Computerworld: IBM ups its BI ante with third-generation strategy

Heather Havenstein

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9012967&intsrc=news_ts_head

March 13, 2007 -- IBM today announced a new business intelligence strategy that makes the analysis of data stored in its data warehouse part of a business process.

Along with the new strategy, dubbed dynamic warehousing, the company brought out a new version of its DB2 Warehouse, a new data analysis tool and new data warehouse appliances aimed at small and midsize businesses.

IBM officials described the new strategy as the "third generation" of data warehousing -- query and reporting represented the first phase, and online analytical processing the second.  The tools built during first two generations of data warehousing focused mainly on analyzing historical company data, while dynamic warehousing aims to bring that analysis into the business process in real time, said Marc Andrews, IBM's director of data warehousing.

Core to IBM's dynamic warehousing effort is a new version of the DB2 Warehouse based on the DB2 9 database, code-named Viper, which came out last June. The new OmniFind Analytic Edition tool can be used to mine and analyze data in the DB2 Warehouse, Andrews said. The new OmniFind tool can tool can analyze unstructured data in the warehouse, such as call center and field technician notes, which has historically been a very difficult task for analysis tools, according to Andrews.

"Data warehouses provide a store for information, and organizations have focused on making that store faster, more reliable and easier to use," Andrews said. "They haven't provided the actual analytics to generate new business insight directly from within the warehouse. This third generation is really about leveraging information on demand to optimize every transaction to make real-time business decisions."

The updated DB2 Warehouse can also be used with IBM's Information Server to add data quality and transformation, and with its Rational Data Architect to embed data modeling, the company said.

IBM also introduced two new configurations of its Balanced Configuration Unit data warehousing appliance, which includes prebundled hardware, software and storage. One new configuration is aimed at midsize businesses, while the other is aimed at small businesses. Earlier ones were configured for large customers.

For small businesses, the new C-Class configuration includes Business Objects SA's Crystal Reports reporting tool, IBM said.

The new appliances are aimed at easing configuration problems, which IBM contends are at the root of 80% of enterprise problems related to data warehouses.

All of the new products will be available by the end of the month. Also appeared in:

InfoWorld: IBM ups its BI ante with third-generation strategy

Computerworld (Maylasia): IBM ups its BI ante with third-generation strategyComputerworld (Australia): IBM ups its BI ante with third-generation strategyWeberweld (Netherlands): IBM ups its BI ante with third-generation strategy

InformationWeek: IBM Overhauls Data Warehouse Strategy

The comprehensive 'Dynamic Warehousing' strategy was unveiled at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit in Chicago.

By Antone Gonsalves,  InformationWeek

March 13, 2007

URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198000563

IBM on Tuesday unleashed a tsunami of data warehousing software, appliances and services, countering the competitive pressure it has felt in the enterprise market, while also covering small and midsize businesses.

IBM introduced its comprehensive Dynamic Warehousing strategy at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit in Chicago. The initiative is built around the company's DB2 Warehouse 9.1.2, which is based on the DB2 9 database management system, and incorporates the company's Information Server for data integration. In addition, the software integrates the Rational Data Architect for data modeling and mapping, and includes DB2 Alphablox for embedded analytics.

Prevviously only available for the enterprise, IBM has introduced three scaled-down versions of DB2 Warehouse for SMBs and departments in large organizations, and also launched two new warehouse appliances that offer a combined software and hardware package for the same market segments. In addition, IBM enhanced its enterprise offerings.

"IBM with these announcements becomes the premiere data warehousing appliance vendor, in terms of the range of targeted solutions they provide," James Kobielus, data management analyst for Current Analysis, said. "IBM has significantly improved the packaging, pricing, scalability, professional services and channel partner programs for its data warehousing and master data management solutions."

In terms of new technology, IBM introduced the OmniFind Analytics Edition, which attacks the problem of extracting business intelligence from unstructured data. The new software, an optional add-on module for the DB2 Warehouse, consolidates and analyzes data from unstructured and structured sources, regardless of the format.

The new versions of DB2 Warehouse are scheduled to be available by the end of the month, along with all the other warehousing products from IBM. The three new editions are Advanced, Intermediate and Starter, and have storage capacities limited to 2 terabytes, 1 terabyte and 400 GB, respectively. Pricing starts at $48,000 for the Advanced Edition, $24,000 for the Intermediate, and $10,000 for the Starter, according to figures supplied by Current Analysis. The two existing Enterprise and

Enterprise Base editions have been enhanced, and pricing starts at $105,000 and $60,000, respectively.

On the appliance side, IBM renamed its data warehouse appliance, formerly called Balanced Configuration Units, to Balanced Warehouse. To complement the existing enterprise version, now called E Class, IBM introduced two new offerings. The D Class has a capacity from 1 terabyte to 5 terabytes, and can be configured with the DB2 Warehouse Enterprise, Enterprise Base or Advanced Editions. Pricing starts at $275,000. The C Class scales to 1 terabyte, supports 200 users, and can be preconfigured with DB2 Warehouse Intermediate and Starter editions, and with the Crystal Reports Server from Business Objects. Pricing starts at $15,000.

In releasing new pricing and enhancements for the E Class appliance, IBM had its sights on rivals, Kobielus said. "The E Class is built to be comparable in pricing and performance to Netezza and DataLlegro." The E Class has a capacity of 4 terabytes and up, with pricing starting at $500,000.

To help customers deal with the complexity of designing and implementing a data warehouse, IBM launched new services from its Global Business Services division. The services include implementation of an IBM data warehouse, and helping to integrate the technology with business intelligence and other systems to gain access to all enterprise data.

Also appeared in:iT News (Australia): IBM Overhauls Data Warehouse Strategy

internetnews.com: IBM's Data-Warehouse Dust OffBy Clint BoultonMarch 13, 2007http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3664991

The concept of the data warehouse has been a simple one -- create data and then sock some of it away in a software vault. IBM (Quote) is offering a new approach to this business intelligence (BI) process, introducing its Dynamic Warehousing strategy for using advanced analytics to support business transactions.

Unveiled today at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit in Chicago, Dynamic Warehousing seeks to yank knowledge that may directly impact customers or transactions from text, e-mail, audio files and Web pages.

