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EXCELLENCE AWARDS
WebSphere Advisor Excellence Awards 2002
WebSphere Advisor Magazine recognizes stellar examples of IBM WebSphere software in action.
WebSphere Advisor Excellence Awards celebrate superior achievements with WebSphere software, including WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere Studio, WebSphere Commerce, WebSphere Portal, and more. We asked you, the WebSphere community, to tell us about projects where you're using IBM WebSphere software to improve business processes, promote e-commerce, improve customer service, expand business opportunities, or otherwise benefit the users and organizations with which you work.
Our judges evaluated the entries based on the following criteria:
- Appropriateness of the solution to the problem
- Innovative use of WebSphere software
- Quantifiable business benefit
- Development creativity and ingenuity
WebSphere Advisor Magazine congratulates the winners -- stellar examples of IBM WebSphere software in action.
Compuflex International
Physician's Access
Compuflex International's WebAccel framework helped Health Management Associates (HMA) give its physicians secure, remote access to patient information. HMA operates more than 40 hospitals in 12 states, and is the largest non-urban operator of hospitals for communities in the Southeast and Southwest United States. Each facility runs its own IBM iSeries system; HMA needed to give physicians secure access to patient information from any one of these remote databases via a centralized Web application interface. HMA also required an easy-to-use application because extensive user training wasn't feasible.
HMA asked Compuflex (http://www.compuflex.com) to create the Physician's Access application with the goal of making the hospital systems easily accessible to its physicians. Physician's Access is a comprehensive, Web-based application that lets HMA physicians view critical patient information online, from any of HMA's 40+ facilities. The application has a single Web services interface to any of the remote iSeries platforms, using a set of Web services deployed via WebSphere Application Server. Each Web service is automatically directed toward the target hospital, and the data is automatically retrieved in an XML format. The application uses Secure HTTP and its own authentication methodology to ensure that only authorized physicians can access patient information. The Web application portion of Physician's Access provides a complete set of approximately 30 screens, letting a physician select a particular hospital facility, and generate a list of current or prior patients. The application then provides patient details to the physician, including insurance information, medical treatment, lab test results, prior visit information, and drug and pharmacy information.
Using the IBM WebSphere Application Server and the WebAccel Framework, HMA and Compuflex were able to rapidly construct the application to meet its objectives. In less than six months, HMA gave its physicians secure access to patient data from any Internet-connected location.
WebSphere Advisor congratulates Compuflex International on its ability to use Web services and the WebSphere platform to give HMA physicians secure and convenient access to patient data.
Fair, Isaac and Company
Blaze Advisor
California's Franchise Tax Board (FTB) enforces and collects personal income, bank, and corporation taxes for the State of California. Each year, the department collects more than US$33 billion in tax revenue; this accounts for 62 percent of California's entire general fund. However, there are hundreds of thousands of non-filers that cost the state millions in annual revenue. Using a system built in 1975, the FTB couldn't effectively manage and analyze the more than 160 million pieces of relevant data from various sources, such as the IRS, real estate sales, and occupation licensing information.
The California Franchise Tax Board turned to IBM Global Services and Fair, Isaac (http://www.blazesoft.com) to implement Blaze Advisor* to meet its goals of improving accuracy of tracking non-filers, eliminating erroneous contacts, creating an adaptable system that is easy to maintain, providing a higher and more consistent level of service, taking advantage of pre-existing and incoming data to better streamline processes, and providing convenient self-service Web access for taxpayers to resolve filing issues.
Much of the taxpayer information resided in legacy systems that weren't designed for widespread sharing of data. IBM WebSphere Application Server provided flexible integration of data from not only the legacy system but also other computer systems being used by the State of California. WebSphere MQ messaging software also helped with sharing data between systems. Working with Fair, Isaac, the FTB developed a rules-based system that lets both technical and business staff define and consistently use a centralized set of values and tests when deciding whom to contact and how to resolve their cases.
Since the project's rollout, the FTB has distributed more than 900,000 noncompliance letters and identified more than 100,000 non-filers, resulting in an estimated $36 million annually in new tax revenue. The system has reduced erroneous contacts by more than half. New tax revenue to date from previous non-filers has eclipsed $116 million, surpassing original project estimates by 28 percent.
WebSphere Advisor congratulates Fair, Isaac, and Company for its use of WebSphere technology to improve legacy integration and provide better customer service.
* LEGAL NOTICE: ADVISOR® is a registered trademark of Advisor Media, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The potentially confusing name "Blaze Advisor" has no connection with Advisor Media and does not reduce its trademark rights.
