For the last decade, Savvis has been on the cutting edge of cloud computing technology. To provide the latest technology for its customers, it must stay on top of new technology itself. For example, Savvis is part of the technology preview program for Oracle Exalytics In-Memory Machine, and it is showing great promise for the organization.

At Savvis, a broad base of users rely on business intelligence (BI), from operations staff, to customer service, to high-level executives. All users need to view a variety of complex data sets to quickly find the data they need. For example, front-line employees who work directly with customers need to quickly view customer data across various dimensions—from what products and services the customer has purchased, to what service requests they have in progress, to their feedback on recent client loyalty surveys. In addition, executives need rapid access to accurate budget figures and other strategic planning information. Oracle Exalytics meets these users needs by providing advanced visualizations of complex data sets on one page and by enabling real-time filtering of data, for example by customer type, time period, geography, or product type. It also enables in-memory caching to deliver faster scenario testing, which helps decision-makers quickly visualize how various changes, such as costs, will affect future business performance.

Over the years, Savvis has relied on several disparate sources of BI, requiring users to pull data from various sources. With Oracle Exalytics In-Memory Machine, the company will have a single data set available right at users’ fingertips, enabling them to make smarter, more informed business decisions.

Once Oracle Exalytics In-Memory Machine is fully deployed, Michael Mahoney, senior manager of Business Operations for Savvis, expects the product to improve the company’s business operations significantly. For example, he expects it will help operations staff to respond more quickly to service outages and other customer issues that arise and enable sales staff to sell more effectively and efficiently.

“Overall, we expect Oracle Exalytics In-Memory Machine will help us foster stronger relationships with our customers. It will deliver, to our fingertips, the real-time data we need to continue to deliver world-class service,” Mahoney said.

So far, Mahoney has received positive feedback from users regarding the product’s ease of use, which he noted is key to user adoption of any BI tool.

“I see Oracle Exalytics improving user adoption because it delivers a much more pleasant user experience than other BI tools we’ve had in the past. With advanced visualization, no-click filtering, and charting tools, it provides a single source of data and enables users to easily manipulate data to meet their needs,” he said.