The strategy is designed to support BI applications from IBM partners and BI market leaders Business Objects (Quote), Cognos (Quote) and MicroStrategy (Quote). Dynamic Warehouse also competes with infrastructure offerings from Informatica (Quote) and Oracle (Quote).

Bernie Spang, director of IBM Data Servers, said the point of Dynamic Warehousing is to provide customers with the "right insight at the right time for managers at the point of transaction with customers."

Spang said that while the first data warehousing technologies focused on query and reporting and the second wave used online analytical processing (OLAP)  and data mining for historical analysis to dictate business planning, Dynamic Warehousing analyzes information on demand to help customers improve business transaction.

For example, Spang said Dynamic Warehousing is a key cog in the New York Police Department's crime information warehouse, which uses IBM software to identify possible suspects before detectives get to the crime scene.

Dynamic Warehousing, one of the fruits of IBM's information-on-demand strategy, also helps insurance companies identify potentially fraudulent claims prior to approval and payment.

IBM is introducing a raft of new and upgraded software products under the Dynamic Warehousing umbrella.

Spang said IBM's DB2 9 database serves as the rock for the initiative because it employs features such as deep compression to boost performance for analytics and BI.

New flavors of DB2 Warehouse, including a starter, intermediate and advanced edition, use technology from IMB's Ascential buy to provide data movement and transformation capabilities, as well as advanced data partitioning and workload management, to ensure that applications are adequately serviced.

For customers who need to get a data warehouse up in a hurry, Spang said IBM is also rolling out the IBM Balanced Warehouse, which enables developers to create a warehouse with pre-configured software, hardware and storage.

IBM is also offering new data models to help organizations get started with dynamic warehousing. These include a new Health Plan data model for claims, medical management and provider and network care, as well as an enhanced Insurance data model, which focuses more on compliance and risk management.

Computer Business Review: IBM gears data management tools for dynamic warehousing

14th March 2007By Madan Sheinahttp://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=0F0CBB5D-3B3F-4D4F-84CC-02822356EA8E

IBM Corp has unveiled its new 'dynamic data warehousing' strategy by rolling out new and integrated versions of its On Demand data management offerings and new vertical data models backed by services from its consulting division.

In IBM parlance "dynamic warehousing" refers to an overarching product strategy to deliver end-to-end, and real-time data warehousing and BI capabilities that incorporate a set of integrated technologies sourced from its DB2 data management products melded with other IBM information management products in its portfolio such as search, content management, text analytics, data modeling, and master data management.

The strategy also attempts to pull together structured and unstructured data analysis in a data warehouse environment, driven by the launch of IBM's Information On Demand initiative a couple of years ago which attempts to help companies transform their information into strategic business assets.

A central part of dynamic warehousing rests on the new Viper release of DB2 that enables companies to store unstructured data (in XML format) alongside structured

relational data. IBM has introduced several enhancements to the mainframe version of Viper for z/OS including SQL enhancements for real-time query and reporting and new graphical analytics and reporting tools for use on System z.

Viper is also included as part of a revamped DB2 Warehouse suite which IBM is now offered in Starter, Intermediate and Advanced Editions. Previously IBM only offered Base and Enterprise Editions.

IBM has also unveiled a new series of Balanced Warehouse appliance products that are an upgrade of its Balanced Configuration Unit that comes as a pre-configured hardware, software and storage appliance system.

The Balanced Warehouses are offered in three separate Editions that scale up from departmental data mart applications up to enterprise-class data warehousing. These editions are branded as "C", "D", and "E" classes respectively.

The primary focus of the enter-level C-class appliance is on the small to medium sized business firms dipping their toes into data warehousing and BI. It also delivers pre-integration with DB2 Warehouse Starter Edition, Novel SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Business Objects SA's Crystal Reports business reporting server and is targeted at SMBs bundled offering is slated for general release at the end of March.

Business Objects also plans to integrate its recently announced Business Objects Crystal Decisions mid-market reporting software into IBM's C3000 appliance as well.

The new DB2 Warehouse Starter and Intermediate Editions also ship with the C-class appliance.

IBM said that over 30 channel partners have already signed up to make its simplified mid-market products offerings available to SMBs.

The D-class appliance is positioned as a "growth solution" that is intended to help companies ramp up their data warehouse deployments without the complexity and cost of a traditional enterprise data warehousing project.

To pull in unstructured data IBM has also combined search, text analytics and visualization capabilities into its latest OmniFind Analytics Edition for Customer Care software that mines customer data for patterns and trends.

IBM has also developed a new heath-plan and insurance analytic data models to give dynamic warehousing customers in these sectors a jump start on their data warehousing and BI deployments. The health-plan model is for claims, medical management and provider and network care. The insurance model focuses on compliance and risk management. Both are supported by new planning and design services from IBM's Global Business and Technology Services divisions.

Datamonitor: IBM gears data management tools for dynamic warehousing 585 words14 March 200705:27Datamonitor News and CommentEnglish(c) 2007 Datamonitor plc. All rights reserved

IBM Corp has unveiled its new 'dynamic data warehousing' strategy by rolling out new and integrated versions of its On Demand data management offerings and new vertical data models backed by services from its consulting division.

In IBM parlance "dynamic warehousing" refers to an overarching product strategy to deliver end-to-end, and real-time data warehousing and BI capabilities that incorporate a set of integrated technologies sourced from its DB2 data management products melded with other IBM information management products in its portfolio such as search, content management, text analytics, data modeling, and master data management.

The strategy also attempts to pull together structured and unstructured data analysis in a data warehouse environment, driven by the launch of IBM's Information On Demand initiative a couple of years ago which attempts to help companies transform their information into strategic business assets.

A central part of dynamic warehousing rests on the new Viper release of DB2 that enables companies to store unstructured data (in XML format) alongside structured relational data. IBM has introduced several enhancements to the mainframe version of Viper for z/OS including SQL enhancements for real-time query and reporting and new graphical analytics and reporting tools for use on System z.

Viper is also included as part of a revamped DB2 Warehouse suite which IBM is now offered in Starter, Intermediate and Advanced Editions. Previously IBM only offered Base and Enterprise Editions.

