Founded:
Headquarters:
Ownership:
1975
New York, NY
Private
Deployment Model:
Intended Users:
Free Trial:
On-premise, Cloud
All
Yes
Why Information Builders
Information Builders WebFOCUS 8 is a scalable business intelligence tool that provides quick insights for the entire company by utilizing in-memory processing and reducing the complexity of the reporting and analyzing processes.
Scalability is what sets Information Builders apart in the field of business intelligence. Information Builders is designed to support increasing numbers of users with ever-expanding capabilities. WebFOCUS offers linear scalability, which means that it can maintain the same response times even after doubling the number of users.
Companies using WebFOCUS often start with a higher number of users than other competitors. Even as this number grows and they increase the system's capability, the cost of hardware and software remains relatively low.
Product Details
WebFOCUS 8 empowers employees to use corporate data to guide real-time decision making, investigate new market opportunities, discover hidden trends, and increase the efficiency of operational processes.
In addition to its unique scalability power, Information Builders also stands out for its state of the art mobile solution. A number of apps on the platform have revolutionized the way BI can be leveraged using a smartphone or tablet.
The platform does not force IT to choose between native and web apps, but rather combines the advantages of each into a single platform that can be accessed anywhere. The technology includes features such as the WebFOCUS App Studio, where web apps can be built and deployed to run on any browser, tablet, or smartphone. It also includes something called Mobile Faves, an app for iOS and Androids that allows for simple organization of and access to reports and dashboards. WebFOCUS Magnify, the other key feature to Information Builders’ mobile offering, is an enterprise search engine which provides an interactive search, both structured and non-structured, with a drill-down feature included.
Information Builders features a unique access portal which they tout as being inspired by the best of several programs: Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Studio, and more.
The portal includes a GUI (intuitive graphical user interface) which allows for easy creation of customizable portal pages, menus, and page layouts. Users do not need to learn web development skills to implement these tools, and the content can be adjusted across a company’s departments.
Features
One of Information Builders' most notable features is its "non-persistence," or its ability to run without server power when not accessing or processing data. This means that much less hardware is required.
WebFOCUS also features server multi-threading, which means that multiple users can share the same resources without overloading servers.
Other features include data manipulation technologies, clustered servers, queue management, dynamic resource allocation, and query monitoring and governing, the last of which empowers administrators to monitor the average length of time it takes for a query to process, the number of rows of data that are returned, and more.
Below are some additional features offered by Information Builders:
Analysis Features
- Ad Hoc Analysis?
- Issue Indicators?
- Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)?
- Predictive Analysis?
- Profit Analysis?
- Trend Indicators?
- User Friendly Interface?
Reporting Features
- Ad Hoc Reporting?
- Automatic Scheduled Reporting?
- Customizable Dashboard?
- Customizable Features?
- Dashboard?
- Financial Forecast/Budgeting?
- Graphic Benchmark Tools?
- Multiple Languages?
- Performance Measurements?
Target Market
Information Builders operates across a variety of industries. Banking, government, healthcare, and telecommunications are just a few of their sectors. Below is a list of some of the company's key clients:
- Wayne State College
- Pro Alliance Corporation
- TJA Partners LLC
- First Rate Investments
- US Transportation Command (DOD)
- Social Security Administration
- Office of Personnel Management
- Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
- LifeWatch
- NDS
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Customer Service & Support
Information Builders' customer support network is highlighted by Focal Point, an online community of forums and other resources where experts post answers to common issues and make themselves available to address user questions.
Beyond Focal Point, Information Builders has an extensive education program to help acquaint users with the software. They offer classes both online and in-person at training centers around the world. They also offer certification programs for individuals looking to become experts at WebFOCUS, either for individual use, as educators, or as IT leaders.
Shortcomings
WebFOCUS' developer interface has been criticized for being difficult to deal with, as it runs with a scripting interface instead of a more user-friendly IDE.
Some users have had issues with publishing reports, as it does not have an API that can publish directly to SharePoint with a single sign on.
There are not an overabundance of WebFOCUS specialists and there may be many areas that lack individuals with the neccessary skills anywhere locally.
Screenshots
About
Not to be confused with competitor InfoBuild, Information Builders was founded in New York in 1975 as a software company offering a variety of services. Information Builders became known as a business intelligence vendor with the development of their first database system product, FOCUS. In 1997 that evolved into the creation of WebFOCUS, a more advanced web-oriented program that has since spawned eight reiterations. Information Builders launched iWay Software in 2001, focusing specifically on products related to data integration and SOA (service-oriented architecture).
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