Published on 25-Nov-2008
Validated on 14 May 2012
"Our new research portal allows us to control our data from end-to-end throughout the research process and to cooperate with outside researchers, improving the quality and value of our work." - — German Sport University Cologne
Customer:
German Sport University Cologne
Industry:
Education
Deployment country:
Germany
Solution:
Integrated Data Management, Information On Demand, Leveraging Information, Cloud & Service Management, Service Management, Smart Work
IBM Business Partner:
Cedros GmbH
Overview
The only sports medicine university in Germany...German Sport University Cologne conducts a variety of research programs to develop training regimens and specialized diets for athletes.
Business need:
The research organization lacked the means to properly aggregate and analyze the medical and diagnostic information generated by its research efforts.
Solution:
The research center chose to work with IBM Software Services and IBM Premier Business Partner Cedros GmbH to implement eAkte, a research management solution based on IBM software.
Benefits:
Cuts access times for outside agencies from up to a full day to seconds; Enables faster identification of patterns in data, leading to faster research breakthroughs; Eliminates transcription errors by pulling data directly from the source
Case Study
Overview
German Sport University Cologne
Cologne, Germany
www.dshs-koeln.de
IBM Products
• IBM DB2® 9 with pureXML™
• IBM Lotus® Forms
• IBM WebSphere® Application Server
• IBM WebSphere Portal Extend
• IBM Rational® Software Architect
• IBM Tivoli® Storage Manager
• IBM Tivoli Directory Server
• IBM System Storage™ DS4300
• IBM TotalStorage® 3583 Ultrium Scalable Tape Library
IBM Services
• IBM Software Services
• IBM Lotus Technical Support
IBM Business Partner
• Cedros GmbH
For more information, visit: www.ibm.com/db2
“Our new research portal allows us to control our data from end-to-end throughout the research process and to cooperate with outside researchers, improving the quality and value of our work.”
— German Sport University Cologne
Das Deutsche Forschungszentrum für Leistungssport (the German Research Center for Competitive Sports) is a research facility attached to the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln (the German Sport University Cologne)—the only sports medicine university in Germany. The organization conducts a variety of research programs to develop training regimens and specialized diets for athletes. It also offers consulting and education services for the university.
Challenge
The research organization lacked the means to properly aggregate and analyze the medical and diagnostic information generated by its research efforts. Staff pulled data from a number of sources (e.g., exercise equipment, athlete testing, research systems), manually entering this information into spreadsheets. This process wasted time, slowed researchers’ efforts and led to frequent transcription errors and data loss. Staff struggled to find patterns in research data and to determine the actual results of experiments. Moreover, the research center relied on fax transmissions to share its research data, making it difficult to collaborate with outside organizations and taking up to one full day gather the necessary materials. The research center began looking for an alternate research management platform.
Solution
The research center chose to work with IBM Software Services and IBM Premier Business Partner Cedros GmbH to implement eAkte, a research management solution based on IBM software. The solution provides an online research repository that enables the organization to effectively control research data from creation to analysis. The solution captures information from the source system and subsequently transmits it to an online repository, eliminating the need for transcription. The repository offers a number of complex query and analysis capabilities that enable users to more easily identify data patterns, and the data can be accessed by internal staff and external agencies.
The solution leverages IBM Lotus Forms software to create extensible markup language (XML)-based forms that contain the research data in a standardized structure. These forms are stored in an IBM DB2 9 data server, taking advantage of the pureXML feature of DB2. The Web portal used to access the repository was built with IBM WebSphere Portal Extend and IBM WebSphere Application Server software using IBM Rational Software Architect application development tools. For the WebSphere piece of the environment, IBM Software Services for WebSphere provided the center with training and technical enablement services.
Research data is backed up to an IBM TotalStorage 3583 Ultrium Scalable Tape Library using IBM Tivoli Storage Manager software—the university’s standard data backup platform. The data is then stored on an IBM System Storage DS4300 device. The center uses IBM Tivoli Access Manager for e-business software to safeguard Web access and IBM Tivoli Directory Server software for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) support.
The online research repository is being used to help prepare German Olympic athletes by optimizing training procedures while protecting them from long-term damage due to training strain. The solution cuts access times for outside organizations from up to one full day down to seconds. It enables the research organization to more quickly identify patterns in research data, leading to faster breakthroughs, and it reduces data errors by pulling information directly from systems and equipment. Moreover, the new solution increases the productivity of research staff.
Benefits
• Cuts access times for outside agencies from up to a full day to seconds
• Enables faster identification of patterns in data, leading to faster research breakthroughs
• Eliminates transcription errors by pulling data directly from the source
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Hardware:
Storage: 3583 Ultrium Scalable Tape Library, Storage: DS4300 (FAStT600)
Software:
DB2 pureXML Feature for Enterprise Server Edition, DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX and Windows, Lotus Forms, WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere Portal Extend, Rational Software Architect Standard Edition, Tivoli Storage Manager, Tivoli Directory Server
Service:
Software Services for Collaboration, Software Services for WebSphere
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2008 IBM Corporation Software Group Route 100 Somers, NY 10589 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America October 2008 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, DB2, Lotus, pureXML, Rational, System Storage, Tivoli, Total Storage and WebSphere are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. The information contained in this documentation is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, it is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this documentation or any other documentation. Nothing contained in this documentation is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM (or its suppliers or licensors), or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software.