The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc

BACKGROUND
The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc., headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, is an industry leader and one of the nation's largest commercial real estate and finance groups. A business incubator, they specialize in creating, developing and operating companies that provide real estate services. Inland also develops and operates real estate investment vehicles as well as businesses to support those efforts.

The companies that make up The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc. (some of which are referred to as "Inland") cumulatively employ more than 1,000 people in 22 states. With over $20 billion in assets and more than 100 million square feet of commercial real estate under management in their various portfolios, Inland ranks as the 5th largest shopping center owner in the United States.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Inland's JD Edwards and related systems contain a wealth of data about the performance and health of the hundreds of properties. Inland wanted better access to that data in order to more efficiently and proactively manage those properties. Inland would benefit from the advanced analytics that a more powerful business intelligence solution could offer. Inland believed that better decisions about property financial performance, tenant management and the leasing process could be made with better access to this data. In short, the Inland analysts desired more time to work with the data, rather than for it.

SOLUTION
Inland Computer Services, Inc., the Information Technology arm of Inland, turned to SWC Technology Partners for guidance as they considered making a business-driven technology investment. After gaining an understanding of the specific information requirements the Inland analysts had, SWC suggested a phased approach that included a "test drive" of the proposed solution. Phase one of SWC's engagement with Inland was a deep-slice, production-level proof of concept. SWC built a very robust multi-dimensional cube with more than 90 complex measures in support of property-level financial analysis. They employed Microsoft SQL Server 2005® Integration Services (SSIS) to extract data from JD Edwards and transform it for analysis and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) to create and serve the multi-dimensional cube. For this proof of concept SWC delivered access to the cube with Microsoft Excel 2007.

As this proof of concept cube was built, SWC worked with Inland to develop a long-term Business Intelligence Road Map. This road map centered around Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and an SWC Business Intelligence Portal that leverages Microsoft PerformancePoint™, Excel 2007®, SharePoint® and ProClarity® to deliver monitoring and analysis features to the end users. As the property cube was delivered, SWC created a demonstration portal deployed on top of that cube to help Inland's executives envision the benefits that the complete road map would deliver.

SWC is currently implementing the production-level Business Intelligence Portal and integrating Inland team members in this effort as the first part of a comprehensive knowledge transfer strategy. SWC is also designing a cube that will provide monitoring and analysis of Inland's billing and AR data, the next in a series of cubes that will result in a rich analysis context that provides visibility into Inland's critical success factors.

RESULTS
Inland's investment is beginning to payoff. Inland has already gained a better understanding of property performance, allowing the firm to focus management resources where they are most needed. The initial business intelligence solution that Inland deployed is a proven time saver. The quarterly external reporting that used to take weeks to prepare is now compiled in less than a day, allowing the analysts to analyze the performance, rather than wrestle with spreadsheets.

The cube that is currently in development will allow Inland entities to better measure their AR turn, identify the levers that will help them reduce outstanding receivables and more accurately determine the reserves. In short, Inland's Business Intelligence Road Map will provide early visibility and identification of potential issues and opportunities that, when resolved and leveraged, will help Inland achieve greater success.

ABOUT SWC TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS
SWC Technology Partners is the leading provider of innovative IT solutions to small and medium-size businesses. For more than 30 years, SWC has excelled at providing strategic guidance and delivering solutions tailored to the needs of growing organizations. SWC's areas of expertise include best-in-class Managed Services, Performance Management, Business Applications, Messaging & Collaboration and
Network Infrastructure & Security solutions. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, SWC is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a Symantec Gold Certified Partner and a Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Partner.

To learn more about SWC contact us at
info@SWC.com or call 630.572.0240.
630.572.0240 OFFICE
630.572.0390 FAX
WWW.SWC.COM

The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc. is comprised of a group of separate legal entities; some of which may be affiliates, share some common ownership or have been sponsored and managed by subsidiaries of Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation.

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