Case Study: Designing Drugs Virtually

   Pharmaceutical companies and medical researchers are constantly trying to find new drugs that will provide better treatments for cancer and other serious illnesses. Until recently, this process was largely a matter of trial and error.

   Disease-fighting drugs typically work by attacking a disease-causing protein that is harmfully interacting with other molecules in the body. The drug is able to stop these interactions by connecting to the protein, and either restoring healthy interactions or compensating for the unhealthy ones. 

Case Study: Honam Petrochemical's Quest For Better Management Reports

  Honam Petrochemical Corporation (HPC), Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, this company manufactures and sells petrochemical products, including synthetic resins; synthetic industrial materials, including ethylene glycol and ethylene oxide for making polyester; automobile antifreeze solutions; benzene; propylene; and ethylene. HPC has about 1,700 employees, and its 2011 revenues were close to US$7.3 billion. It's a leader in Korea's heavy chemical industry.

    HPC's primary market is South Korea, but the company has set its sights on becoming a top-tier chemical company throughout Asia and achieving sales of US$10 billion. Honam plans to do this by strengthening its existing businesses, extending its overseas business, and developing new businesses. To manage its far-flung operations, HPC needs reliable reports that are able to accurately measure management performance and provide useful, accurate information for increasing sales and reducing costs. 

Case Study: Customer Relationship Management Heads To The Cloud

   Salesforce.com is the most successful enterprise scale software as a service (SaaS) and the undisputed global leader in cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Users can access Salesforce applications anywhere through an Internet-enabled mobile device or a connected computer. Subcriptions start as low as $15 per user per month for the pared-down Group version for small sales and marketing teams, with monthly subscriptions for large enterprise ranging from $65-$250 per user. 

Case Study: Austin Energy's Billing System Can't Light Up

    Austin Energy handles electrical, water and waste disposal for the City of Austin, Texas and surrounding counties, serving more than 1 million residents. It is publicly owned company and an arm of city government, and returns its profits to the community each year. The company has provided $1.5 billion in dividends back to Austin since 1976, which help fund city services such as fire, police, emergency medical services, parks and libraries. 

     Austin Energy has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the country, but its legacy billing systems did not integrate with smart meters and other newer technologies. It also lacked newer customer assistance options, like the ability to choose the time of the month that a customer prefers to pay bills. To modernize the billing system and to bring its information systems up to date with newer energy conservation methods, Austin Energy contracted with IBM in 2009 to create a centralized billing system and to run the system for five years.

Case Study: Groupon's Business Model: Social and Local

    Groupon is a business that offers subscribers daily deals from local merchants. The catch: a group of people (usually at least 25) has to purchase the discounted coupon (a "Groupon"). If you really want to go to that Italian restaurant in your area with a 50 percent discount coupon, you will need to message your friends to pay for the coupon as well. As soon as the minimum number of coupons is sold, the offer is open to everyone.

Case Study: Albassami's Job Is Not Feasible Without It

   If you live in a country with a diverse geography and a climate characterized as being harsh, with a dry desert and great temperature extremes like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and you need to move from one city to another, where the distance could be some thousand kilometers, you have two choices: to drive, or to fly and ship your car via a car transport carrier. Many people in the Kingdom prefer the second option. This has created a market for car transportation in the Kingdom that is the largest in the Middle East. Albassami was established to respond to these market needs. The Albassami International Group is considered one of the leading land transporters in the Middle East,


 

Case Study : LEGO - Embracing Change By Combining BI With A Flexible Information System

    The Lego Group, which is headquartered in Billund, Denmark, is one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world. Lego's main products have been the bricks and figures that children have played with for generations. The Danish company had experienced sustained growth since its founding in 1932 and for most of its history its major manufacturing facilities were located in Denmark. In 2003, Lego was facing tough competition from imitators and manufacturers of electronic toys. In an effort to reduce costs, the group decided to initiate a gradual restructuring process that continues today.