cBEYONData

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the program manager for a federal agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with cBEYONData?

We needed help implementing a new data visualization and warehousing tool.

What was the scope of their involvement?

cBEYONData is developing and implementing a data warehouse using Information Builders WebFOCUS products.​

​​​​​​What is the team composition?

We work with about 10 people, including a project manager and team of software developers.

How did you come to work with cBEYONData?

They won the contract through an RFP process.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent over $1 million thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since April 2018 and the work is ongoing.

SOLUTION

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

cBEYONData is making substantial progress on building a platform previously unavailable to us. We're very happy with the quality of their work thus far and anticipate the tool will be very beneficial in our financial reporting processes in the near future.

How did cBEYONData perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very good at communicating and keeping us up to date on everything as the project progresses. They've also been flexible in using our own project management tool, and done a good job of documenting their work thus far.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a very good corporate management structure that allows them to be very hands on with clients they work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing specifically.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I just recommend working with them. They've done a great job of meeting our requirements and following our specifications thus far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a financial systems officer for a legislative branch agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with cBEYONData?

We needed help implementing 360Suite, a SAP BusinessesObjects solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team at cBEYONData is incorporating 360Suite on our Windows and SQL server databases. They provide training, including documentation on the configurations they've made and how to use the software. They also work with our staff to develop use cases for different functionalities and the utility software we plan to use.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager, as well as another person on their team who visits us onsite 1–2 times a week.

How did you come to work with cBEYONData?

We already had an established relationship with them, because some of their staff had worked with us previously and were already very familiar with our products and systems.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested between $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since September 2018, and we expect to wrap up the work in November–December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The upgrades cBEYONData is making to our system is going to significantly improve internal efficiencies. It will help us understand reporting better, so we can make changes as needed, which will improve the process flow for our system administrators.

How did cBEYONData perform from a project management standpoint?

I've been very happy and impressed with their project management thus far, even though we still have more to learn from the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their attention to detail and knowledge of the product is very strong. We're always learning something new from them and they provide a lot of valuable input.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing yet.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their input and take advantage of their knowledge base, because they have a lot of experience and expertise in software.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of information services for a medical device manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with cBEYONData?

We needed to implement a business object as our reporting technology through SAP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

cBEYONData assisted with the initiation installation and documentation of the system configuration of a business object within SAP. They took existing datasets and incorporated them into the tool, and provided end user training for our team.

What is the team composition?

We work with a project lead, tech lead, and someone who assists with training.

How did you come to work with cBEYONData?

They were a recommended vendor through SAP. After meeting with them, we felt very comfortable with their level of expertise and their approachability.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked together on a number of different projects dating back to 2009. We wrapped up the most recent project in August 2018, but the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We're able to leverage the tools cBEYONData implemented to our benefit. Their work has been very well received over the years, and we've been very happy with the functionality of the most recent upgrade.

How did cBEYONData perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication has been consistent over the years. They're very quick to respond to any questions and follow up on tasks and milestones without us needing to micromanage them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical skills are solid. It also helps that they're in a close relationship with SAP, so they can reach out directly to them when needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We continue to have a great relationship with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust in their expertise and be clear as possible when presenting expectations and requirements of the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an assistant director for the financial system for a group in the Department of Justice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with cBEYONData?

We needed analytics consulting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They do data analysis to ensure we’re paying our nearly 11,000 employees properly—totaling $100 million in payroll—from the correct funding source. Recently, we deployed a new financial system and the team guided through the entire payroll process. The team also helps manage our budget, generating and pulling data from various financial system to consolidate, analyze, and produce in a summarized level that’s easy for us to consume and manage. We then used that data to assist our user. The team uses Windows, BusinessObjects, Excel, and Access.

What is the team composition?

We have one full-time resource on site to do all the work. We see the project manager every two weeks.

How did you come to work with cBEYONData?

