Microsoft and ProfitBase Help Retailers Track Performance with New Standards-Based Retail Data Warehouse Template
LONDON and OSLO, Norway, May 21 // --
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005 helps deliver increased insight over retail operations.
Microsoft Corp and ProfitBase AS, a leading Norwegian business performance management software company, today announced their strategic alliance, aimed at delivering an out-of-the-box, standards-based business intelligence solution for the retail industry. Based on the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) data standard, the new data warehouse template includes facts and dimensions tailored for the retail industry such as retail-specific key performance indicators (sales, gross margin, sales per customer, and turnover per working hour, among others).
ProfitBase, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has used ProfitBase 2007, its template-based solution, with Microsoft(R) SQL Server(TM) 2005 to develop the new data warehouse template for retailers. The ProfitBase solution will also utilise Microsoft Office PerformancePoint(TM) Server 2007 so dashboards, analytics and planning can be easily visualised and distributed throughout the organisation via Microsoft SharePoint(R) Server 2007, providing retailers with increased control and insight into their day-to-day performance.
ProfitBase has worked closely with ARTS and its Data Warehouse team to develop the new data warehouse solution in line with the association's efforts to reduce the costs of technology through standards. As retail standards related to the data warehouse evolve, the data warehouse solution will enable independent software vendors to find new ways to develop applications for the retail industry.
"ARTS is very pleased that Microsoft, along with ProfitBase, has utilised the new ARTS data standard," said Richard Mader, executive director of ARTS.
"For years members have requested that we develop a data warehouse view of the widely implemented operational ARTS Data Model to support retail business intelligence. Given that in today's competitive retail environment it is difficult, if not impossible, to operate a successful business without an effective business intelligence solution, ARTS has focused for 15 years on creating the right data warehouse model with special emphasis on ease of data loading through the ARTS standard XML schemas."
"We are very pleased to have established an alliance with Microsoft, as Microsoft SQL Server 2005 has proved to be a critical component of our solution," said Oyvind Stige, director of ProfitBase Retail Systems. "The insight gained from working closely with retailers for many years has enabled us to develop a solution that attempts to match their needs in the best possible way."
"By using ProfitBase's standards-based data warehouse, retailers can now benefit from using standard metrics and measures, giving them a head start for analyzing their performance," said Willem Haring, technology strategist for the Retail Industry at Microsoft.
Olav Naess, CTO of Reitan Servicehandel, one of the leading Scandinavian retail groups that includes 7-Eleven Scandic, Narvesen and Pressbyran, was one of the early adopters to implement this new solution. "We have been working with ProfitBase for many years," Naess said. "The ProfitBase organisation knows how to work with retailers, and its solution reflects this. The ProfitBase solution is totally configurable and eliminates any form of programming. We save up to 70 per cent on development time when adding new dimensions or measures. The strategic alliance between Microsoft and ProfitBase with respect to the adoption of retail standards will add more and more retail specifics to the solution."
About ProfitBase AS
ProfitBase AS, one of the fastest growing software companies in Norway, is focused on delivering standard, modular and configurable Business Performance Management software that delivers fast value for middle market businesses. Having captured over 80% of the Norwegian healthcare market, along with success in retail, manufacturing, wholesaling and service markets, ProfitBase attributes its success to the business philosophy of delivering solutions that solve their problems fast, so our customers realise value fast.
The ProfitBase AS software, named ProfitBase 2007 software, provides templates for data connectivity and business logic that makes business solutions quickly and easily installed and configured so businesses realise value within days, not months as is the case with competitive solutions. This makes ProfitBase ideally suited for middle market businesses because the functionality they need is readily available, not engineered for each customer and solutions are quickly and easily installed and configured.
ProfitBase AS has formed a company, ProfitBase NA Incorporated, to sell, deploy and support their software in North America. The North American strategy is to partner with business consultants and system integrators who are also targeting the similar size companies and markets with their service offerings.
About Microsoft
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Source: Microsoft Corp
Rune Vatnamot of ProfitBase, +47-91-61-37-37, rv@profitbase.com
