Get on BOARD With High Performance Cloud Connectivity

Cloud solutions are increasingly essential, but organizations sometimes don't know where to start. BOARD International quickly migrated their BI and CPM solution to the cloud with Progress DataDirect.

BOARD International combines business intelligence (BI), corporate performance management (CPM), and business analytics into a single solution used by over 3000 organizations worldwide. This unique, all-in-one tool allows them to deliver a solution that competitors such as SAP would require three separate products for the same functionality. Up until now, BOARD only offered on-premise solutions, but they soon came to the understanding that a cloud offering was essential. “It’s a must-have for survival in the market,” said BOARD CTO Pietro Ferrari.

 

Reaching the Cloud

In order to migrate their on-premise solution to the cloud, BOARD needed to find a provider that securely and quickly moved their data. BOARD found Progress DataDirect through previous experience with our ODBC connectors. Progress DataDirect's cloud connectivity driver provided all that BOARD needed in an innovative way that was different from anyone else.

Ferrari downloaded a trial version of the Progress DataDirect Cloud connectivity driver. “We didn’t find any other solution that took the same approach as Progress,” said Ferrari. A cloud offering in itself, Progress DataDirect Cloud provides a web portal where you can configure everything, rather than installing the connectivity driver on your own server. “Progress does all the maintenance and updates transparently, so we don’t have to,” he said. “We didn’t find anything else similar on the market.”

The Right Choice for Today and the Future

Ferrari said by choosing Progress DataDirect Cloud, he made the right choice for today and for the future. “We needed a solution that would work immediately, and it did,” he said. “We didn’t even know if it was possible in the first place, and it saved us from having to dedicate our own developers to building an in-house solution, which could have taken months. Instead, we just downloaded DataDirect from the web, and it was done.”

Implementing the DataDirect Cloud solution only took three months from the initial trial download. With the solution implemented, BOARD can now have a customer up and running in the cloud in as little as 10 minutes! “When we presented our cloud strategy to partners, most of the questions were around data connectivity; because we’re in the BI space, we deal with large amounts of data per transaction, and everyone is concerned about data performance and security,” he said. “Progress DataDirect Cloud alleviated those concerns and made our move to the cloud possible.”

Immediate, Secure, Flexible

“Progress DataDirect Cloud gives us the flexibility to meet whatever configuration needs our customers have.” If you are searching for a cloud solution to transform your business and create the best customer experience possible, look no further than Progress DataDirect Cloud connectors. For more information about our journey with BOARD International, take a look at our case study, “How BOARD International Makes Progress.”

Want to know what other customers have to say? Check out, “Chatham Financial Builds Secure SQL Server with DataDirect,” or “Killik & Co Seamlessly Integrates MongoDB and SQL Server.”