Published on 07-Feb-2012
"With the IBM WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud solution, manually entering information into two systems has become a chore of the past. We’ve raised staff productivity as well as IT project accounting accuracy." - Chief information officer at a global network solutions company
Customer:
Global network solutions company
Industry:
Computer Services
Solution:
Cloud Computing
Overview
This company is a provider of high-performance networking infrastructure products.
Business need:
The organization needed to enter project data into two incompatible applications.
Solution:
IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron® Cloud integration provided a solution that enabled application-to-application integration between Oracle and CA Clarity technology to synchronize information between the two systems.
Benefits:
Working with IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron® Cloud integration the company delivered fast time to value, increased staff productivity and improves accuracy of IT project accounting.
Case Study
IBM WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud integration synchronizes data between Oracle and CA Clarity offerings
This company is a provider of high-performance networking infrastructure products that help service providers, enterprises and public sector organizations create value and accelerate business success within the global marketplace.
Challenge
Based in the United States, the company employs more than 9,000 people and has offices in more than 40 countries. The organization performs many IT projects for internal departments. Such projects often entail working with a mix of internal resources and outside consultants, integrators and vendors. Not only must the company track, monitor and manage the work these staffers and contractors perform, but also it must reconcile their bills against estimates and work performed. Further, the organization must charge back internal departments for the cost of delivering these projects.
The organization needed to enter project data into two systems: an Oracle financial application and CA Clarity for IT project and portfolio management technology. The systems were incompatible, further complicating accounting and chargeback. Additionally, accuracy and staff productivity suffered when employees had to key data manually into both systems.
Solution
The solution was application-to-application integration between Oracle and CA Clarity technology to synchronize information between the two systems. As its integration platform, the client chose IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron® Cloud integration, which provides preconfigured integration solutions for hundreds of leading enterprise and cloud applications. This cloud integration solution uses a “configuration, not coding” approach to address the entire lifecycle of application integration needs.
From start to finish, the client’s integration project took only 15 days to implement. The solution brings project-based information, such as resources used per project by month, into Oracle software and then generates appropriate account codes back to the CA Clarity offering with dollar amounts. The CA Clarity application then reconciles project accounting by paying individual vendors and contractors and by invoicing internal departments for chargebacks.
Benefits
· Delivers fast time to value thanks to the “configuration, not coding” approach with WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud integration
· Increases staff productivity and improves accuracy of IT project accounting by eliminating manual data entry
· Creates an experience the company can use to benefit future integration projects, such as migrating Oracle applications to SAP applications
For more information
To learn more about WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud technology, 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, WebSphere and Cast Iron 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.