in Nebraska and Iowa, including Omaha, Plattsmouth, Auburn, Council Bluffs, and Shenandoah.

Project 1

Need: CATCH Intelligence’s initial engagement with the client focused on an Enterprise Reporting and Business Intelligence (BI) assessment. The client needed to combine systems and securely deliver web-enabled reports throughout the enterprise while addressing critical privacy and security requirements.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence consulted with the client and delivered an assessment that provided a strategic plan aligned with the organization’s reporting and technology needs.

The assessment analyzed the existing environment and evaluated future enterprise reporting requirements, including the needs of mission-critical Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS).

A key focus of the assessment was identifying solutions that would securely deliver information while meeting healthcare privacy and security requirements.

The CATCH Intelligence assessment process helped the client define future-state requirements. The recommended solution outlined how more than 300 existing reports could be consolidated into approximately 150 interactive reports that could be securely delivered through the web.

The final assessment included:

• Business benefits and value analysis
• Return on investment (ROI) business case
• Recommended architecture
• Implementation plan

The ROI analysis identified a six-month payback period and projected savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The assessment documentation became the foundation for project requirements gathering and demonstrated CATCH Intelligence’s value-added approach.

The healthcare system selected CATCH Intelligence to install, configure, mentor, train staff, and support delivery of the enterprise reporting solution.

Project 2

Need: The second project focused on upgrading the client’s reporting environment from Crystal Reports 10 to BusinessObjects Enterprise.

Required: The upgrade required migration of existing reports along with server configuration to support clustering and load balancing.

Solution:

The CATCH Intelligence team completed the BusinessObjects Enterprise upgrade activities, including report migration, server configuration, and environment optimization.

CATCH Intelligence also created critical disaster recovery and restore processes, performed network troubleshooting, and developed supporting technical documentation to ensure a stable and maintainable reporting environment.

Insurance

Client: A Fortune 500 insurance and financial services company that manages approximately eight major insurance and financial service organizations throughout the United States.

Need: The client had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in two Business Intelligence (BI) solutions that failed to meet enterprise reporting requirements. The organization engaged CATCH Intelligence to conduct an Enterprise Reporting assessment, analyze business requirements, and develop a proof of concept to identify the right software solution for complex and critical reporting needs.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence completed an Enterprise Reporting assessment and evaluated key business and technical requirements to identify an enterprise management solution that aligned with the organization’s needs.

CATCH Intelligence helped the client develop a strategy to consolidate more than 200 reports into approximately 80 interactive reports and securely deliver those reports through a web portal.

Following the assessment, analysis, and proof of concept, Business Objects and Crystal Enterprise / Crystal Reports were selected as the preferred reporting solutions.

Key requirements that supported this selection included:

• Drill-down: The client required support for three levels of report drill-down capabilities.
• Reusable reports: The client needed common reports that could be shared across multiple business units. Crystal provided reusable, parameter-driven reports that allowed a single report, such as an income statement, to be used throughout the organization by entering company or business unit parameters.
• Scheduled reports: The client required reports to run automatically overnight and be available through a web portal during the day, reducing daytime reporting impact on ERP system performance.
• Row-level security: The client needed secure web-based report delivery where users could access only the information they were authorized to view. This reduced report duplication and allowed security control by user or user group.
• Presentation quality reports: The client required consistent, professional reporting across web, print, and Excel formats. Crystal Reports provided high-quality presentation capabilities across multiple delivery methods.
• Ease of use: The client required a solution that was simple for both business users consuming reports and developers creating reports.
• Business user analysis: Business users needed access to information without requiring knowledge of complex database structures. Business Objects provided a metadata layer that created a simplified business view of enterprise data, allowing users to analyze information without dealing with underlying technical complexities.

Following the assessment and proof of concept, CATCH Intelligence assisted the client in delivering its Enterprise Reporting initiative.

CATCH Intelligence installed and configured the reporting environment, provided mentoring and training, and supported the delivery of the enterprise solution.

The CATCH Intelligence team successfully met the client’s aggressive three-month timeline for producing the required reports and implementing the enterprise reporting solution.

Financial Services

Client: A financial services holding company.

Need: A large financial institution required a Business Intelligence (BI) migration assessment to be completed within a two-week deadline.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence conducted a comprehensive Business Intelligence and migration assessment for the financial institution within the required two-week timeframe.

