Problem:
CTI needed to improve and replace many of its IT systems to keep up with its rapid growth and provide users with a high level of service. CTI's IT department serves employees around the world who need to access data locked in the Oracle Applications' database. These business users typically asked IT for reports on order management and units shipped so they could make timely, data-driven business decisions.
After implementing Oracle 11i in one of its pharmaceutical subsidiaries, CTI decided it needed an immediate solution to get business data out of Oracle. Due to the fast pace of company growth (50 percent per year), the pressure was on to find an out-of-the-box solution for extracting the data out of Oracle. "Development resources were scarce, and we needed a way to put report generation into the users' hands," said Project Manager Troy Staton.
The Director of IT Technology and Services, Walter Cromer, tasked Staton to find a solution that would meet CTI's requirements. CTI did not have the time to employ an "army of developers," and Cromer wanted a solution that would be ready to go "off the bat."