Case Study: The Charles Machine Works accelerates SAP reporting and self-service BI with Microsoft SQL Server and Simplement

The Charles Machine Works - Customer Case Study

The Charles Machine Works, a manufacturer of Ditch Witch equipment, faced significant challenges in accessing and reporting on its crucial SAP business data. Relying on slow, stale reports from SAP BW, the company's IT staff was overburdened, and employees lacked the timely information needed for decision-making. To address this, they turned to vendor Microsoft Corporation and implemented a business intelligence solution built on Microsoft SQL Server in partnership with Simplement, utilizing their Data Liberator product.

The solution from Microsoft and Simplement provided real-time access to SAP data, enabling self-service analytics through familiar tools like Excel and SharePoint. This resulted in IT generating reports faster than ever before and freed staff to focus on more strategic work. The measurable impact was substantial: the company replaced 80 percent of its legacy SAP BW reports within one month and achieved these results at a cost estimated to be 75 percent less than the SAP alternative.

The Charles Machine Works

Chris Simon

Data Warehouse Analyst