Case Study: Norfolk Southern Corporation achieves up to 60x faster business-intelligence queries and scalable, simplified IT with Oracle engineered systems

Norfolk Southern Gets Business Intelligence Query Results up to 60x Faster and Scales for Growth Using Simplified IT

Norfolk Southern Corporation, a major North American rail carrier operating some 20,000 route miles, needed faster, near‑real‑time business intelligence to support tactical decisions (locomotive deployment, maintenance scheduling, etc.), broaden reporting across many operational systems, reduce the load its data warehouse placed on critical applications, and improve visualization and mobile access for managers.

After a successful proof of concept, Norfolk Southern deployed Oracle engineered systems (Exadata, Exalytics) and Oracle Business Intelligence, which cut query times by up to 60x and improved dashboard performance 72–90% (93% for one group), reduced data‑warehouse load by 38%, increased compression 10x, enabled mobile BI and decentralized dashboard development, and simplified IT operations—delivering faster insights, greater scalability, and measurable time and cost savings.

Norfolk Southern Corporation

Mark Karuzis

Senior Technology Engineer – Business Intelligence Lead