IBM has also unveiled a new series of Balanced Warehouse appliance products that are an upgrade of its Balanced Configuration Unit that comes as a pre-configured hardware, software and storage appliance system.

The Balanced Warehouses are offered in three separate Editions that scale up from departmental data mart applications up to enterprise-class data warehousing. These editions are branded as "C", "D", and "E" classes respectively.

The primary focus of the enter-level C-class appliance is on the small to medium sized business firms dipping their toes into data warehousing and BI. It also delivers pre-integration with DB2 Warehouse Starter Edition, Novel SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Business Objects SA's Crystal Reports business reporting server and is targeted at SMBs bundled offering is slated for general release at the end of March.

Business Objects also plans to integrate its recently announced Business Objects Crystal Decisions mid-market reporting software into IBM's C3000 appliance as well.

The new DB2 Warehouse Starter and Intermediate Editions also ship with the C-class appliance.

IBM said that over 30 channel partners have already signed up to make its simplified mid-market products offerings available to SMBs.

The D-class appliance is positioned as a "growth solution" that is intended to help companies ramp up their data warehouse deployments without the complexity and cost of a traditional enterprise data warehousing project.

To pull in unstructured data IBM has also combined search, text analytics and visualization capabilities into its latest OmniFind Analytics Edition for Customer Care software that mines customer data for patterns and trends.

IBM has also developed a new heath-plan and insurance analytic data models to give dynamic warehousing customers in these sectors a jump start on their data warehousing and BI deployments. The health-plan model is for claims, medical management and provider and network care. The insurance model focuses on compliance and risk management. Both are supported by new planning and design services from IBM's Global Business and Technology Services divisions.

Computerworld (UK): IBM rolls out ‘third-generation’ business intelligence productsBig Blue promises SMEs they can bring unstructured data into business processesttp://www.computerworlduk.com/technology/business-intelligence/data-management/news/index.cfm?newsid=2215

March 14, 2007

By Heather Havenstein, Computerworld

IBM has unveiled a new business intelligence strategy that makes the analysis of data stored in its data warehouse part of a business process.

http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v8/3515/7/3f/%2a/a%3B84148471%3B0-0%3B0%3B16081825%3B4307-300/250%3B19811160/19829054/1%3B%3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp%3A//adserver.adtech.de/adlink%7C340%7C1246207%7C0%7C171%7CAdId%3D1316612%3BBnId%3D5%3Bitime%3D876140051%3Blink%3Dhttp://www3.intel.com/cd/business/enterprise/emea/eng/310044.htm?ppc_cid=uk_13_ http://adserver.adtech.de/adlink %7C340%7C1246207%7C0%7C171%7CAdId=1316612;BnId=5;itime=876140051;nodecode=yes;link=http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/jump/N4381.idg.uk/B2155668.4;sz=300x250;ord=876140051?_Along with the new strategy, dubbed dynamic warehousing, the company is now offering a new version of its DB2 Warehouse, a new data analysis tool and new data warehouse appliances aimed at small and midsized businesses.

IBM officials described the new strategy as the "third generation" of data warehousing, with query and reporting represented the first phase, and online analytical processing the second.

The tools built during first two generations of data warehousing focused mainly on analysing historical company data, while dynamic warehousing aims to bring that analysis into the business process in real time, said Marc Andrews, IBM's director of data warehousing.

Central to IBM's dynamic warehousing effort is a new version of the DB2 Warehouse based on the DB2 9 database, code-named Viper, which came out last June. The new OmniFind Analytic Edition tool can be used to mine and analyse data in the DB2 Warehouse, Andrews said.

The new OmniFind tool can tool can analyse unstructured data in the warehouse, such as call centre and field technician notes, which has historically been a very difficult task for analysis tools, according to Andrews.

"Data warehouses provide a store for information, and organisations have focused on making that store faster, more reliable and easier to use," Andrews said. "They haven't provided the actual analytics to generate new business insight directly from within the warehouse. This third generation is really about leveraging information on demand to optimise every transaction to make real-time business decisions."

The updated DB2 Warehouse can also be used with IBM's Information Server to add data quality and transformation, and with its Rational Data Architect to embed data modelling, the company said.

IBM also introduced two new configurations of its Balanced Configuration Unit data warehousing appliance, which includes pre-bundled hardware, software and storage. One new configuration is aimed at midsize businesses, while the other is aimed at small businesses. Earlier ones were configured for large customers.

For small businesses, the new C-Class configuration includes Business Objects' Crystal Reports reporting tool, IBM said.

The new appliances are aimed at easing configuration problems, which IBM contends are at the root of 80 percent of enterprise problems related to data warehouses.

All of the new products will be available by the end of the month.

   www.computerworlduk.com   Date Printed : 14/3/2007

EContent: IBM Launches Next Generation of Business Intelligence with Dynamic WarehousingMarch 13, 2007http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=35663

IBM is providing a set of integrated offerings for Dynamic Warehousing that use a combination of technologies from internal R&D and strategic Information on Demand acquisitions, including search and text analytics, information integration, process management, enterprise data modeling, master data management and industry-specific business models.

The foundation of IBM's dynamic warehousing initiative is a new, enhanced version of the DB2 Warehouse—based on the DB2 9 "Viper" data server—which includes a unique set of features and capabilities that support growing customer demand for analytics and Information on Demand. DB2 Warehouse provides data movement and transformation capabilities. It also offers performance optimization capabilities that enable the warehouse to address broad enterprise warehousing requirements, such as advanced data partitioning and workload management to ensure that the most critical applications are serviced accordingly. Additionally, DB2 Warehouse takes advantage of Viper's compression technology to increase performance and efficiency, while reducing storage costs.

A new and enhanced set of DB2 Warehouse offerings are being introduced to address the growing demand for real-time information insight in all organizations. The new IBM warehousing lineup includes Starter, Intermediate and Advanced Editions of DB2 Warehouse, in addition to the existing Base and Enterprise Editions.

