Utah Transit Authority Wins 2016 Computerworld Data+ Editors’ Choice Award for Information Builders Implementation

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – Sep 12, 2016) – Information Builders, a leader in business intelligence (BI) and analytics, data integrity, and integration solutions, is proud to announce that the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) was named a winner in the 2016 Computerworld Data+ Editors’ Choice Awards for its use of Information Builders’ technology to improve the way its employees perform day-to-day duties and make UTA more effective and cost-efficient.

Tweet this: .@RideUTA wins @Computerworld Data+ Editors’ Choice Awards for self-service #analytics with @infobldrs http://ow.ly/sRhj3044nwP

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) provides public transportation services throughout six counties in the Wasatch Front of Utah. It operates fixed route, express, and ski buses; three light rail lines; a streetcar line; and a commuter rail train. Encompassing more than 1,400 square miles, UTA has one of the largest coverage areas of any public transportation agency in the country, providing public transportation to 80 percent of Utah residents. To keep trains on schedule, assess gaps in coverage, pinpoint the causes of delays, and improve transit operations, UTA historically had to access a tremendous amount of data from multiple disparate sources, then analyze it manually in Excel — or wait for its IT department to create custom reports.

UTA turned to Information Builders to address this issue and create a unified view of its information. The agency leveraged Information Builders’ WebFOCUS BI and analytics platform, iWay DataMigrator, and InfoAssist intelligence and integration technologies to provide users with guided self-service analytics to visualize data through dashboards and self-service queries. As a result, UTA’s analysts can help themselves to information and manage clean data from multiple databases and applications with previously unachievable levels of sophistication, speed, and accuracy. Authorized UTA personnel use the dashboard to analyze traffic patterns on the buses and rail systems, and business users in marketing, operations, and other domains now have flexible analytic tools to forecast capacity, optimize routes, and conduct a variety of other analyses that improve transit services for riders.

Clair Fiet, chief technology officer, Utah Transit Authority, said:
“We are grateful to Computerworld for its recognition in the Data+ Editors’ Choice Awards, and to Information Builders for providing us with the tools to extend self-service analytic capabilities to business users throughout our organization. We now have a unified way to perform all types of detailed analysis and have seen an incredible improvement in workflows across various departments.”

Gerald Cohen, president and CEO, Information Builders, said:
“Anyone who has ever used public transit appreciates the critical importance of reliability and ensuring that operations run smoothly. UTA is an excellent example of how agencies can use their existing data assets to do this more effectively, and we’re thrilled to see its achievements recognized by Computerworld’s awards program.”

Scot Finnie, editor in chief, Computerworld, said:
“We are pleased to announce the 2016 Computerworld Data+ Editors’ Choice Awards honorees. This year’s 20 winning organizations have used data analytics to achieve a wide spectrum of gains, from improving business profitability to uncovering trends in criminal activity and reducing energy use — even keeping trains running on schedule. We’re continually impressed with the new and inventive analytics projects at organizations big and small uncovered through our Data+ program. This year’s winning organizations are at the forefront of applying data analytics to deliver both business and societal benefits.”

The Data+ Editors’ Choice Awards honorees and their achievements will be highlighted in a special September feature on Computerworld.com.

For more information, join Information Builders for our “Advanced Dashboards and Analytics for Public Transit” webcast, which features the success UTA has had using dashboards, Active Technology reports, Search, and other WebFOCUS solutions for self-service end-user reporting and analytics.

About Utah Transit Authority
Established in 1970, UTA has become a multi-modal transportation leader that is 100 percent accessible with a fleet of more than 600 buses and paratransit vehicles, 406 vanpools, 146 light rail vehicles, 63 commuter rail cars and 18 locomotives. UTA operates in seven counties along the Wasatch Front, including 45 miles of light rail in Salt Lake County and 90 miles of commuter rail from Salt Lake City to destinations in Utah and Weber counties. In 2015, UTA ridership was more than 46.6 million boardings. 

About Information Builders
Information Builders provides solutions for business intelligence (BI), analytics, data integration, and data quality that help drive performance improvements, innovation, and value. Through one set of powerful products, we enable organizations to serve everyone — analysts, non-technical users, even partners, customers, and citizens — with better data and analytics. Our dedication to customer success is unmatched with thousands of organizations relying on us as their trusted partner. Founded in 1975, Information Builders is headquartered in New York, NY, with global offices, and remains one of the largest independent, privately held companies in the industry. Visit us at informationbuilders.com, follow us on Twitter at @infobldrs, like us on Facebook, and visit our LinkedIn page.

About Computerworld’s Data+ Editors’ Choice Awards
The Computerworld Data+ Editors’ Choice awards program was launched in 2013 by IDG’s Computerworld editorial team to recognize organizations that are mining big data to analyze and predict business trends and monetize this information. Organizations were asked to complete questionnaires detailing their big data projects, which were then reviewed by the Computerworld editorial team. From those questionnaires, honorees were selected for their ability to achieve business benefits through big data, and demonstrate real-world results and best practices. View the 2016 winners on Computerworld.com.