Business process management specialist Ovations has provided SA`s national lottery operator Uthingo Management with the Business Objects suite of products in support of a drive to centralise the National Lottery Development Trust Fund report.
This report is a composite document that sources various data from Uthingo Management`s gaming, finance, support, and sales and marketing systems. The operator required a comprehensive infrastructure to improve control over the information gathering and reporting process, and centralise the data.
Since implementing Business Objects, Uthingo`s data is not only controlled centrally, but authoring and distribution of reports and analytical applications containing mission-critical content is also much simpler.
Uthingo Management was formed in 1996 to compete for the right to operate SA`s national lottery. The company is a seamless entity that focuses the experience, skills and knowledge of its shareholders in a single organisation.
"The solution offered by Ovations is user-friendly and meets our needs better than the one we previously used," says Kgosi Maimane, Business Analyst of Uthingo. "The previous tool provided for a standard suite of reports, of which only some could be modified in accordance with our needs. Because various people worked on the data and drew reports off various versions of the cubes, the data quickly became out-of-synch and was very difficult to distribute."
The Business Objects suite comprises Crystal Reports, Crystal Smart Reporting, Crystal Analysis and Crystal Enterprise. Microsoft SQL Server with Analysis Services was also included in the roll-out. The SQL server hosts a data-warehouse that is updated twice weekly and contains all of Uthingo`s sales and marketing data.
"Crystal Reports is an intuitive reporting toolkit that helps Uthingo rapidly create flexible, feature-rich reports and tightly integrate them into Web and windows applications," explains Ovations sales and marketing director George Smalberger. "It was used with Crystal Analysis to design Uthingo`s report content. Crystal Analysis delivers guided analysis, affording system users easy insight into business data and enabling them to make intelligent decisions."
"Web-based delivery of the report content is provided through Crystal Enterprise, a common architecture for data access, reporting, and information delivery," he continues. "It allows Uthingo to respond quickly to any reporting or application development need. The solution integrates seamlessly with Uthingo`s existing data, Web and application investments without imposing a new set of standards and processes."
Ovations has completed the sales and marketing implementation and plans to roll-out the remaining systems shortly.
"The Business Objects and Microsoft suites enable all our users to work from a verifiable data source," says Smalberger. "Additionally, Crystal Enterprise provides a framework for Web-based delivery of report content. This means that only a compatible Web browser is needed to view reports or analysis applications, which makes the distribution of reports to our regional offices much easier."
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