IBM is also introducing the IBM Balanced Warehouse, the next evolution of the Balanced Configuration Unit (BCU), to provide complete warehousing solutions with pre-configured software, hardware and storage, enabling faster implementation times with lower risk. IBM is now providing three classes of IBM Balanced Warehouse offerings, making it the first vendor to provide solutions optimized to meet the entire spectrum of warehousing requirements--from large enterprises to small- and medium-sized businesses to departmental data marts. These include the C-Class for application solutions, the D-Class for growth solutions, and the E-Class for enterprise solutions. The C-Class provides out-of-the-box solutions bundled with popular third-party reporting tools, such as the new IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000, which includes affordable hardware and storage that has been pre-configured with DB2 Warehouse Starter Edition and Business Objects Crystal Reports for simplified creation and delivery of business reports.

The DB2 Warehouse Starter and Intermediate Editions, along with the C-Class Balanced Warehouses, are targeted at the SMB market and will be made available through IBM business partners. More than 30 business partners have already signed up to make these simplified channel offerings available to smaller to mid-size organizations seeking to take advantage of affordable warehousing solutions. Also newly available is the IBM Balanced Warehouse D-Class, providing an integrated growth solution designed to reduce the complexity, cost and risk of creating, implementing and maintaining large departmental data marts and mid-size data warehouses on Linux.

IBM has combined a set of search, text analytics and visualization capabilities into the new OmniFind Analytics Edition for Customer Care. OmniFind Analytics Edition helps extract and mine customer information from various systems and applications to help find valuable patterns that indicate trends and issues such as the top reasons customers call to complain, or common questions about contracts or service agreements. By dynamically consolidating and analyzing customer feedback and data from unstructured and structured customer care information, valuable insight can be delivered from all information, regardless of its source or format. OmniFind Analytics Edition is based on more than a decade of experience in text analytics from IBM Research and client engagements by IBM Global Business Services.

IBM also introduced several enhancements for the recently-announced DB2 9 Viper for z/OS. The new capabilities include SQL enhancements for real-time query and reporting and new graphical analytics and reporting tools for use on System z. In addition, IBM is offering a new set of services and new and enhanced industry data models to help organizations get started with dynamic warehousing more quickly and leverage best practices. This includes a new Health Plan data model for claims, medical management and provider and network care; an enhanced Insurance data model with added focus on compliance and risk management; strategic planning and design from IBM Global Business Services; and implementation assistance from IBM Global Technology Services.

M2 Presswire: Dynamic Warehousing sifts data in real time 291 words14 March 2007M2 PresswireEnglish(c) 2007 M2 Communications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

New integrated offerings for Dynamic Warehousing from IBM unlock data buried in both structured and unstructured information (free form text, e-mail, audio files, Web pages, etc.) and use it as part of a real-time process.

"Customers of all sizes in all industries are looking for new ways to maximize their information in order to gain a competitive advantage," said Karen Parrish, vice president of Business Intelligence Solutions for IBM. "Dynamic Warehousing provides a new approach to companies who want the ability to rapidly analyze and act upon the hidden benefits of their business information."

For example Dynamic Warehousing will: Help law enforcement agencies spot related incidents when they receive an emergency call. That could give detectives a list of potential suspects before they arrive at the crime scene.

Let insurance companies identify potentially fraudulent claims before they're approved and paid.

Allow retailers to analyze buying patterns and changes in consumer behavior so they can identify the most effective opportunities to cross sell and up sell at the point of sale.

Traditional data warehousing efforts relied on queries and reporting to understand what happened. The second wave focused on such technologies as online analytical processing and data mining for historical analysis and to recommend future action.

IBM's new approach is about making available and analyzing information on demand to help customers optimize each transaction, whether in the call center, in the field, when helping customers, or when taking orders.

M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data prepared by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com.

ebizQ: IBM Launches Dynamic WarehousingMarch 13, 2007http://www.ebizq.net/news/7825.html

IBM today unveiled a comprehensive strategy to enable dynamic warehousing, a new generation of business intelligence capabilities that enable organizations to gain real-time insight and value from their business information.

Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in IBM’s pursuit of the global Information on Demand growth opportunity, which is helping customers transform their businesses by using information as a strategic asset.

With today’s announcement, IBM, the world's second largest software company, is delivering capabilities that extend beyond traditional business intelligence and data warehousing techniques to allow global businesses and organizations of all sizes to streamline business processes, transform customer service, increase employee productivity, reduce business risks and generate new revenue opportunities.

IBM’s new Dynamic Warehousing strategy enables customers to use advanced analytics as part of a real-time business process and to unlock knowledge buried in both structured and unstructured information (free form text, e-mail, audio files, Web pages, etc.). This approach will also provide instant access to reliable and trusted business information in the context of activities being performed, whether it is supporting a customer, processing a claim or handling a transaction.

IBM is providing a set of integrated offerings for Dynamic Warehousing that use a combination of technologies from internal R&D and strategic Information on Demand acquisitions, including search and text analytics, information integration, process management, enterprise data modeling, master data management and industry-specific business models.

“Customers of all sizes in all industries are looking for new ways to maximize their information in order to gain a competitive advantage,” said Karen Parish, vice president of Business Intelligence Solutions for IBM, who unveiled the initiative today at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit in Chicago. “Dynamic Warehousing provides a new approach to companies who want the ability to rapidly analyze and act upon the hidden benefits of their business information.”

Traditional data warehousing efforts were focused on query and reporting to understand what happened. The second wave focused on technologies such as online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining for historical analysis to understand why and recommend future action – strategic and tactical planning. IBM’s new approach is about making available and analyzing information on demand to help customers optimize each transaction, such as in the call center, in the field, when helping customers, or when taking orders.

For example Dynamic Warehousing is helping law enforcement agencies identify related incidents upon receiving an emergency call and deliver a list of potential suspects in real-time to detectives before they arrive at the crime scene. Likewise, insurance companies can identify potentially fraudulent claims prior to approval and payment. While retailers can rapidly leverage buying patterns and changes in consumer behavior to identify the most effective cross sell and up sell opportunities at the point of sale.

IBM customers such as Omnium are already discovering the benefits of Dynamic Warehousing. Omnium is an accounts receivable management and cost containment company that contracts with Medical Insurance firms to analyze monthly receipts of data for potential client overpayments.

IBM DB2 Warehouse increases our efficiency to mine data and develop predictive models which can produce exceptionally quick results for tracking mis-paid and overpaid insurance claims, said Duffy Boyle, CIO of Omnium Worldwide. "Our clients require rapid evaluation and response so the new IBM solution is ideal for our needs."

