Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Selects Information Builders to Tame Its Data and Gain a Consolidated View of Business Operations

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jun 18, 2012) - Information Builders, a leader in business intelligence (BI) and analytics, information integrity, and integration solutions, today announced that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, a non-profit organization in Powell, Ohio, is using Information Builders' BI and integration solutions to develop BI portals, reports, and dashboards.

The zoo's initial BI assets will help managers in revenue and membership departments to access consolidated information, reducing costs and improving services to the public. The Columbus Zoo chose to standardize on Information Builders' WebFOCUS BI platform, because it minimizes custom coding, reduces development time, and provides multiple options for reporting, including Active Technologies, which enable mobile analytics.

"We've grown at a rapid rate in recent years, expanding our operations to include several new entities," said Gregg Oosterbaan, vice president of Technology Services at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. "We needed tools capable of capitalizing on our vast data assets, from point-of-sale, membership, and ticketing data to donations and animal health. We have a lot of different information systems, and we lacked a unified view across all of these entities, which made it difficult to make knowledgeable decisions. Information Builders is supplying the technology and services that we need to provide the best possible experiences for our animals and guests while continuing to grow our operations."

The zoo's executives wanted to understand performance metrics for each part of the organization on a daily basis, so they needed more than just static reports. The zoo worked with Information Builders to create a unified data warehouse that initially supports two reporting portals: a membership and revenue portal. The revenue portal will provide a summary of key metrics, including per capita revenue; monthly, weekly, and annual revenue streams; weather indicators that impact attendance and revenue models; and a revenue graph that tracks data for the past 10 days. This portal will also allow users to monitor daily sales data from each venue and perform basic financial analyses.

WebFOCUS Active Technologies enable users to search by date-range and other parameters to examine everything from individual revenue streams to how each sector performs at different points during the week. Previously, the revenue department had to manually collect data from multiple sources and create this type of report on a one-off basis. Now casual business users will be able to instantly manipulate up-to-date, reliable data. Information Builders' integration technology combines many disparate data sources to provide insight into the zoo's basic operations.

"Non-profit organizations collect a tremendous amount of operational data, but they often have trouble determining how everything fits together to obtain a meaningful view of the enterprise," said Gerald Cohen, president and CEO of Information Builders. "By analyzing their data holistically, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is achieving a level of efficiency that is a model for non-profit organizations everywhere."

About the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is home to more than 9,000 animals, representing 675 species, and provides more than $1 million annually to support more than 70 conservation projects worldwide. A recreational and education destination that includes the 22-acre Zoombezi Bay water park and 18-hole Safari Golf Club, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium hosts more than two million visitors annually and was named the number-one zoo in America by USA Travel Guide. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Columbus Zoo has earned Charity Navigator's prestigious four-star rating. For more information, visit columbuszoo.org.

About Information Builders
Information Builders helps organizations transform data into business value. Our software solutions for business intelligence and analytics, integration, and data integrity empower people to make smarter decisions, strengthen customer relationships, and drive growth. Our dedication to customer success is unmatched in the industry. That's why tens of thousands of leading organizations rely on Information Builders to be their trusted partner. Founded in 1975, Information Builders is headquartered in New York, NY, with offices around the world, 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.