Customer story · American University of the Middle East
Significantly improving report productivity with Argos
The biggest private university in Kuwait traded slow, in-house report development for Argos, then watched it spread from IT to Finance, Procurement, Registration, and beyond.
Egaila, Kuwait
Private university
Argos
- Wider report accessUnlimited licensing lets more staff use Argos, and AUM’s user count has almost doubled.
- Better reportsThe quality of AUM’s reports has been notably enhanced.
- Faster report deliveryAutomation has significantly improved report productivity and cut generation time.
American University of the Middle East at a glance
2008
Founded
8,500+
Students
500+
Faculty and staff
12
Undergraduate programs
01
The challenge
Every report waited on IT, and everyone was frustrated
The American University of the Middle East (AUM), located in Egaila (Eqaila), is the biggest private university in Kuwait. Its IT team relied on reports they developed in house, including their own data mart, to meet the university’s reporting requirements.
However, developing and, if need be, changing those reports proved tedious and extremely time consuming. IT was getting frustrated with the ongoing report requests and, at the same time, end users were not happy with the delays in getting their reports.
Decisions run on reports
Nearly all of AUM’s business decisions are based on the data in its reports.
Slow to build, slow to change
Developing or changing an in-house report was tedious and extremely time consuming.
Requests kept coming
IT was frustrated by the ongoing requests; end users by the delays.
AUM realized it needed an easier way to do reporting, and that it was time to invest in a professional enterprise reporting system.
02
The solution
Bought for IT. Adopted by the whole university.
As a Banner by Ellucian user, AUM turned to Ellucian for guidance. Their recommendation was Evisions Argos.
AUM carefully evaluated the functional, technical, and cost aspects of Argos and other solutions suitable for their requirements. They found everything in Argos to their liking. Most appealing was how simple it was to use.
Then other departments noticed
At the time of the evaluation, AUM intended to use Argos primarily for the IT team, to speed up the delivery of reports. During implementation and training, however, other departments realized how much the solution could benefit them, and started meshing Argos with their own reporting requirements.
When they started building their own reports, they were further surprised, and happy, to learn how intuitive Argos’s graphical user interface is and how quickly they can generate reports.
Besides IT, the core users are now Finance, Procurement, and Registration. HR, Student Affairs, Admissions, and Academic Advancement also make great use of Argos. Since implementation, AUM’s uses for Argos have become manifold.
| Before | With Argos |
|---|---|
| Reports developed in house by IT, on its own data mart | Departments build their own reports in an intuitive graphical interface |
| Changing a report was tedious and extremely time consuming | Reports generated quickly, by the people who need them |
| End users waiting on IT for their reports | Reports delivered automatically to users or shared locations on schedule |
| Reporting built around the IT team | Finance, Procurement, Registration, HR, and more use Argos |
AUM has also taken advantage of Argos’s enterprise license model, which allows for unlimited users and licenses. Multiple staff members can use the solution without worrying about additional licenses or fees, and AUM has seen its user count almost double since the initial implementation.
“
The implementation of Evisions Argos was like a boon to end users. The real advantage of any IT implementation is how it can benefit the business, enabling informed decisions by looking at the right reports. Argos provided precisely that in a startlingly impressive way.
IT Department · American University of the Middle East
03
The results
Faster reports, and better ones
The automation of reports has significantly improved AUM’s report productivity. Argos has reduced the time it takes to generate reports, and the quality of the reports themselves has been notably enhanced.
The Schedule & Delivery feature in Argos automatically distributes reports to specific end users, or to designated shared locations, at specific times, so those reports are ready to be viewed when needed.
Report productivity, up
Automated reports have significantly improved AUM’s report productivity.
Higher-quality reports
The quality of the reports themselves has been notably enhanced.
Almost double the users
Unlimited licensing let AUM’s user count almost double since implementation.
Reports ready on time
Schedule & Delivery puts reports where they are needed, when they are needed.
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Reports gathered into one place on the web
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