Marketing mail tracking website. ASP.NET with web service data access, Sql Server 2012 data source, Reporting Services reports, and Open Source mapping using Ajax for client side populating events
Projects
Business Intelligence
Data Management
Customer Centric
Insightful Analysis
Data holds the answers, but in these days of big data, finding them can be a challenge. One way to manage the sheer mass of data, is to change the way we look at it. The human brain is a visual processor, and changing the data to pictures can highlight problems and solutions instantly.
This project involved finished goods logistics. Freight costs were up, and delivery times were down, but with hundreds of delivery points for hundreds of thousands of packages, finding the source of the problem was daunting. Using QlikView we modeled the data in heat maps to identify volume points, and color coded deliveries on a map of the US, charting cost and time. The design was entertaining, but the results were instantaneous. The problem points (and solutions points!) were instantly visible. Outliers were converted to alternative shipping procedures, and the losers became winners, improving deliverability and reducing overall costs.
Rock Solid Management
Information is no good if you can't access it. Having your systems fine tuned and humming 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is essential. The right infrastructure with the right plan will guarantee that.
Business was up, volumes were high, and our aging hardware was feeling the burden. A new design was needed. Working with Systems, we designed new server architecture to support the requirements of our SQL data. Multiple servers, multiple IO points to segregate transactional from reporting data and log functions from data functions, and sufficient access to backup resources addressed the hardware requirements. Upgrading to the latest stable SQL server platform, and scrubbing the 100+ production databases for key differences in functionality from the previous server release covered the data storage. Then with a new backup paradigm in place for hands off continuous backup management, and we were comfortable back to reliable, rock solid data.
Thoughtful Communications
The customer is always right. Yes, the customer is always right, but sometimes they need help. Your customer is one of your most valuable resources, and they need to be treated that way. Sometimes you need IT that understands this. This project involved our customer, a marketing agency, working a sale with one of the top non-profit organizations in the world. They needed tech at the table to understand the complications of the project at hand, designing and implementing a donation response mail program. I provided the text to the sales team at coffee shop meetings, and sat at the table in their Atlanta headquarters, absorbing the complexities of the project, and providing insight on the options available to reach the goal. At the end, our customer won the campaign, and I was point for developing and implementing the program, building from the ground up a system to receive, process, produce, and send donation receipts from call center and events to end customers and report back status to the non-profit.