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Rochester Institute Of Technology Powers Academic Intelligence With Informatica; Leading Technical University Accelerates Time-To-Insight with Informatica Data Integration Platform(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) REDWOOD CITY, Calif., -- Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA), the world's number one independent provider of data integration software, today announced that Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has successfully implemented the Informatica Data Integration Platform as the foundation of its Institute-wide academic reporting and analysis initiative. RIT was plagued with the challenge of overwhelming amounts of data with no way of easily deciphering useful information from it in a standardized manner. In delivering timely, consistent information sourced across multiple university systems, the Informatica Platform has reduced the turnaround time for several critical reports from as much as five weeks to inside of a single day to drive near real-time visibility into Student Enrollment, Student Retention and Graduation and Student Internal Transfer Behaviors. RIT is also planning to use Informatica data integration for its future strategic application and integration needs. Data Rich, But Information Poor 'The Informatica platform is a cornerstone of our strategic planning and ability to realize institutional goals. We're now making mission-critical information available to those who need it, when they need it, and enabling them to use information in new, high-value ways,' said Kim Sowers, director of application development, RIT. 'In thoroughly evaluating available solutions, Informatica came out head and shoulders above any other product we considered. The ability to cleanly access and integrate data across our systems environment was clearly superior and the performance and ease of use of the platform is excellent. Architecturally, Informatica fit the strategic direction of our data center perfectly - meeting not just our data warehousing and reporting needs, but also our desire to leverage the software in a wider, enterprise data integration context.' 'Had we been forced into using a different solution other than Informatica, our initiative would probably have been a failure,' continued Sowers. RIT's Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence initiative was launched by the university's Institutional Research organization to support internal reporting as well as state and federally mandated academic reporting. Vital information from RIT's data warehouse is also shared with various external entities including IPEDS (Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System), CSDE (Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange, College Board), and the New York State Education Department. RIT's solution has quickly evolved to support additional internal reporting and analysis on an accelerated basis to analysts, deans, and other academic decision makers. Previously, the university relied on more costly, traditional custom programs to extract data from its mainframe-based academic systems and generate reports, with the reports most often distributed in hard copy - a process sometimes taking four to five weeks per report. The Informatica platform and its component technologies have condensed the entire process into less than a day. RIT now uses Informatica PowerExchange software, part of the Informatica Platform, to non-invasively access data from its mainframe-based admissions system and student records system. The Changed Data Capture (CDC) option within PowerExchange is currently being implemented so that only changes in the source databases are captured as they occur, as opposed to entire records. Using Informatica PowerCenter software, the captured mainframe data is subsequently integrated with data from other university sources into a data warehouse where it is available for immediate reporting. Additionally, Informatica Data Explorer software is being used to profile and analyze source data to help arrest data quality and consistency issues prior to loading into the data warehouse. 'RIT's use of the Informatica Platform highlights the broad applicability and immense value of data integration for educational institutions, from real-time visibility into academic performance to regulatory compliance to day-to-day operational procedures such as managing housing and education programs,' said James Markarian, general manager, Data Integration, Informatica. 'Like many universities, RIT was data rich, but poor in useful information. The Informatica Platform has changed that picture entirely. And, like Informatica customers in all industries, RIT has discovered that as it has become rich in timely, useful information, users are finding new ways to leverage that information to resolve other critical questions, power new kinds of analyses, and drive further efficiencies.' With the success of its academic reporting initiative, application development needs across RIT are starting to drive the use of the Informatica Platform for enterprise data integration projects outside of the data warehouse. In one example, the platform is currently being used in the development and implementation of a new student housing systems environment, where it will integrate data to and from numerous disparate sources back into the system - including mainframe data, delivering the resulting information to multiple targets. In another example, the platform will enable secure cross-enterprise integration between RIT and a third-party ASP's systems environment in support of RIT's Study Abroad programs. RIT is a nationally respected leader in professional and career-oriented education. Talented, ambitious, and creative students of all cultures and backgrounds - and from 50 states and more than 95 countries - have chosen to attend RIT. About Informatica Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA) is the world's number one independent leader in data integration software. The Informatica Platform provides organizations with a comprehensive, unified, open and economical approach to lower IT costs and gain competitive advantage from their information assets. More than 3,700 enterprises worldwide rely on Informatica to access, integrate and trust their information assets held in the traditional enterprise and in the internet cloud. Note: Informatica, Informatica Data Integration Platform, PowerExchange, PowerCenter and Informatica Data Explorer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Informatica Corporation in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other company and product names may be trade names or trademarks of their respective owners. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2009 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |