REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 11, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Informatica Corporation (Nasdaq:INFA), the world's number one independent provider of data integration software, today announced that South West Water in the U.K. has selected Informatica Data Quality , an integral part of the Informatica Platform, to deliver trusted, high quality data across all its infrastructure assets. The company will use the open, flexible and unified technology to find and fix data quality problems across applications, such as its core asset management system and geospatial information application. The end result has been South West Water optimizing the efficiency of its assets and ensuring tight compliance with water industry regulations.
South West Water provides reliable and efficient water services throughout the South West of the U.K. The company was established in 1989 following the privatization of the U.K. water industry. At the time, the company inherited an array of infrastructure assets, ranging from a vast network of pipes and pumping systems, to water treatment works and reservoirs. With a vast amount of data coming from disparate sources and of questionable quality, South West Water's data was not as trustworthy as it should be. A lack of high quality data, for example, meant that engineers might be delayed repairing an underground water pipe because they had inaccurate data about its geographic location; or the water main they were servicing required different equipment to that which they had with them.
South West Water was also challenged to comply with stringent water industry regulations and standards issued by Ofwat -- the UK water services regulation authority -- including those guiding security, pipeline integrity, reliability, environmental protections and trading. Unreliable, inaccurate data undermined the company's ability to adhere to Ofwat guidelines, and the company risked being penalized financially for non-compliance.
South West Water chose Informatica following a detailed examination of alternative leading data integration solutions. It examined vendors residing in the 'Leader Quadrant' of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Quality Tools, and ultimately chose Informatica based on a combination of class-leading reporting functionality, integration with South West Water's geospatial information application, and price-performance.
The company is deploying Informatica Data Quality to ensure data concerning infrastructure assets is accurate, complete and current―transforming it into a strategic asset for competitive advantage. Specifically, South West Water will use the technology to clean data residing within two core systems. The Informatica data quality solution, which is being implemented with expert support from Informatica Professional Services, will ultimately touch multiple different line of business, including Operations, Finance, Customer Support and Engineering. For the first time, they will be able to trust the data they are viewing, regardless of its source, structure or content.
"Informatica is a key element in South West Water's vision of supplying pure water, great service and environmental integrity to its customers throughout the south west of England," said Vicky Capel, delivery manager, South West Water. "The Informatica Platform is the right choice for South West Water―the best-in-class technology will enable the company to find and fix data quality shortcomings in its assets, ensuring the data is clean and remains clean. By building confidence and trust in our enterprise data, the Informatica Platform will give South West Water the edge in efficient asset management."
Ivan Chong, general manager, Data Quality Business, Informatica, comments, "The U.K. water industry has undergone massive changes in the last decade—including deregulation, consolidation, reduced margins and tighter regulation. These changes have spawned significant information management challenges, surrounding the growing volume of data, its complexity and quality. By standardizing on the Informatica Platform, South West Water joins a growing and illustrious list of organizations that are increasing operational efficiency, more effectively complying with a growing number of government and industry regulations, and responding more quickly to dynamic market changes. By investing in cleaner data, they are able to deliver cleaner water."
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About South West Water
Part of Pennon Group plc, South West Water provides reliable, efficient and high quality drinking water and waste water services throughout Cornwall and Devon in the U.K. and in small areas of Dorset and Somerset. The company also looks after the region's bathing waters and coastline. For more information, visit: www.southwestwater.co.uk
About Informatica
Informatica Corporation (Nasdaq:INFA) is the world's number one independent leader in data integration software. The Informatica Platform provides corporations with a comprehensive, unified, open and economical approach to lower IT costs and gain competitive advantage from their information assets. More than 4,200 companies worldwide rely on Informatica to access, integrate and trust their information assets held in the traditional enterprise and in the internet cloud. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com. Connect with Informatica at http://www.facebook.com/InformaticaCorporation, http://www.linkedin.com/companies/3858 and http://twitter.com/InformaticaCorp.
Note: Informatica, Informatica Data Quality and Informatica Professional Services are trademarks or registered trademarks of Informatica Corporation in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other company and product names may be trade names or trademarks of their respective owners.