I worked with them at another agency. cBEYONData had also worked with our partner federal agencies. In addition, the team came highly recommended for their service.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $450,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

cBEYONData has been a tremendous help, using analytics also to track errors at the transactional level.

How did cBEYONData perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very thorough, regularly updating with good, or even bad, news.

What did you find most impressive about them?

cBEYONData never upsells a service because they care about the customer’s best interest and never upsells a service. They’re upfront about a given approach’s benefits and negatives.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Given the caliber of their work, I’m surprised they don’t have a bigger share of the market. Although they try to remain a smaller company, it’d be extremely beneficial if they expanded.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the assistant chief of a bureau within the Department of Justice (DOJ).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with cBEYONData?

The DOJ transitioned to a unified financial management system (UFMS) that allows the major bureaus to track economic data on one platform. Unfortunately, the new system wasn’t able to generate adequate financial and travel reports. Since our bureau is required to produce congressional and yearly reports, we needed to find a solution.

Our in-house IT department only has limited knowledge of financial data, so we sought out professionals with experience in both tech and finance to help us with the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

As the leaders of our customized reports and dashboards (CRAD) team, cBEYONData oversees the development and maintenance of our financial reporting technology. During phase one of the project, they built the in-house reporting solution, the data warehouse, and all of the universes and environments within the business intelligence enterprise. They also created dashboards that display the information found in the reports.

Since developing the platform, they’ve produced regular financial reports for us to review daily before sending the documents to DOJ, the Office of Management and Budget, or Congress.

They combined information stored in the UFMS with external data to comply with the DATA Act reporting requirements; sources include the federal procurement department, the regional processing center’s SharePoint database, and the government travel system. They created a spreadsheet to enter rules in for the Government-wide Travel Advisory Committee (GTAC) report. Their developers are also converting the platform’s Oracle server into an SQL server. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a part-time project manager and a full-time senior analyst. They also assigned two senior developers who specialize in Efforts to Outcome (ETO) software and financial reporting respectively. There are four additional developers and an expert in converting Oracle to SQL and SAP.

How did you come to work with cBEYONData?

They started working with the bureau before I joined the agency, but I was involved in their contract renewal. We decided to continue the partnership due to their knowledge of our industry and their expertise in Momentum and SAP products.

How much have you invested with them?

We previously paid $2 million each year for three full-time developers. We currently spend between $8 million--$10 million per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

cBEYONData has worked with us since September 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our bureau was audited countless times due to our inaccurate financial reports. As a result of the stabilized reporting system that they created, we are no longer considered a high-risk unit.

How did cBEYONData perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a weekly virtual meeting where we discuss the status of the project and new objectives. Between the weekly meetings, they provide daily updates via phone or Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

cBEYONData had a better understanding of our financial reporting system than our in-house IT department. Despite having worked on similar projects, they took the time to research the issue and reach out to professionals who have overcome the problems that we were experiencing.

cBEYONData has an unwavering loyalty to the project’s success. They haven’t reassigned any of original developers, so we’re able to take advantage of their vast knowledge of our bureau. The most recent additions to our team are equally competent. Their diverse backgrounds and experience with various government agencies have been instrumental in this project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re unable to identify any areas that need improvement because their team consistently delivers high-quality work for us. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We highly recommend them to other agencies due to their extensive history as a federal government contractor. Clients from any industry will find value in their open communication style.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was updated by the client on August 25, 2020. The original star ratings were: Overall – 5, Quality – 5, Schedule – 5, Cost – 4.5, NPS – 5.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with cBEYONData?

Previously, we contracted cBEYONData to create an individualized reporting system that’s unique to our agency. The team was also responsible for generating financial reports that meet our audit and financial reporting requirements.

For this new contract, they’re in charge of maintaining the system and reports that they’ve already created. They also generate new reports according to evolving requirements.

SOLUTION 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their scope of work has shifted for their newest contract. The system they created is no longer internally hosted but is being transferred to the larger department. This poses a new challenge for cBYONData because they’re now responsible for fully maintaining the system (whereas before, when our information technology division did that on their behalf).