New Offerings Enable Dynamic Warehousing from SMBs to the Enterprise The foundation of IBM’s dynamic warehousing initiative is a new, enhanced version of the DB2 Warehouse—based on the DB2 9 “Viper” data server—which includes a unique set of features and capabilities that support growing customer demand for analytics and Information on Demand.

DB2 Warehouse provides data movement and transformation capabilities to reduce the complexity and lower the costs typically associated with loading data into the warehouse and preparing that data so that it can be leveraged more effectively. It

also offers performance optimization capabilities that enable the warehouse to address broad enterprise warehousing requirements, such as advanced data partitioning and workload management to ensure that the most critical applications are serviced accordingly. Additionally, DB2 Warehouse takes advantage of Viper’s deep compression technology to increase performance and efficiency, while reducing storage costs.

A new and enhanced set of DB2 Warehouse offerings are being introduced to address the growing demand for real-time information insight in all organizations. This end-to-end approach is aimed at making warehousing solutions easier to deploy, while ensuring that customers can maintain the flexibility required by challenging business conditions and IT infrastructure demands, without sacrificing system performance. The new IBM warehousing lineup includes Starter, Intermediate and Advanced Editions of DB2 Warehouse, in addition to the existing Base and Enterprise Editions.

Introducing the IBM Balanced Warehouse IBM is also introducing the IBM Balanced Warehouse, the next evolution of the Balanced Configuration Unit (BCU), to provide complete warehousing solutions with pre-configured software, hardware and storage, enabling faster implementation times with lower risk. IBM is now providing three classes of IBM Balanced Warehouse offerings, making it the first vendor to provide solutions optimized to meet the entire spectrum of warehousing requirements – from large enterprises to small- and medium-sized businesses to departmental data marts. These include the C-Class for application solutions, the D-Class for growth solutions, and the E-Class for enterprise solutions. The C-Class provides out-of-the-box solutions bundled with popular third-party reporting tools, such as the new IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000, which includes affordable hardware and storage that has been pre-configured with DB2 Warehouse Starter Edition and Business Objects Crystal Reports for simplified creation and delivery of business reports.

“Mid-sized companies want to tap into the power of their data to stand out in their markets,” said Todd Rowe, vice president and general manager of mid-market business at Business Objects. "Both IBM and Business Objects are focused on meeting the needs of these important customers. The combination of DB2 Warehouse for data integration and Crystal Reports Server for report creation, management, and delivery makes IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000 a powerful solution for mid-sized companies that want to use their data to help drive business growth. Further, Business Objects Crystal Decisions, our new mid-market business intelligence platform, is an excellent compliment to IBM Balanced Warehouse C3000 – which is well suited for mid-sized companies that have more demanding data warehousing requirements and need the deeper insights and dashboards afforded by more traditional business intelligence tools.”

The DB2 Warehouse Starter and Intermediate Editions, along with the C-Class Balanced Warehouses, are targeted at the SMB market and will be made available through IBM business partners. More than 30 business partners have already signed up to make these simplified channel offerings available to smaller to mid-size organizations seeking to take advantage of affordable warehousing solutions.

Also newly available is the IBM Balanced Warehouse D-Class, providing an integrated growth solution designed to reduce the complexity, cost and risk of creating, implementing and maintaining large departmental data marts and mid-size data warehouses on Linux.

To provide customers with a rich interface for extracting additional business insights from unstructured information, IBM has combined a set of search, text analytics and

visualization capabilities into the new OmniFind Analytics Edition for Customer Care. OmniFind Analytics Edition helps extract and mine customer information from various systems and applications to help find valuable patterns that indicate trends and issues such as the top reasons customers call to complain, or common questions about contracts or service agreements. By dynamically consolidating and analyzing customer feedback and data from unstructured and structured customer care information, valuable insight can be delivered from all information, regardless of its source or format. OmniFind Analytics Edition is based on more than a decade of experience in text analytics from IBM Research and client engagements by IBM Global Business Services.

In response to a growing demand for more operational intelligence from the several thousand companies using the mainframe for their warehousing needs, IBM also introduced several enhancements for the recently-announced DB2 9 Viper for z/OS. The new capabilities include SQL enhancements for real-time query and reporting and new graphical analytics and reporting tools for use on System z.

In addition, IBM is offering a new set of services and new and enhanced industry data models to help organizations get started with dynamic warehousing more quickly and leverage best practices. This includes a new Health Plan data model for claims, medical management and provider and network care; an enhanced Insurance data model with added focus on compliance and risk management; strategic planning and design from IBM Global Business Services; and implementation assistance from IBM Global Technology Services.

Database Journal: IBM Launches Next Generation of Business Intelligence With Dynamic WarehousingMarch 13, 2007http://www.databasejournal.com/news/article.php/3665261 IBM today unveiled a comprehensive strategy to enable dynamic warehousing, a new generation of business intelligence capabilities that enable organizations to gain real-time insight and value from their business information. Today's announcement marks an important milestone in IBM's industry-leading pursuit of the global Information on Demand growth opportunity, which is helping customers transform their businesses by using information as a strategic asset. With today's announcement, IBM, the world's second largest software company, is delivering capabilities that extend beyond traditional business intelligence and data warehousing techniques to allow global businesses and organizations of all sizes to streamline business processes, transform customer service, increase employee productivity, reduce business risks and generate new revenue opportunities. IBM's new Dynamic Warehousing strategy enables customers to use advanced analytics as part of a real-time business process and to unlock knowledge buried in both structured and unstructured information (free form text, e-mail, audio files, Web pages, etc.). This approach will also provide instant access to reliable and trusted

