Published on 18-Jan-2012
"Thanks to IBM WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud integration, we can more accurately manage sales opportunities by leveraging real-time data integration." - Online fundraising firm
Customer:
Leading cause-related e-commerce association
Industry:
Education
Overview
A leading cause-related e-commerce association connects consumers and marketers to nonprofit fundraising auctions allowing them to expand their bidder universe and access new sources of items.
Business need:
The organization need to integrate both on-premises and cloud applications to empower employees with the most accurate and timely information.
Solution:
IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron® Cloud integration provided a preconfigured integration solution for the fundraising organization. The solution connects Salesforce.com, Oracle and accounting solutions without the need for specialized middleware skills.
Benefits:
With the IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron® Cloud integration solution the organization improved sales efficiency, reduced busywork and enhanced financial reporting.
Case Study
IBM WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud integration connects Salesforce.com, Oracle and accounting solutions
Headquartered in the United States, this leading cause-related e-commerce association connects consumers and marketers to nonprofit fundraising auctions. The organization has operated thousands of online auctions and raised millions of dollars for schools and nonprofit groups by allowing them to expand their bidder universe and access new sources of items.
Challenge
Many organizations today operate in a hybrid IT environment composed of both on-premises and cloud applications. To give employees the most accurate and timely information for effective job performance, companies must integrate the applications and make them capable of exchanging data instantaneously so everyone is working from a single version of the truth.
This issue surfaced at an online fundraiser when sales staff using the Salesforce.com cloud-based CRM application needed access to financial data on auction bidders stored in an Oracle database, as well as financial data from the firm’s Sage Peachtree accounting software. Without such information, staff could not accurately manage sales opportunities. Similarly, Sage Peachtree application users needed details about sales opportunities stored in the Salesforce.com application. To empower its employees, the e-commerce enterprise required a solution to facilitate real-time data integration among the three applications, two based on premises and one in the cloud.
Solution
The fundraising organization chose IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron® Cloud integration as its integration platform. The technology provides preconfigured integration solutions for hundreds of leading enterprise and cloud applications, including Salesforce.com and Oracle solutions. By using a “configuration, not coding” approach, WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud integration enables Salesforce.com service customers to complete their integration projects quickly and easily, without the need for specialized middleware skills.
The company took advantage of these capabilities in its project. Integrating the Oracle auction database with the Salesforce.com solution and integrating the Salesforce.com service with the accounting software enabled timely distribution of business-critical information organizationwide. What’s more, the integration eliminated the need for manual data entry. Completing the entire integration project, without custom coding, took less than one week.
Benefits
• Improved sales efficiency by providing staff with accurate financial data on auction bidders from the Oracle database
• Reduced busywork by eliminating manual data entry across applications
• Enhanced financial reporting now that finance teams have up-to-the-minute sales information from the Salesforce.com service
For more information
To learn more about WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud integration, please contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit: ibm.com/castiron
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012 IBM Corporation Software Group Route 100 Somers, NY 10589 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America January 2012 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, Cast Iron and WebSphere are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at 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. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. All customer examples described are presented as illustrations of how those customers have used IBM products and the results they may have achieved. Actual environmental costs and performance characteristics may vary by customer.