CATCH Intelligence used a collaborative interview approach to gather information and evaluate the existing BI environment. More than 24 employees were interviewed, including report developers, universe developers, and BusinessObjects administrators across a three-state region.

The participants represented two business divisions, 14 departments, and three branch locations. Through this assessment process, CATCH Intelligence identified approximately 7,500 reports across the divisions.

The assessment resulted in a comprehensive strategy for improving the organization’s Business Intelligence environment, including a recommended server architecture plan that allowed both divisions to adopt a shared services platform within a clustered, failover environment.

CATCH Intelligence provided recommendations and plans for:

• Implementation of a Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC)
• Report cleanup and migration strategy
• Staffing recommendations and resource planning
• Software installation and configuration approach
• Licensing recommendations
• Software upgrade justification
• BusinessObjects security plan with Active Directory (AD) integration
• Recommended BusinessObjects InfoView folder structure
• Migration and upgrade plan for existing reports
• Training plan for report developers using new software tools
• Detailed project implementation plan
• Return on investment (ROI) justification for consolidating shared systems

Engagement:

CATCH Intelligence was engaged to organize the project, develop the project plan, and provide ongoing assistance in defining the client’s Business Intelligence vision and long-term strategy.

Manufacturing

Client: A Fortune 100 food company.

Need: The client implemented new transportation, logistics, and warehouse management systems, which created a requirement for enterprise-wide information sharing across numerous functional divisions, business applications, and databases.

The company selected an outside software vendor to enable web-based delivery of critical business information throughout the organization.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence and the selected software vendor, both engaged by the company, collaborated to assess enterprise reporting requirements and define critical success factors for the solution.

A primary focus of the engagement was ensuring that the proposed software architecture aligned with the client’s business requirements and supported future information delivery needs.

The initial project phase focused on:

• Requirements definition
• Business needs analysis
• Software architecture design
• Development of a high-level implementation plan

The subsequent phase focused on configuring and installing new production, application, and testing environments designed for high availability and fail-over capabilities.

CATCH Intelligence customized and integrated the reporting tools to meet the client’s technical environment and business requirements.

CATCH Intelligence also provided ongoing consulting and mentoring throughout the implementation to ensure a smooth transition into production. The team facilitated knowledge transfer with key operations staff, enabling the client’s internal team to successfully maintain and support the new reporting environment.

Public Sector

Client: A state government agency that purchased and implemented BusinessObjects for operational reporting. The agency consists of 155 employees distributed across multiple departments within the state government structure.

The objective of deploying the BusinessObjects system was to provide users with standard, parameter-driven, and historical reporting capabilities. The client divided the implementation into three phases over a twelve-month period:

• Phase 1 – Initial Implementation: Standard, Parameter, and Historical Reports (August 2009 – October 2009)
• Phase 2 – Universe and Web Intelligence (WebI): Power User Enablement (November 2009 – February 2010)
• Phase 3 – Dashboards: Dashboard Development and Deployment (March 2010 – June 2010)

Required: The client required an assessment and implementation plan to upgrade and enhance current reports, identify reports and universes requiring future development, determine opportunities for report improvements, and recommend server architecture and security structures.

Need: CATCH Intelligence provided an Enterprise Reporting and Business Intelligence assessment, installed the BusinessObjects Edge system, and provided ongoing mentoring to the client’s team.

Solution: CATCH Intelligence consulted with the client and delivered an assessment that provided a strategic roadmap aligned with the agency’s reporting and business intelligence goals.

The assessment analyzed the existing reporting environment and evaluated future enterprise reporting requirements. The analysis also identified training needs for internal and external users and provided recommendations for report and universe development.

The CATCH Intelligence assessment process helped the client define its future-state BI requirements. The recommended solution included:

• Report development and rework incorporating parameter-driven reporting
• Adoption of a reusable reporting framework
• Development and deployment of universes to support self-service reporting for power users
• Creation of key metric dashboard reports

The final recommendations outlined:

• Business benefits and reporting improvements
• Comprehensive training plan
• Enterprise architecture structure plan
• Implementation roadmap

Through the assessment, BusinessObjects Edge installation, and mentoring services, CATCH Intelligence helped the state government agency establish a scalable reporting environment and create a foundation for future business intelligence initiatives.