Luxury car, truck and heavy vehicle maker Volvo is to
roll out BusinessObjects XI release 2 business information system
to 2,200 end-users worldwide.
The company already uses BusinessObjects Enterprise 6 and is
rolling out the upgrade after successfully beta-testing the new
release.
Volvo's product manager for business information tools, Patrick
Van Heirseele, said the new version had improved functionality in
the web environment, removing the need to deploy full-client
versions of software on every desktop and generating big savings in
IT support.
The deployment will also make it possible for Volvo to provide
information through BusinessObjects to end-users in its local
dealerships worldwide, which was previously "always a problem",
said Van Heirseele.
"All the dealers [will be] remotely connected to Volvo. It's
almost impossible to deploy software locally into dealership
businesses. It would generate huge cost to the company. With this
kind of deployment on the web, it's quite easy."
The simplified new user interface includes Intelligent Question
(IQ), which allows end-users to choose from drop-down menus of
phrases and assemble questions that will generate reports useful to
them.
Van Heirseele said Volvo executives would be able to use this to
monitor product sales and profit margins more easily, while
dealerships could monitor orders, sales and supplies of spare
parts.
"It is quite easy to generate a report without knowledge of the
universe," he said. "Gross profit analysis in different areas is
important. We also [need] reports on the production environment and
tracking the process on the assembly line."
He said Volvo would "probably" move from Unix to Windows servers
to run BusinessObjects XI release 2 because they were cheaper and
more scalable.
However, the main focus of project-managing the roll-out would
be communication, said Van Heirseele.
"The new version is quite different [from its predecessor]. We
have to set up very good communications to prepare our users. That
will be the most important thing in this project, not the
conversion as such."
Key features of the new release
BusinessObjects XI release 2 has a simplified user interface
that removes the need for end-users to build queries from
scratch.
A new feature, called Intelligent Question (IQ), uses a
structured question format to make it easier for end-users to
obtain correct answers. IQ uses drop-down menus of words and
phrases that end-users assemble into questions.
Other enhancements include:
- More visual representation of data in dashboards and
scorecards
- Simplified methods of investigating data in reports
- BusinessObjects Metadata Manager allows impact analysis of data
changes to the entire business information platform
- Automated business information lifecycle management - automated
development, testing and production
- Integration performance management products from SRC Software
(acquired by BusinessObjects in August)