They’re also integrating new data sources to make combined reporting, which facilitates the experience of end-users.

Finally, they’re working on incorporating robotic processing automation (RPA) into our agency. It was their idea and recommendation, and we’ve since presented a pilot to move forward.

What is the team composition?

We went from 3 to 7–8 teammates. While their team has enjoyed a couple of additions, their core members have stayed the same.

How did you come to work with cBEYONData?

They submitted a bid and were selected by our technical evaluation board. They’re a phenomenal group of people who had delivered an exceptional product before. They were rated very high for their capabilities and thus rewarded the second contract.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $2.1 million dollars so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The new scope of work began in April 2019. They’ve been signed on for 5 years with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve brought in four new financial datasets. They’ve been able to combine those datasets with our main financial system to produce reports and universes. They’ve developed 12 new reports from all the datasets in a year, and they’ve created 29 report modifications.

Our main dataset that they successfully combined merges our financial and procurement data. This was a very big accomplishment. Their work was instrumental in enabling The Marshal Service to be the frontrunner in DATA Act reporting.

How did cBEYONData perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always on time. They have great communication skills and are on point in all aspects of their work. We use SAP BusinessObjects on top of Oracle.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’d highlight their knowledge of the IT world combined with their financial expertise. You can easily find an IT expert, but their adroitness in both the IT and financial sectors is very rare. They bring a very valuable combination of skills to the table.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In my opinion, no. They’re ahead of our own game in terms of the technology they offer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s a constant group effort; you have to work as a team. We’ve been so successful because the government has been just as involved as they are.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

As the branch supervisor, I'm responsible for all the financial systems we use at the a Government Bureau. We have a TNA payroll system, a core financial system, a Unified Financial Management System (UFMS), and an E2 travel. We’ve had some business objects for 10-15 years, and recently started adding new features like dashboards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with cBEYONData?

UFMS is a good core system for our company, but it has subpar reporting capabilities and doesn’t allow us to work ad hoc. Many reports it generates are hard to access and less useful than they could be. We'd failed to upgrade our system internally or with support from a prior vendor. Before working with cBEYONData, we had to keep starting over from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team's initial consultation outlined the new services and technologies we should pursue. At their suggestion, we started using the GB & Smith 360 software which is a utility that helps with administrative activities. They built a new data file extract function that complies with the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act. From our new main accounting system, we can extract data, create a file, and send it to the department. It’s structured to match the exact format of another business system so the files feed in properly.

cBEYONData also redesigned our expansive report structure. We had a backlog of over a thousand existing reports, but many were needless duplicates. They deleted duplicates and created better folders and organizational tools to improve the overall structure. After it was complete, they transferred this new reporting system to the AWS government cloud hosting. They built a new financial reporting system for multiple departments in our company. The data mart they designed is more effective at reporting and warehousing. It runs reports much faster than the department’s database.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was their project lead, with whom we discussed status reports. An additional technical lead worked behind the scenes to prepare the servers and monitor the system.

How did you come to work with cBEYONData?

When we switched vendors four years ago, cBEYONData won the bid for our contract. Since I just took over as supervisor about a year ago, I wasn't involved in the selection process.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $1 million–$5 million on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together about four years ago and have an ongoing relationship. They feel like a part of our team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

cBEYONData’s system lets us access documents reliably and consistently. It cuts down the time our users spend waiting for reports. More or less, they comprehensively installed our entire IT upgrade. After our many failed attempts to do so, we counted this as a major success. Designing the compliance program required substantial technically challenging work. We’re really happy with the file extraction system they built. We plan to use cBEYONData's deliverables as a best practice for our in-house method.

The team’s restructuring work for our reporting system made it much easier to locate reports within our existing database. Deleting unnecessary files streamlined the whole process. It’s been helpful for our entire division as a whole, especially our accountants. Since they manage budgets, they need consistent access to accurate reports.