business information in the context of activities being performed, whether it is supporting a customer, processing a claim or handling a transaction. IBM is providing a set of integrated offerings for Dynamic Warehousing that use a combination of technologies from internal R&D and strategic Information on Demand acquisitions, including search and text analytics, information integration, process management, enterprise data modeling, master data management and industry-specific business models. "Customers of all sizes in all industries are looking for new ways to maximize their information in order to gain a competitive advantage," said Karen Parrish, vice president of Business Intelligence Solutions for IBM, who unveiled the initiative today at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit in Chicago. "Dynamic Warehousing provides a new approach to companies who want the ability to rapidly analyze and act upon the hidden benefits of their business information." Traditional data warehousing efforts were focused on query and reporting to understand what happened. The second wave focused on technologies such as online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining for historical analysis to understand why and recommend future action -- strategic and tactical planning. IBM's new approach is about making available and analyzing information on demand to help customers optimize each transaction, such as in the call center, in the field, when helping customers, or when taking orders. For example Dynamic Warehousing is helping law enforcement agencies identify related incidents upon receiving an emergency call and deliver a list of potential suspects in real-time to detectives before they arrive at the crime scene. Likewise, insurance companies can identify potentially fraudulent claims prior to approval and payment. While retailers can rapidly leverage buying patterns and changes in consumer behavior to identify the most effective cross sell and up sell opportunities at the point of sale. IBM customers such as Omnium are already discovering the benefits of Dynamic Warehousing. Omnium is an accounts receivable management and cost containment company that contracts with Medical Insurance firms to analyze monthly receipts of data for potential client overpayments. IBM DB2 Warehouse increases our efficiency to mine data and develop predictive models which can produce exceptionally quick results for tracking mis-paid and overpaid insurance claims, said Duffy Boyle, CIO of Omnium Worldwide. "Our clients require rapid evaluation and response so the new IBM solution is ideal for our needs." New Offerings Enable Dynamic Warehousing from SMBs to the Enterprise The foundation of IBM's dynamic warehousing initiative is a new, enhanced version of the DB2 Warehouse -- based on the DB2 9 "Viper" data server -- which includes a unique set of features and capabilities that support growing customer demand for analytics and Information on Demand. DB2 Warehouse provides data movement and transformation capabilities to reduce the complexity and lower the costs typically associated with loading data into the warehouse and preparing that data so that it can be leveraged more effectively. It also offers performance optimization capabilities that enable the warehouse to address broad enterprise warehousing requirements, such as advanced data partitioning and workload management to ensure that the most critical applications are serviced accordingly. Additionally, DB2 Warehouse takes advantage of Viper's

deep compression technology to increase performance and efficiency, while reducing storage costs. A new and enhanced set of DB2 Warehouse offerings is being introduced to address the growing demand for real-time information insight in all organizations. This end-to-end approach is aimed at making warehousing solutions easier to deploy, while ensuring that customers can maintain the flexibility required by challenging business conditions and IT infrastructure demands, without sacrificing system performance. The new IBM warehousing lineup includes Starter, Intermediate and Advanced Editions of DB2 Warehouse, in addition to the existing Base and Enterprise Editions. Introducing the IBM Balanced Warehouse IBM is also introducing the IBM Balanced Warehouse, the next evolution of the Balanced Configuration Unit (BCU), to provide complete warehousing solutions with pre-configured software, hardware and storage, enabling faster implementation times with lower risk. IBM is now providing three classes of IBM Balanced Warehouse offerings, making it the first vendor to provide solutions optimized to meet the entire spectrum of warehousing requirements -- from large enterprises to small- and medium-sized businesses to departmental data marts. These include the C-Class for application solutions, the D-Class for growth solutions, and the E-Class for enterprise solutions. The C-Class provides out-of-the-box solutions bundled with popular third-party reporting tools, such as the new IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000, which includes affordable hardware and storage that has been pre-configured with DB2 Warehouse Starter Edition and Crystal Reports Server from Business Objects for simplified creation and delivery of business reports. "Mid-sized companies want to tap into the power of their data to stand out in their markets," said Todd Rowe, vice president and general manager of mid-market business at Business Objects. "Both IBM and Business Objects are focused on meeting the needs of these important customers. The combination of DB2 Warehouse for data integration and Crystal Reports Server for report creation, management, and delivery makes IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000 a powerful solution for mid-sized companies that want to use their data to help drive business growth. Further, Business Objects Crystal Decisions, our new mid-market business intelligence platform, is an excellent compliment to IBM Balanced Warehouse C3000 -- which is well suited for mid-sized companies that have more demanding data warehousing requirements and need the deeper insights and dashboards afforded by more traditional business intelligence tools." The DB2 Warehouse Starter and Intermediate Editions, along with the C-Class Balanced Warehouses, are targeted at the SMB market and will be made available through IBM business partners. More than 30 business partners have already signed up to make these simplified channel offerings available to smaller to mid-size organizations seeking to take advantage of affordable warehousing solutions. Also newly available is the IBM Balanced Warehouse D-Class, providing an integrated growth solution designed to reduce the complexity, cost and risk of creating, implementing and maintaining large departmental data marts and mid-size data warehouses on Linux. To provide a rich interface for extracting additional business insights from unstructured information, IBM has combined a set of search, content analytics and visualization capabilities into the new OmniFind Analytics Edition. OmniFind Analytics Edition extracts meaningful information, identifies valuable patterns, trends and issues that can be used for important business initiatives such as improving customer

care, delivering quality insight reporting and enhancing research and intelligence. By dynamically consolidating and analyzing data from unstructured and structured information sources, valuable insight can be delivered from all information, regardless of its source or format. OmniFind Analytics Edition is based on more than a decade of experience in text analytics from IBM Research and client engagements by IBM Global Business Services. In response to a growing demand for more operational intelligence from the several thousand companies using the mainframe for their warehousing needs, IBM also introduced several enhancements for the recently announced DB2 9 Viper for z/OS. The new capabilities include SQL enhancements for real-time query and reporting and new graphical analytics and reporting tools for use on System z. In addition, IBM is offering a new set of services and new and enhanced industry data models to help organizations get started with dynamic warehousing more quickly and leverage best practices. This includes a new Health Plan data model for claims, medical management and provider and network care; an enhanced Insurance data model with added focus on compliance and risk management; strategic planning and design from IBM Global Business Services; and implementation assistance from IBM Global Technology Services. For more information on IBM's dynamic warehousing initiative and offerings visit: www.ibm.com/software/data

