)

\
(
/

Time
Tool
"Tn"
ls group cialgroup.'As databecomeseasierto ac-
does a great job cess,"saysWeinman,"it's criticalto have
controlsin placeby makingsurethat some-
of delivering data
oneis accountable for specificdataelements
to people, but not in the repository.A big part of my job is to A RepresentativeList
information that make sure that the rest of the managers
of End-UserTools
those people can abideby our controls."CIGNA promotes
compliance by havingbusinessuserstake
use. Turning data Queryand ReportingTools
ownershipof everypieceof datathat is en-
into information tered into the repository.The namesand r BusinessObjects
is a highly cre- phonenumbersof the userswho serveas BusinessObjects Inc.,
ownersaccompanyeachdataelement,so Cupertino,
Calif.
ative process, and r CrystalReportsPro
other users will know whom to contactif
lS organizations they havequestionsor problems.Accessto Vancouver,
CrystalServices,
are not prepared the data is availableto the desktop via British
Columbia
CrossThrget, a multidimensional data-analy- I FocusReporter
to deal with it."
sistoolfromDimensional InsightInc. lnformation
BuildersInc.,NewYork
-JoHN KrsH
Anotherkey to forginga goodworkingre- r Quest
lationshipwith usersis for IS to recognize GuptaCorp,,MenloPark,Calif .
thatpoweruserscanin factbe greatalliesin r R&RReportWriter
the organization. Bv encouraging them to ConcentricDataSystems Inc.,
take on someprograniming and develop- Westborough,Mass.
ment responsibilities, IS canoffloadsome
routinetasks..\s a result,IS can devote Executive-lnformationSystemsand
moretimeto suchpressing issuesasimple- Decision'SupportSystemTools
mentingneri'technology andmigratingto r Commander EIS
distributedcomputing. Comshare Inc.,AnnArbor,Mich.
"[Javingpoweruserscanbe adversarial," r CrossTarget
sa1'sJoefucher,vicepresidentof application Dimensional InsightInc.,
development at ColonialManagement Asso- Burlington,Mass.
ciatesInc.in Boston."But if youwork close- r eSSbase
ly with them andgive them the propertrain- ArborSoftware Corp.,
ing,they canbe a tremendous asset."(See SantaClara,Calif.
relatedstory,Page53.) r Forest& Trees
Corp.,PaloAlto,Calif.
Trinzic
I LightshipProfessional
PilotSoftwareInc.,
Cambridge, Mass.
r SAS/EISSoftware
SASInstitute,Cary,N.C.
PRODUCTIVITY
SOURCESOFTWARE GROUP

Peaceful coexistence is necessarybecause

it is nearlyimpossibleto regainthe trust and
cooperation of endusersoncethey feelthat
IS is not givingthem whatthey want."The
genieis alreadyout of the bottle,in that we
knowthereis a realvaluein puttinginforma-
tion at the fingertipsof peoplewho makede-
cisions,"saysDan Kara,the directorof the
marketintelligencedivisionat the Software
ProductivityGroupin Northboro,Mass.If IS F
o
o

isn't responsive, enduserswill takeit upon m

themselvesto developtheir own systems.

ALLAN R. FR/{NK: "GlVlNG END USEFS A CANNED CIUERY TOOL ISN'T GOING "The only way IS canstop end usersfrom @

TO DO IT ANYMORE. BECAUSE ACCESSING DATA IS ONLY PART OF THE takingdevelopment into their own handsis o
o
PROBLEM." by adoptingdraconianmeasures." I
I

CIO/FEBRUARY 15, 1995