We want to implement their system throughout our department, which is quickly becoming the gold standard for the whole bureau. Even as of the first systems to transition to AWS Cloud hosting, it’s been efficient and cost-effective. We only have to pay for the time we actually use the servers. Other agencies we work with are now following our lead.

How did cBEYONData perform from a project management standpoint?

The team communicates well, so it’s easy to make sure everyone knows exactly what's on the agenda. Every week, the project lead gives us a briefing on the status of our projects, like our current upgrade or for new reports. He keeps us informed about issues like bugs and new government initiatives, and often meets with us in person. Two resources from their team work onsite in our offices.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered everything as promised. I'm impressed by them in general. No matter what problem I raise, I know cBEYONData will always find a viable solution. I go to them with a problem related to their area and I'm always provided with a logical solution laid out. They're transparent about costs, which I appreciate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Even though they’re not a large company, cBEYONData seems to be doing everything right. Delays are inevitable once in a while, but they're usually due to our internal technical problems. CBeyondData is always ready to go but often has to wait for our materials.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them clear, detailed specifications about what you want and your desired timeframe. Try to do that upfront as clear as you can. That advice is applicable to any comparable vendor.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for a federal law enforcement agency.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the acting chief of the financial systems support team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with cBEYONData?

We have a new unified financial management system. The reports that came with the system were not functioning properly and didn’t give us what we needed to ensure proper financial management. We reached out to have new projects so we could use Business Objects and have custom reports built to meet our needs quickly.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

There were two phases. One was to hit to database tables directly, and the secondary phase was to do an ETL [extract, transform, and load] so we replicated the data to a different site, and then we hit the reports from that. Both phases are completed.

cBEYONData went through our IT office to meet the security requirements to start work on the project. Once they hit the tables, they gathered all the requirements for the reports. They built the reports and worked with the users to test them and make sure they were accurate. Then they implemented them into production and trained the end users.

What was your process for selecting cBEYONData to work with?

I joined the team in April of 2013, and they had been on the project long before that. Their initial project was under a different federal contract. We were able to use them as a subcontractor. We recently issued an award directly to them that recently started, so they could continue to provide services to us. That went through the normal procurement process, where they put out a solicitation.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

I don’t have that information. It was a full-time effort for four staff members, for several months. The overall agency that we are housed in owns our financial system. Not only do they have to meet all of our IT requirements, they have to go through all of their IT requirements as well. There are many levels of approval that delayed our project, which we weren’t expecting.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

We have access all the tables we need, and we're adding new tables. We're building new reports and looking at dashboards. We're strengthening what we're already have.

BACKGROUND

What is your role and responsibilities within the US Navy?

I am an IT Specialist, project manager, and business analyst for JAG [Judge Advocate General] Department of the Navy. I deal with the business intelligence, specifically the BusinessObjects project that is ongoing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with cBEYONData Consulting?

At the time, we had three types of business lines, but they intermingled and the data was needed. cBEYONData helped lay out the security. In a legal environment, you can’t have one side knowing what the other side is doing.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

cBEYONData helped establish the security environment that is used. In addition, they were very good in creating reports that weren’t static. They were very dynamic. Some of our users use them frequently to monitor and manage their caseload. They did that very well.

cBEYONData also helped provide customer support if they had any questions on the use of BusinessObjects. We had some training that cBEYONData did not provide. Until they actually had a real hands-on look at their own universe and what elements were available to them, they didn’t put two and two together. The personnel from cBEYONData were very supportive in that endeavor.

We used SAP's BOE 3.1 platform, and they are in the process of helping us migrate to 4.1, which is the business intelligence SAP product.

What was your process for selecting cBEYONData Consulting to work with?

