Data management continues to be a challenge for the participants in the global energy and commodity industry. Microsoft conducted a survey interviewing 282 major IT decision-makers in 2013 and concluded that 49% of respondents rated managing data growth as “extremely challenging” when managing their companies’ business intelligence, 41% rating integrating disparate BI tools as “extremely challenging”, and 40% rating the need for tools to analyze data and glean insights as “extremely challenging.”[1] The response of “extremely challenging” is no insignificant comment and is representative of the growing need for quicker data collection, more reliable data validation software, and more flexible third-party integration tools. According to ScribeSoft.com, only 16% of companies surveyed would describe their core business systems as being fully integrated.[2] Further, a quantitative research survey entitled “Data and the CFO”, commissioned by Statistical Analysis System (SAS) in July 2012, found that 78% of chief financial officers and financial directors at large U.K. companies are concerned that their company might accidentally submit inaccurate data during internal or external financial reporting.[3] With more and more data being collected by companies worldwide, the harder it is to maintain the integrity of that data, collect and store that data, and most of all integrate that data smoothly.
ZEMA offers an enterprise data management solution that continues to solve companies’ data issues including the world’s largest energy & commodity trading and financial companies. ZEMA’s functionalities include the following, each of which can be fully automated:
- Downstream-system integration
- Web services and SOAP APIs
- Excel spreadsheet add-in and integration
- Forward curve integration with third-party systems
- Upload and download any file format to and from ZEMA
ZEMA prides itself on having an open-architecture that enables it to integrate with any downstream system. Custom-built adapters can be created to send data from the ZEMA solution to any ETRM, BI tool, or database. ZEMA’s flexibility has allowed it to be integrated with leading software platforms including TIBCO Spotfire, Allegro, Triplet Point, and many more.
ZE and its partner Interactive Data Corporation (IDCO) are currently integrating one another’s data management solutions. IDCO’s FutureSource is a powerful front-end visualization and analytical engine that traders have used to leverage their analysis of real-time market feeds and pricing. Combining the automated integration and open-architecture capabilities of ZEMA with FutureSource’s intuitive user-interface, ZEMA and FutureSource enable front, middle, and back offices in energy and commodities markets to have a reliable solution to meet the challenges of data management.
Sign up for a free webinar on ZEMA and FutureSource integration on November 13, 2014 from 9:00-9:45am (PST) to learn our integration solution.
[1] “Global Enterprise Big Data Trends: 2013.” Microsoft.com. January 1, 2013. Accessed October 28, 2014. http://news.microsoft.com/download/presskits/bigdata/docs/bigdata_021113.pdf.
[2] “The Connected Enterprise: Bringing Data Together.” Scribe. January 1, 2014. Accessed October 28, 2014. http://www.scribesoft.com/content/infographic/The_Connected_Enterprise-Bringing_Data_Together.pdf.
[3] Ebbage, Alison. “Regulatory Reform and Data Management: Problems and Benefits.” Risk.Net. February 10, 2013. Accessed October 1, 2014. http://www.risk.net/operational-risk-and-regulation/feature/2240987/regulatory-reform-and-data-management-problems-and-benefits.