Customer Solution Case Study
/ Bank Helps Employees Generate Self-Service BIfor Better Reporting and Decision Making
“The real strength of our corporate BI capabilities is our very skillful analysts. With the prototyping tools of SQL Server 2012, we can take maximum advantage of their skills.”
Juraj Fehér, Business Intelligence Architect, VUB
Seeking a business intelligence (BI) solution for its complex reporting needs, VUBdeployed a solution based on Microsoft technologies. VUB uses the solution to empower employees to quickly gain insights from data, thus improving the quality of its business decisions. By the end of 2012, there will be 2,000 users creating and sharing predefined and improvised reports.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published February 2012
Business Needs
VUB (Všeobecná úverová banka, a.s.) has provided retail and commercial banking services to the Slovak Republic since 1990. A member of the international banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, VUB has 207 branches and 11 mortgage centers.
“Information and data are the treasure of our company,” says Juraj Fehér, Business Intelligence Architectat VUB. “Almost every department in the bank has a system for data analysis and reporting.” But Fehér found that the data underlying that work was not always of good quality and was not structured in ways that easily fulfilled the bank’s reporting needs.
The VUB data warehouse was built on Oracle, with reports generated using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 data management software as well assolutions from ProClarity and SAS. Some reports were required by the government or by Intesa Sanpaolo; others addressed aspects of risk management, performance, sales, data reconciliation, and operational services. However, VUB employees lacked the flexibility to build their own data models,and they were unable to share improvised reports.
VUB set a goal of building a new, independent BI solution. It wanted the solution to provide data integration, analysis, and reporting that could meet the bank’s complex needs with a user-friendly interface that would help employees make the most of data.
Solution
VUB considered Microsoft and SAS for its BI reporting solution. It chose Microsoft because of a lower price and lower licensing fees, better interoperation with other software implemented at VUB, better metadata integration, and, most important, better report and model performance.
VUB began considering the upgrade in April 2011. In June, it learned about Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and started planning for implementation of a prerelease version, assisted by Microsoft Services consultants. In October,VUB began deploying Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 for content management and team collaboration. By February 2012, VUB had SQL Server 2012 running on HP ProLiant DL380 G7 servers.
About 100 analysts and managers are now using the new solution. “But by the end of the year, when SQL Server 2012 becomes our central reporting solution, we will have about 2,000 users,” Fehér says.
At VUB, SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services creates tabular and multidimensional online analytical processing (OLAP) cubes. In early deployment, there are five cubes of about 18 gigabytes (GB) of data each, but by December 2013, Fehér expects to have about 40 cubes, some of them with 60 GB of data.
A central reporting portal at VUB takes advantage of interoperation between SQL Server 2012 and SharePoint Server 2010. Workers can share reports and data sources, as well as embed reports in dashboards and web pages.
VUB uses SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services to generate 15 reports for corporate and retail branches, mostly for tracking and revaluing collateral. By the end of 2012, it hopes to expand that number to more than 100, replacing older reports. For example, reports will monitor risk management portfolios, track client behavior, and examine key performance indicators of branch efficiency and quality.
VUB employees from various departments use SQL Server 2012 PowerView, a feature of SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services, to analyze data and create ad-hoc reports for decision makers. For example, customer relationship management analysts can analyze specific market segments to evaluate product sales effectiveness or the need for new products. They can export reports directly to the Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation graphics program.VUB also uses SQL Server Data Tools for report development as well as other development projects.
Employees in various departments can also use Microsoft SQL Server PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft SQL Server PowerPivot for Microsoft SharePoint to prototype their needs, specifying models, measures, and dimensions. With these prototypes, report developers can develop quick-win BI solutions.
Benefits
VUB has used SQL Server 2012 to generate breakthrough insight by improving its employees’ ability to easily generate self-service business intelligence that promotes faster, better decisions.
Rapid Data Discovery
VUB uses SQL Server 2012 PowerView to give employees across the organization their own tools to unlock insights from data. “SQL Server 2012 PowerView is very intuitive and easy to use,” Fehér says. “We can construct great-looking improvised reports with interesting visualizations using drag-and-drop features.”
The solution is easy even for users who aren’t experts. “Nontechnical employees can see only the most important features in SQL Server 2012 PowerView,” Fehér says. “It’s really simple and user-friendly; they don’t get confused.”
Empowered Employees
VUB is using PowerPivot for Excelto speed up and smooth out the process of prototyping business intelligence needs. “The real strength of our corporate BI capabilities is our very skillful analysts,” Fehér says. “With the prototyping tools of SQL Server 2012, we can take maximum advantage of their skills.”
As a result, VUB improves productivity. “Employees can spend more time on data analysis, because with SQL Server 2012 PowerView and PowerPivot they don’t need to waste time on complicated software interactions,” Fehér says.
Better Business Decisions
With these insights, VUB can make better business decisions. “With SQL Server 2012, we can better identify, extract, and analyze business data,” Fehér says. “With faster and more effective information delivery and collaboration among all types of users, we can take better advantage of the treasure of our data, improving the quality of our business decisions.”
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published February 2012