We found cBEYONData through an open-bid process. I believe they were a sub to another contractor.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

There have been about three initiatives that range from $100,000 to $150,000 each. They get the projects done in a matter of months.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

The last project was the finalization of torts, which was completed in 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

The biggest improvement was the workload imposed on the current IT staff at JAG. We literally had to run reports for different groups every week and every month. Now, they can run the reports themselves. It freed up either people's time, or as our staff has continued to dwindle, it's not impacting the customers' service because they’re able to service themselves. However, I don’t have any hard figures for that.

Do you think the SAP product line is the right one for your organization?

I would say yes because we are expanding our area of coverage that BusinessObjects is going to use. The Torts Group liked the reporting capabilities that cBEYONData provided so much that they talked about it and showed other divisions within their cognitive group. Now, all of them want their reporting to be generated through BusinessObjects. I enjoy working with everybody at cBEYONData, but because we have regulations in place, I have to put everything out in open bid.

How did cBEYONData Consulting perform during these projects?

cBEYONData was very efficient and professional.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

The thing that I really like about cBEYONData it seems that all their personnel that they provide to support the contract either have a wide knowledge base of the SAP products, or they have ready access to someone who can push the process through. I don’t know if you’ve ever dealt with SAP directly, but it takes a long time to get answers from customer service. I could be waiting for two or three days. If cBEYONData handled it, and it was within their purview, they normally would answer within a matter of hours, or they may already know the answer.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

No. They’re very professional, and I enjoy working with them. We make sure all the project goals are met before it's closed up.

BACKGROUND

Can you provide a brief description of your company?

Our business falls into the energy sector. We are strictly in the upstream side, meaning exploration and production. We have a global operation for gas and oil production.

What’s your role and responsibilities?

I am the supervisor of the administrative group, I have about 10 individuals who report to me. I work directly on information delivery, specifically as it relates to business objects and that space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

We needed expertise that we didn't have in-house. We needed help to design the environment that we're going to use and then pass knowledge off to our full-time administrators. That allowed us to support they system in-house.

SOLUTION

What technologies were used?

cBEYONData has provided us SAP expertise, specifically Business Objects. We've had one of their contractors with us for almost two years who helped us with the XIR 2 to BOBJ 3.1 migration project. We just finished with our Business Objects 4.0 project with his assistance.

Can you describe the scope of the project?

After major migrations, we like to examine our processes. We go through a real introspective look about how we do things.

When we take a look at the Webi report or a Crystal report, we consider industry best practices. Once we go through this introspective look, we write up our best practice sheet and have an entire checklist.

These are the things that we want to examine as we're getting ready to move them. We do a universe assessment. Then with that assessment, we do a number of test migrations to make sure that everything that we hope to capture in an assessment document is actually there. cBEYONData has helped us with writing the documents that we used in the 3.1 to 4.0 migration.

What was your process for selecting cBEYONData to work with?

We have a grouping of about 10 to 15 agencies that provide us with contractors. cBEYONData has done a good job for us in the past, so we continue to look to them to provide expertise.

Can you provide a sense of the size of that initiative in dollar terms?

The latest project was a greater than $1 million. We're getting ready to do a major migration move project, which is going to be between $5 and $6 million.

When was the latest project completed?

September 23rd, 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any stats or metrics to track improvement?

We went through a lessons learned phase to help us improve our process the next time we go through this. The project was successful and we learned a lot for the next migrations.

What are the advantages of SAP for your company?

 We have a lot of different tools. SAP is just one of them. When it comes to reporting, we are also a SpotFire Shop. We are also taking a very close look at Microsoft BI. SAP Business Objects isn’t the only platform for us. It depends on what the specific project is and what makes sense for that particular business unit.

It provides us with a stable platform that we can report off of, other platforms also offer this though. Whenever it comes to licensing, it's tough to get a definitive answer. When it comes to their entire product portfolio, is it very focused. They have over 120 different products in their software portfolio and a lot of them overlap. It does the job for us.

How did cBEYONData perform?

