Case Study: First American Reports G/L Payroll Data

The nation’s largest data provider, First American Corporation supplies businesses and consumers with information in connection with the major economic events of people’s lives, such as getting a job, securing a mortgage or opening a business. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, this Fortune 500 company traces its history to 1889.

Challenge: Quick, Secure Access to Payroll Data

First American used a Hyperion Essbase database for years to store and report G/L transactions generated by payroll. The database architecture was very rigid and the software was expensive to maintain, but the system was kept since reporting was extremely fast. Loading data into Essbase required the use of highly-paid consultants even though the same data already existed in an Oracle database maintained by First American’s CHAMP II and G/L Datamart applications.

RBZ&A was asked to replace the Hyperion Essbase system using existing hardware, but to preserve the fast reporting times and strict rules for controlling access to data.

Solution: Create a Web Application for G/L Reporting

RBZ&A created the G/L Reporting (GLR) application. This ASP.NET web application works with First American’s Oracle database used by its CHAMP II hierarchy management application. Over one million rows of data are added to the database each month and report results are normally available to more than 100 GLR users within 5 seconds of submitting a report.

Crystal Reports allows users to produce reports in a variety of formats: Excel, Word or PDF. Permission-based authorizations control access to payroll and hierarchy data and determine the types of reports available to each user.

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