Customer Interaction Solutions: IBM Unveils Call Center Analytic SoftwareBy: Tracey E. Schelmetic, March 13, 2007http://www.tmcnet.com/comsol/articles/5572-ibm-unveils-call-center-analytic-software.htm Even if you've been following the call center market only casually for the past year, you'll know that call center and business analytics are hot. Done manually, call center data analysis is an enormous amount of work for a small amount of (possibly erroneous) yield. The results are never configured exactly as everyone wants them, data comes in historically…three months after the events that generate the data occur. This may have helped call centers understand where they went wrong, but it never helped them understand how to fix it quickly to benefit the call center today. Analytics solutions have sprung up as both point solutions and buried in larger call center platforms. They allow call centers to collect every possible data element, both structured and unstructured, and use them to generate exactly the kind of reporting the call center wants and needs today…information that will help managers make changes both large and small to improve operations and efficiency. IBM (News - Alert) has thrown its hat into the analytics ring by announcing today new analytics software designed to help organizations rapidly consolidate and analyze unstructured information such as e-mail, comments, voice and chat communications to deliver new insight into their business. Content analytics is a key component of the Dynamic Warehousing strategy announced by IBM today to enable a new generation of business intelligence capabilities and provide real-time insight and value from business information. An advanced content analytics and mining platform, IBM OmniFind Analytics Edition extracts meaningful information, identifies valuable patterns, trends and issues which

can be used for important business initiatives such as improving customer care, delivering quality insight reporting and enhancing research and intelligence. IBM OmniFind Analytics Edition extracts and analyzes unstructured information providing trend analysis, delta analysis, automated alerting, drill-down navigation, semantic search and key word search. It also enables sophisticated entity extraction when working with unstructured content like documents, emails, surveys and chat sessions. These advanced capabilities help reveal situations and track changes over time such as causes of customer dissatisfaction or detection of products that may require frequent repairs or a recall. Based on experience in text analytics from IBM Research and IBM Global Business Services, significant field experience has gone into the development of the software, according to the company. “IBM OmniFind Analytics Edition goes beyond text analytics to derive understanding and insight from a combination of structured and unstructured information,” said Ponani Gopalakrishnan, director of discovery solutions, IBM Software Group. "The ability to use unstructured information and simultaneously combine it with structured information is becoming an essential requirement in many industries including banking, financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications.” Both IBM OmniFind Analytics Edition and IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition can be used together to provide an overall content discovery solution that combines advanced secure semantic search with rich mining and visualization to deliver new levels of business insight.The software is based on the Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA) standard to provide an open architecture for connecting applications for entity extraction and text analytics. For more information, visit www-306.ibm.com/software/data/enterprise-search/omnifind-analytics/

DBTA: Breaking News - IBM Launches Dynamic Warehousing BI Initiative and Balanced WarehousesBy: Elliot King, March 13, 2007 IBM today unveiled a comprehensive strategy to enable dynamic warehousing, a new generation of business intelligence capabilities that enable organizations to gain real-time insight and value from their business information. ”We are raising the bar for data warehousing,” Bernie Spang, director of IBM data servers, told 5 Minute Briefing in an exclusive interview. “It is not just about the data server but how all the pieces go together for dynamic warehousing.” IBM‘s new Dynamic Warehousing strategy enables customers to use advanced analytics as part of a real-time business process and to unlock knowledge buried in both structured and unstructured information. This approach will also provide instant access to business information in the context of activities being performed, whether it is supporting a customer, processing a claim or handling a transaction. “This is the third generation,” Spang said. “It will give broader insight at the time of the transaction.” IBM is providing a set of integrated offerings for dynamic warehousing that use a combination of technologies from internal R&D and strategic Information on Demand acquisitions, including search and text analytics, information integration, process management, enterprise data modeling, master data management and industry-

specific business models. The foundation of IBM‘s dynamic warehousing initiative is a new, enhanced version of the DB2 Warehouse based on the DB2 9 “Viper” data server. IBM is also introducing the IBM Balanced Warehouse, the next evolution of the Balanced Configuration Unit (BCU), to provide complete warehousing solutions with pre-configured software, hardware and storage, enabling faster implementation times with lower risk. IBM is now providing three classes of IBM Balanced Warehouse offerings, making it the first vendor to provide solutions optimized to meet the entire spectrum of warehousing requirements - from large enterprises to small- and medium-sized businesses to departmental data marts. “We have pre-configured, pre-tested and validated these expandable units,” Spang said. For more information on IBM‘s dynamic warehousing initiative and offerings, go here.

CXOToday: Business Objects In pact with IBM for BI By: CXOtoday Staff, Mar 14, 2007 http://www.cxotoday.com/India/News/Business_Objects_In_pact_with_IBM_for_BI/551-79769-911.html IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000, an information integration, content delivery, and reporting solution for the mid market from IBM and Business Objects combines IBM DB2 Warehouse Starter Edition, Crystal Reports Server from Business Objects, and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in a pre-integrated, pre-tested solution with an easy, single install format. C1000 offers a unique, simplified, and complete solution for mid sized companies that need to integrate multiple, scattered data resources into a scalable data warehouse. The reports can be delivered over the web or put in applications. "Combining DB2 data server from IBM and Crystal Reports Server from Business Objects, C1000 provides an affordable data warehouse and reporting solution helping companies understand and improve operations, revenues, expense management, productivity, and much more," said Todd Rowe, Vice President and General Manager of mid market business, Business Objects. According to the press release, IBM is also launching IBM Balanced Warehouse C3000. It will be supported by Business Objects through integration of Business Objects Crystal Decisions. "IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000 and C3000 provide reliable, scalable data warehousing for any size implementation," said Karen Parrish, Vice President, IBM Business Intelligence Solutions. C1000 is expected to be available by the end of March, 2007 This solution, available worldwide, was launched at the Gartner BI summit.

