Previously, Disconnected, Non-Consolidated Data

Before implementing PowerOLAP, The Hatboro-Horsham School District did not have a centralized information hub where users could easily view and manipulate data from different departments. “We had our financial data in Oracle and student information in Universe. Data could not be viewed at one common place,” said Marc Greenberg, Director of Software Applications and Data Management.  It then took a lot of time and effort to extract data and put it all together in an integrated location. “The time required to extract data from our internal systems was cumbersome and time consuming,” noted Robert Reichert, Director of Business Affairs for the district.

In order to see all information in one place, the data was extracted into Excel spreadsheets. “We were using spreadsheets manually to piece together our information from our internal systems,” Reichert commented. For example, the food services department for the district had detailed revenue and expense records from breakfast and lunch sales all kept in spreadsheets, which were updated through labor-intensive data entry.

“POWEROLAP HAS ELIMINATED MANY HOURS OF MANUAL DATA INPUT”

PowerOLAP Eliminates Manual Data Extraction, Reporting, and Analysis

“Now, PowerOLAP updates, regulates, and extracts the information from the systems in a customized format, saving a lot of data entry time,” said Reichert. The departments in the school district no longer have to run long processes for reporting needs. “For instance, the HR department can easily view the information on medical bill coverage without having to manually put together a report,” explained Greenberg.  Perhaps best of all—at least for those who are comfortable in Excel—district staff can still use spreadsheets while benefitting from easy-to-use customization features, and speedy updates that PowerOLAP offers.

One-Place to View Information for Education Intelligence

Before choosing PowerOLAP, Marc Greenberg the Director of Software Application and Data Management for the Hatboro-Horsham district looked at PowerOLAP from the standpoint of a data warehouse and was skeptical about the rigidity of such products. Marc was pleasantly surprised by how flexible and simple PowerOLAP is.

“I was able to pull data from various external sources and create cubes that can be easily accessed by everyone.” 

Reichert also noted PowerOLAP’s unique ability to extract data from a number of different internal systems, easily and swiftly, and organize it in a customized format as one of the most beneficial features of the. “With PowerOLAP, we can pull the financial costs of a specific grade level into a cube so members of the department can see the student grades for that course. “The curriculum office can look at a student’s grades, attendance, discipline in one view,” said Greenberg.

Budgeting with Ease and Flexibility

The school district can allocate budget resources effectively and efficiently with the help of PowerOLAP—it is no longer a challenge to compare large volumes of data on regular basis.

“High school principals are able to look at budget allocations in all departmental areas for the last 5 years and compare budget to actuals as quickly as a finger snap.” Bob Reichert.

Unlike the district’s previous setup, which could only view current and prior year, PowerOLAP offers the ability to see budget details for as back as the district wishes. “Departments can view data from 2006 to present and this is automatically populated in the New Year, so now the departments can see all those years in one view,” said Greenberg.  As an information system administrator, Greenberg also noted that the security features of PowerOLAP allow data that does not need to change to be securely locked down to prevent accidental changes. This gives total data security and peace-of mind to IT managers like Greenberg.

Instant Data Updates and Customized Views in Seconds

PowerOLAP has equipped the district with the ability to access data in quick and simple way. “We have the ability to refresh our data as quickly and as often as we like. For example, our financials and staff attendance data can be updated every day,” noted Greenberg.  The school district has access to automatic data updates via PowerOLAP, and its drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to view data in varied formats: the product’s flexibility enables users to change the way they see their information without having to rewrite a report or ask IT staff to create customized reports for them.

“WITH POWEROLAP, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS POINT, CLICK AND DRAG IF A USER WANTS A DIFFERENT VIEW”

Expanding the Power of PowerOLAP Beyond the District

The Hatboro-Horsham School District is enjoying the benefits of having access to data instantly to make decisions that help buttress the district’s endeavors in providing outstanding educational experience. The district intends to expand the use of the product throughout various departments in order to help make better educational decisions. “We built a rudimentary cube with PowerOLAP to identify students that are at-risk based on their discipline infractions and grades so that we can intervene before they go down the wrong road.”

The school district also wants to promote the use of PowerOLAP outside the district in order to get schools in other districts to obtain the advantage and numerous benefits that PowerOLAP has to offer.

“WE WANT TO CREATE A DATABASE WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE INFORMATION FOR BETTER “EDUCATION INTELLIGENCE.” THAT IS POWER OF POWEROLAP.”

With PowerOLAP, the district is able to consolidate data from different departments and external data sources, such as their HR, Payroll, Student Information, Financial, and other systems. All users, with appropriate security privileges, can access information in one unified location. And, crucially, this fosters—in an online and dynamic way—data discoveries that help in the serious business of running a school district and in spotting trends that enable students to excel.

“I ALWAYS FEEL EXTREMELY LUCKY THAT I GET TO DRIVE THE LAMBORGHINI THAT IS POWEROLAP EVERY DAY!”