I've never had a complaint with cBEYONData. They've always provided good solid employees. The quality of their knowledge has been top notch. The gentleman who we brought in as our architect for this particular project already had 10 3.1 to 4.0 migrations under his belt. This wasn’t his first rodeo. He knew how to work the product so the strength of knowledge was definitely there.

What's unique or special about cBEYONData compared to other vendors or IT firms that you have worked with?

We work with a lot of good firms. I would count them among some of the good firms. cBEYONData does all of the work that they bid on and performs well. They are better than most firms that come to us.

Is there anything you think cBEYONData could improve upon or maybe you would do differently?

I know the biggest issue that we have when we're looking for talent is trying to find somebody when we need them and that has been a challenge. This is the case with all talented vendors. There is a limited pool of talent and to have somebody who is available when you need them is sometimes a difficult proposition.

BACKGROUND

Can you provide a description of your company?

We are a medical device manufacturer located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We manufacture rapid HIV tests. We also manufacture rapid hepatitis-C tests. We do drug abuse testing. We also have some cryosurgery products.

We have domestic and international sales. As a company, we’re primarily domestic. We have a DNA collection device company in Kansas as well.

What is your role and responsibilities?

My role is manager of SAP Systems. I’m responsible for the management of our SAP environment, which controls our inventory, accounting, sales and distributions. The system all houses our reporting environment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your company’s goals for the project?

We used cBEYONData to upgrade our SAP BusinessObjects reporting environment. We use BusinessObjects for all of our customer reporting and user reporting, they can actually create their own reports. We’re on a prior version of the system and we use cBEYONData to upgrade to the current version.

SOLUTION

What does the SAP platform offer your company?

Business Objects with SAP adds some natural integration to the SAP environment. Pulling data out becomes easy to do. It also allows us the capability of pulling multiple data sources. We have our SAP data, which is incredibly important but we also have other data that we either receive from our partners or some data that we purchase. We have many pieces of information that we’re pulling into one data collection. We’re able to use the BusinessObjects toolset to report off of that combined collection.

We have sales data from our SAP system. We’ll get tracing data. Some of our products we sell to a distributor. A distributor will go and sell it to an end customer. We’re able to get that level of the transaction back from our distributor who it went to. It allows us to monitor all aspects of our supply chain and do some analytics based off of that information. The overall toolset allows us to consolidate our data. From a front-end side, we’re giving tools to our end users so they can monitor this data themselves. There are also tools for us on the IT side to create some elaborate reports on how we’re doing as a company.

What was your process for selecting cBEYONData to work with?

cBEYONData is a company that we used in the past. We knew one of their principles from a prior company. In that process, that person did an excellent job for us. cBEYONData was formed later and has some great contacts within the SAP organization. They’re very knowledgeable of the product. They have had direct ties into the development team of the product. Their relationships and their knowledge has really come in handy.

Can you describe the scope of the project?

cBEYONData's role was the full technical upgrade of the environment but from a planning perspective and execution to develop the steps necessary to complete the upgrade. They had to go through the steps, document the changes to the environment and document all the installation steps as well.

Can you give us a sense of the size of that initiative?

I would say it’s roughly 250 to 300 man hours.

When was that project completed?

We’re in the final phases. The system was completed about a week ago. We’re still doing the go live piece now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What stats or metrics will you keep to track improvement?

This project is more of a technical requirement. It’s not really a point A to point B, but we do get some benefits with the prior set up. We did not have the system mobile deployed fully but it will be usable on iPads after this project. We won’t necessarily measure a ROI but there are definite enhancements to the system that we did not have before.

How has cBEYONData Consulting performed?

They’ve been performing very well. I’m very happy with their efforts.

What is unique or special about them compared to some other vendors you’ve worked with?

They have been a great partner for us. I rely on their expertise and their knowledge. I know when they give me an answer, it’s something I can really trust. I trust the responses and the work they’re doing.

Is there any area that you think they can improve upon or maybe you would do differently?

I don’t think there are any specific areas I would change in how I’ve dealt with them or the work that they’ve done.