TMCnet: IBM Develops Content Analytics Software to Enhance Business and Improve Customer CareBy: Niladri Sekhar Nath, March 14, 2007http://www.tmcnet.com/news/2007/03/14/2420400.htm IBM (News - Alert) has developed new analytics software capable of helping organizations rapidly consolidate and analyze unstructured information such as e-

mail, comments, voice and chat communications. Content analytics is a part of IBM’s Dynamic Warehousing strategy to enable a new generation of business intelligence capabilities and provide real-time insight and value from business information. IBM OmniFind Analytics Edition extracts and analyzes unstructured information providing trend analysis, delta analysis, automated alerting, drill-down navigation, semantic search and key word search. It also enables sophisticated entity extraction when working with unstructured content like documents, emails, surveys and chat sessions. These advanced capabilities help reveal situations and track changes over time such as causes of customer dissatisfaction or detection of products that may require frequent repairs or a recall. Based on more than a decade of experience in text analytics from IBM Research and IBM Global Business Services, significant field experience has gone into the development of this software. This includes work with numerous clients such as HDFC Bank India, Celestar Lexico-Sciences Inc., International Truck, Mayo Clinic and Mars Incorporated. “IBM OmniFind Analytics Edition goes beyond text analytics to derive understanding and insight from a combination of structured and unstructured information,” said Ponani Gopalakrishnan, director of discovery solutions, IBM Software Group, in a press release. “The ability to use unstructured information and simultaneously combine it with structured information is becoming an essential requirement in many industries including banking, financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications.” Both IBM OmniFind Analytics Edition and IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition can be used together to provide an overall content discovery solution that combines advanced secure semantic search with rich mining and visualization to deliver new levels of business insight. The software is based on the Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA) standard to provide an open architecture for connecting applications for entity extraction and text analytics.

CyberMedia India: It's time for sentiments at mLogica

It's time for sentiments at mLogica ------------------------------------------------------------Pratima Harigunani PUNE: Solution Integrator for enterprise software, mLogica Inc is working on a new technology, to be built on the IBM platform, for sentiment analysis that can enable public image monitoring for companies and brands.  The product would map customer sentiments based on data collected from all possible springs.  “For instance, everything about Coca-Cola can be mined and gathered from all blogs, emails and Net to construct a sentiment pattern for the brand,” explained Amit Okhandiar, president and chief executive officer, mLogica Inc.  The technology, though developed on IBM platform, would be an mLogica product. The product will have many value-added IT services later on. New product campaigns, that would hit the US market in Q2 to Q3 and India in Q4, are in the early stages.  On Tuesday, IBM appointed mLogica as a partner in India and North America for its data warehousing business plan at the Gartner conference in Chicago.  The company, which specializes in data management, data warehouse, software development services and mobile solutions, announced that it would partner with IBM to deliver the newly-released DB2 Warehouse 9 for the US, Canada and the Indian subcontinent as part of its strategic partnership program for its data warehouse initiative.  The target segments under this pact would be mid-markets and SMBs. The estimated potential in data warehousing space is to the tune of $50-200 million globally. Okhandiar said the appetite for the first year would be $1 million from license perspective in India. He added that the meetings with IBM finally evolved into a proud culmination. “We are already handling enterprise editions of the DW product. As part of this program, mLogica will be responsible for reselling and implementing IBM’s data warehousing solutions in all of its markets.  mLogica will build upon IBM’s strategic partner focus and open up new markets, geographies, providing the necessary vertical expertise,” said Peter Burney, vice president, Sales for the company.  

IBM’s data warehousing solution operates on AIX, Linux and Windows systems. The ripple effects of this partnership would be soon reflected in the form of doubling up of mLogica’s headcount in Pune. More sales offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai are also in the anvil. © CyberMedia News

EFYTimes: IBM Launches Balanced Warehouse C1000

IBM Launches IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000

 Tuesday, March 13, 2007:  IBM has launched IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000, which combines IBM DB2 Warehouse Starter Edition, Crystal Reports Server from Business Objects and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in a pre-integrated, pre-tested solution with an easy, single-install format. The new IBM BI solution is an information integration, content delivery and reporting solution for the mid-market from IBM and Business Objects.

Crystal Reports Server, a packaged reporting solution that includes everything mid-sized organisations need to create, deliver and manage reports over the web, is the only business intelligence solution bundled as part of the new IBM BI solution, claims Business Objects.

In addition, IBM is also launching IBM Balanced Warehouse C3000 Foundation Solution as part of its broader Dynamic Warehousing initiative. Business Objects will support the C3000 through integration of Crystal Decisions, the new mid-market BI platform from Business Objects.

"Our Dynamic Warehousing strategy delivers capabilities that extend beyond traditional business intelligence and data warehousing by utilising advanced analytics as part of a real-time business process," said Karen Parrish, vice president, IBM Business Intelligence Solutions. "The IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000 and C3000 provide reliable, scalable data warehousing for any size implementation. Crystal Reporters Server from Business Objects is well suited to meet the reporting needs of mid-size companies and was a natural fit to bundle with the C1000."

Commented Todd Rowe, vice president and general manager, mid-market business, Business Objects, "Combining the powerful DB2 data server from IBM and Crystal Reports Server from Business Objects, IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000 provides an affordable data warehouse and reporting solution to help companies understand and improve operations, revenues, expense management, productivity and much more."

IBM Balanced Warehouse C1000, available worldwide, was launched from the Gartner BI Summit, as part of IBM's Dynamic Warehousing strategy.

Insurance News: IBM Dynamic Warehousing sifts data in real time

IBM: Dynamic Warehousing sifts data in real time  New integrated offerings for Dynamic Warehousing from IBM unlock data buried in both structured and unstructured information (free form text, e-mail, audio files, Web pages, etc.) and use it as part of a real-time process.

"Customers of all sizes in all industries are looking for new ways to maximize their information in order to gain a competitive advantage," said Karen Parrish, vice president of Business Intelligence Solutions for IBM. "Dynamic Warehousing provides a new approach to companies who want the ability to rapidly analyze and act upon the hidden benefits of their business information."

For example Dynamic Warehousing will: Help law enforcement agencies spot related incidents when they receive an emergency call. That could give detectives a list of potential suspects before they arrive at the crime scene.

Let insurance companies identify potentially fraudulent claims before they're approved and paid.

Allow retailers to analyze buying patterns and changes in consumer behavior so they can identify the most effective opportunities to cross sell and up sell at the point of sale.

Traditional data warehousing efforts relied on queries and reporting to understand what happened. The second wave focused on such technologies as online analytical processing and data mining for historical analysis and to recommend future action.

IBM's new approach is about making available and analyzing information on demand to help customers optimize each transaction, whether in the call center, in the field, when helping customers, or when taking orders.