Empire Airlines Takes Off With Turnkey Analytics System From Information Builders and Scale Computing

NEW YORK, Sept. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Information Builders, a leader in business intelligence (BI) and analytics, information integrity, and integration solutions, today announced that Empire Airlines has implemented WebFOCUS Business User Edition as part of a bundled offering from Information Builders and Scale Computing called the Scale Analytics Appliance. Empire Airlines is using the appliance to deliver real-time data and insights to executives, managers, and operations-level personnel, with minimal involvement by IT professionals. The turnkey solution addresses a broad range of analytics needs, from data preparation and integration to self-service reporting and data discovery.

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Empire Airlines is a passenger and cargo airline based in Hayden, Idaho that operates more than 120 scheduled cargo flights per day in 18 states and Canada. As its business grew and its operation became more complex, senior managers at the company wanted to acquire a software platform to bolster their BI, analytics, and reporting capabilities. Ideally, this platform would be part of a bundled solution or "appliance" that could support other business functions as well, including e-mail, a domain controller, and a terminal server to support workers at remote locations. They evaluated enterprise BI solutions from leading technology vendors, but found their products to be too complex and expensive for their needs. Then they discovered Scale Analytics Appliance, a "datacenter-in-a-box" with server, storage, and virtualization software, all integrated into a cohesive appliance that includes BI, analytics, and other business applications as well.

Previously Empire Airlines used Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to monitor its maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) contracts. Now, instead of having to peruse Excel spreadsheets to stay abreast of complex jobs, authorized personnel can click into a WebFOCUS analytics application, or InfoApp™, to sort, summarize, and visualize MRO data by client, plane, work order, time frame, part, and other variables. InfoApps deliver highly interactive analytics content, such as data visualizations, charts, graphs, and reports, through an "app store-like" experience. Instead of learning complex tools and worrying about data preparation, users can tap into these analytics apps to obtain insights right away.

For example, one of Empire Airlines' new InfoApps uses an interactive pie chart to reveal operating information about all planes currently in service. Employees use these apps to gain control over their data and to create proactive alerts that flag important developments within their purview. Other InfoApps show current delay and cancellation information and up-to-the-minute financial information. Empire Airlines is also using WebFOCUS to send scheduled reports to its customers on a regular basis to keep them informed of key information.

An unintended benefit of the Scale Analytics Appliance has been the ability to use the data being generated to drive organizational change at Empire Airlines. Based on detailed delay and cancellation data, the company has formed a Performance Improvement Committee that meets weekly to analyze trends and anomalies and make process recommendations based on the findings. This committee has brought together all levels of employees from various departments and encouraged true collaboration that is delivering real performance results and making a significant business impact.

Melanie Ellingson, director of IT, Empire Airlines, said:
"The Scale Analytics Appliance, and its embedded instance of WebFOCUS, has everything we need for reporting, BI, and analytics – along with essential functionality to run our business. We are very pleased with what we have been able to accomplish with this appliance in a short period of time. We now have one set of BI tools to analyze all types of data. The appliance was easy to set up and it contains powerful alerting capabilities that we plan to use extensively for monitoring our key performance indicators."

Gerald Cohen, president and CEO, Information Builders, said:
"The Scale Analytics Appliance enables companies to obtain sophisticated reporting and analytics without requiring significant IT support. Our partnership with Scale Computing has created an app-like environment that enables small- to mid-sized organizations to leverage information from any source for better decision-making at a fraction of the time and cost of enterprise BI solutions."

About Empire Airlines
Empire Airlines provides air cargo services in 18 states and operates an inter-island passenger service for Hawaiian Airlines. The Idaho-based company also owns Empire Aerospace, which provides heavy maintenance services to the airline industry, and Empire Unmanned, which provides unmanned aerial surveillance and analysis services for agriculture and other industries.

About Information Builders
Information Builders provides solutions for business intelligence (BI), analytics, data integration, and data quality that help drive performance improvements, innovation, and value. Through one set of powerful products, we enable organizations to serve everyone – analysts, non-technical users, even partners, customers, and citizens – with better data and analytics. Our dedication to customer success is unmatched with thousands of organizations relying on us as their trusted partner. Founded in 1975, Information Builders is headquartered in New York, NY, with global offices, and remains one of the largest independent, privately held companies in the industry. Visit us at informationbuilders.com, follow us on Twitter at @infobldrs, like us on Facebook, and visit our LinkedIn page.

Press Contacts
Kathleen Moran
Information Builders
(917) 339-6313
[email protected]

Kate Clinton
LEWIS
(781) 761-4500
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