IBM Global Services
MyPerficient.com
Perficient is a leading e-business solutions provider to Global 3000 and major mid-size companies. With offices spread across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and with business and technical consultants dispersed across the globe, Perficient must maintain an effective, efficient internal communications network. Perficient turned to IBM Global Services (http://www.ibm.com) and the IBM WebSphere Portal technology to create a collaborative employee portal solution.
MyPerficient.com gives employees convenient, secure, anytime access to everything they need to get their jobs done. Many-to-many communication used to solve technical and business issues is captured and stored on the portal, and this gathered information becomes the corporate knowledge database shared.
Employees can log on from anywhere in the world using a Web browser. The opening screen presents intuitively arranged tabs, windows, and links, each accessing a mission-critical information source or application. One of the key attractions of the WebSphere platform is the bundled collaboration tool drawn from other key IBM software solutions, including IBM Lotus QuickPlace and IBM Lotus Sametime. Perficient's employees can use QuickPlace to create collaborative online workplaces providing document and file exchanges, team discussions, and workflow capabilities.
Sametime lets employees engage in online chats, instant messaging, and virtual communities. Perficient estimates it has saved 30 percent on travel, document shipping, and conference calls. The substantial reduction in paper-based tasks has cut administrative overhead by 3 percent. Productivity, too, is on the rise: Employees are now spending an estimated one hour per week more on productive work, rather than on searching for information.
MyPerficient.com also gives Perficient customers improved access to its consultants. By using WebSphere Portal with Quickplace, Perficient consultants can build project-specific portal sites to help customers and consultants share information. The majority of Perficient's employees -- consultants who are located across the globe at any given time -- use the portal to present information and demos to customers without leaving their desks.
WebSphere Advisor congratulates IBM Global Services and Perficient on their ability to use WebSphere and Lotus technology together to extend collaboration and portal technology, increase employee productivity, and improve communication with customers.
IBM Global Services
Carepanion e-Commerce System
Because an estimated 52 million people in the United States are caring for family and friends living with chronic limitations who can't enjoy fully independent lives, Kaiser Permanente launched a new company, CareTouch, to give these caregivers the resources and support they need. Kaiser Permanente, the world's largest not-for-profit healthcare delivery organization, brought this idea to IBM Global Services (http://www.ibm.com), in hopes of reducing cost and time-to-market. Six months after CareTouch was established, it launched its call center and Web site, http://www.carepanion.com. CareTouch built its Web application in just 85 days with the help of IBM and the use of IBM WebSphere platform technologies, such as WebSphere Commerce and WebSphere Application Server.
Carepanion e-Commerce System provides one-stop shopping for caregivers and their patients. CareTouch connects them to home-based support services, affordably priced healthcare products and, for emotional support, to people meeting similar challenges. Carepanion gives patients and caregivers a forum to get advice and assistance in making important health decisions. It also offers concierge services to help caregivers put together all the essential support services they need, including grocery shopping, home cleaning, in-home nursing, and more. Carepanion also provides a brokerage function, which leverages the buying power of large numbers of consumers to help people get healthcare products at discount prices.
Carepanion and other CareTouch services are now available to the 8.5 million Kaiser customers. CareTouch anticipates it will be able to reuse at least 50 percent of the code developed for Carepanion to add new functionality to the Web application.
WebSphere Advisor congratulates IBM Global Services and CareTouch on their success quickly and efficiently meeting the needs of their customers and building community through the use of WebSphere technology.
Kanbay Inc.
Manheim Quic Auctions
Manheim Auctions is the largest wholesale auto auction company in the world. It maintains more than 90 auction locations worldwide and employs more than 30,000 employees. Manheim remarkets and reconditions used vehicles for its sellers, which include car dealers, manufacturers, rental car operators, fleet/lease companies, and financial institutions. Manheim processes hundreds, if not thousands, of cars that must be checked in, inspected, cleaned, reconditioned, assigned a sales position, and auctioned off at a rapid-fire pace of less than 30 seconds.
Manheim was looking for ways to increase revenue and expand its relationship with a leading automotive manufacturer. Manheim chose to build a customized online e-commerce system within two months that let auto manufacturers auction and sell automobiles to participating dealers.
Having worked together in the past, Manheim Auctions looked to Kanbay (http://www.kanbay.com) for a solution. Kanbay decided to develop the online e-commerce system using WebSphere Commerce, Pro Edition on an iSeries. Although some functionality (e.g., sequential auctions and parameterized searches) required custom coding, the WebSphere Commerce framework greatly reduced time-to-market.
