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The client required the collection and reporting of large amounts of data from numerous regional sites. The data required is sensitive and confidential. ComSourceOne implemented
a medium-scale Oracle database installation with a data collection
and reporting software package. A high-speed Internet connection
and router was installed by ComSourceOne to access the data collection
and reporting software via a web-based interface. The company's data collection and reporting is now being handled entirely via the web-based system. The system requires extremely little day-to-day maintenance and support and the implemented security measures have held strongly against numerous outside probes and attacks.
As their business became more dependent on email, Internet systems, and information sharing between Asian and US offices, this multi-national corporation required assistance in determining, implementing and optimizing significantly higher bandwidth connections between US and Asian offices. The in-place, out-of-step, ISDN leased lines connecting US and Asian offices were hindering corporate activity. The company had strict savings, initial cost, and security criteria of what the new connections must achieve in order to be an acceptable alternative to existing lease lines. ComSourceOne undertook a complete 4-year cost/performance study and analysis of several available options including upgraded leased lines and VPN services, available from different manufacturers and service providers. After careful consideration, the company accepted ComSourceOne's recommendation to switch from their existing 128k leased line network to a fiber-optic hardware based VPN system. ComSourceOne implemented fiber optic Internet uplinks at each regional office and configured Cisco hardware VPN connections between the regional offices and the US main hub. In order to reduce down time during the change over, ComSourceOne carefully planned and synchronized the move with several internal and outsourced IT system management teams. As some of the existing router equipment could be upgraded to handle the new VPN role, the initial cost was very low. Even more impressive, average connection bandwidth between offices was increased by over 500% and total connection costs for the regional offices were reduced by over one-third. Due to the careful planning and coordination, the cut-over from the ISDN leased line network to the VPN link was done in a single morning with near zero downtime on all systems.
The Company was looking for a method of collecting and assessing safety data from over 5,000 sites both rural and urban. The data needed to be collected quickly and easily, and monitored for accuracy. Once the data collection was complete, the information required thorough analysis. ComSourceOne setup a database driven web interface with simple, easy to use input forms for data input, and quick reference reports to quickly review and assess the incoming data in real time. In order to protect the Company's data the web-based system was secured by strong encryption with automatically generated unique logons for each of the remote sites. When the data collection was complete, ComSourceOne assisted with the development of specialized data shaping, and safety analysis tools to help identify weak areas. Even with an extremely tight original time schedule, the project was completed on time and on budget. The Company was particularly impressed by the efficiency and simplicity of the centralized web-based data collection system. The resulting data yielded excellent results and provided useful safety information on the current Company operations.
The client required data collection and analysis tools capable of quickly importing large amounts of account-based financial data from numerous sources with a wide variety of formats, then provide financial reports based on the cleansed and amalgamated data. The client required easy to use analysis tools to organize, sort, and prioritize the data, and then output numerous financial indicators, factors, and values that could be quickly adjusted and compared on the fly. ComSourceOne produced a custom database application and import process capable of cleansing and importing a wide range of data formats. On top of the imported data, ComSourceOne also produced a custom Windows application capable of sorting, prioritizing, and organizing the thousands of account records quickly and easily. The resulting application was simple to use, intuitive and accurate. The application was also capable of outputting numerous financial reports and instantly producing complicated financial calculations, indices and factors based on real-time inputs by the user. The client has continued to use the same application for numerous financial projects and has processed over US$100,000,000 through the application. The man hours required to process the information has dropped from hundreds of hours per project to less than ten. At the request of the client, ComSourceOne has continued to improve and extend the application.
The client was looking for a low-cost, reliable method to include technical teams in different offices throughout Asia in numerous meetings and presentations held at other corporate locations around the world. After studying several options, ComSourceOne proposed implementing a central, secure, Internet-based broadcasting system in its Asian hub office located in Tokyo, Japan. The system consisted of web servers and real-time video broadcast servers connected to a high-speed Internet link, protected by a state-of-the-are Checkpoint Firewall appliance. At locations where a meeting, seminar, or presentation was being held, a basic laptop and video camera used to capture the event. The total system cost fell well within the client's specified cost guidelines, there were no additional running costs as the system used existing network infrastructures, and the final results could potentially far exceed performance expectations. The complete system was implemented in one-quarter of the expected time, and less than half the original budget. The client initially expected very small, low-quality video enabled on one or two PCs at each office, but were amazed to find that the completed system offered large, very high-quality video easily available from any PC in the organization, without any special installation or setup by the users. Since its implementation the system has become invaluable in providing company-wide participation in numerous important events. The company has doubled the capacity and number of events covered on its streaming broadcast system and is also considering using the same system in 3 other regional hubs. |