As a result of the Quic Auctions project, auto manufacturers are selling inventory more efficiently, and the online auctions have reduced buyers' travel costs. Manheim predicts it will sell more than 200,000 cars in 2002, at a value in excess of US$50 million, through the Quic Auctions online system.
WebSphere Advisor congratulates Kanbay Incorporated for its ability to use WebSphere technology to expand e-commerce and its success in helping Manheim Auctions develop a new revenue stream.
Nurun Inc.
Rona.ca
After undergoing a strategic online business and operations analysis, Rona, a large Canadian home improvement retailer, found that its platform couldn't support its business objectives because it wasn't flexible, scalable, or robust enough. Rona turned to Nurun (http://www.nurun.com) to help it migrate to a more scalable, robust platform, and improve its e-commerce Web site. Rona.ca offers clients innovative and user-friendly online solutions to plan home improvement projects.
Nurun worked with a dedicated team of six Rona developers to create a clear, easy-to-navigate user interface for Rona.ca. The site was built on the IBM WebSphere platform and uses WebSphere Commerce Suite 5.1, allowing for a robust, scalable, and secure solution. WebSphere Commerce profiles customers, and Commerce Analyzer tracks buying patterns and creates correlation metrics for personalized selling. The solution also includes interactive tools, such as project calculators, a plant selector, and a virtual decorator. The entirely dynamic site has a high degree of flexibility -- Rona can easily replace or add sections, content, or product categories. Nurun developed a custom content management system that integrates with Rona's legacy inventory management system.
Since the site renovation, Rona.ca has seen 150,000 to 200,000 visitors, and an increased drive-to-store effect. There has been a reduction in Web operation costs, sales costs, and turnaround.
WebSphere Advisor congratulates Nurun on using WebSphere technology to help Rona.ca extend more services and offerings to its customers.
Stellent Inc.
Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Intranet Portal
Stellent (http://www.stellent.com) helped Guardian Life Insurance Company of America develop an intranet portal and content management system in less than three weeks. Guardian Life Insurance Company of America is the fourth largest mutual life insurance company in the United States. Guardian and its subsidiaries protect individuals, businesses, and their employees with life, disability, health, and dental insurance products, and offer 401(k), mutual fund and annuity investment products, and trust services.
Guardian's IT department had three weeks to show Guardian's executive team how a portal and content management solution would consolidate a variety of Web sites to improve efficiency and keep pace with the rapid organizational growth. The ultimate goal was to gain the resources and funding to consolidate and improve the company's intranet and Internet Web sites.
Guardian and Stellent constructed the pilot project to demonstrate a small, working version of the intended intranet portal using IBM WebSphere Portal and Stellent Content Management. WebSphere Portal provided the single point of access to key information and applications, while Stellent Content Management provided content management and publishing tools necessary for employees to interact and communicate effectively.
Guardian and Stellent were able to complete the WebSphere/Stellent pilot site in the allotted timeframe. Based on this success, Guardian executives granted approval to move forward with additional Web site consolidation and enhancements. IBM and Stellent are currently working on the Systems Life Cycle (SLC) Web site, an intranet that houses Guardian IT's development methodologies, project procedures, and other key processes.
Guardian will also use IBM WebSphere Portal and Stellent to power http://www.glic.com, Guardian's Web site that serves five to 10 million users and four to eight thousand field personnel. Guardian's goal is to provide immediate access to timely information about its services, and let field personnel submit proposals, process transactions, and receive alerts.
WebSphere Advisor congratulates Stellent on its use of WebSphere technology to help Guardian communicate with its customers and employees more efficiently.
 Ellie MacIsaac was an Advisor managing editor for several Microsoft-focused magazines and conferences from 2000 to 2006. Earlier, Ellie worked with independent authors and educators, assisting in the editing and publication of books and academic articles. She graduated magna cum laude from Seattle University with degrees in English and French.
Keyword Tags: Business Software, Business Strategy, Business Technology, Collaboration, Compuflex International, Content Management, CRM, E-Business, E-Commerce, E-Services, Fair Isaac and Company, IBM, IBM Software, IBM WebSphere, IBM WebSphere Application Server, IBM WebSphere Commerce, IBM WebSphere Portal, Infrastructure, Integration, IT Architecture, IT Strategy, J2EE, Java, Kanbay Incorportated, Nurun Incorporated, Stellent, Web Development, Web Services
ADVISORAMA It would be just like programmers to shorten 'the year 2000 problem' to 'Y2K' -- exactly the kind of thinking that created this situation in the first place. -- Steven C. Meyer
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ARTICLE INFO
Print Edition: November/December 2002, Page 10
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