Denmark’s largest trade union, providing 362,000 members up-to-date labor information through 78 offices needed ongoing compliance and visibility. Manages large amounts of data used to produce statistics and customizable reports. Legacy system was inflexible, expensive and time consuming to maintain. Very little data modeling experience. The result was database modeling effectively lowered administration costs of integrating data. Increased utilization of data assets. Data model-centric approach helped team better understand and utilize their data, reduce redundancy, and build consistency. Ease of migration of data- bases from legacy systems.

1. Success Story
An ER/Studio
“My experiences with our Danish solution provider show me
Success Story
that Embarcadero is more attentive to the needs of their
OrganizatiOn:
customers than other companies whose data products
United Federation of Danish
may not be as core to the business. i am sure that our full
Workers – Trade Union
implementation of Er/Studio will have an enormous impact
”
on our ability to serve the needs of our customers.
– Ulla Sprogøe, Data administrator, 3F
appliCatiOn
Denmark’s largest trade union,
OvErviEw 3F understood how important it was to have
providing 362,000 members control over data, respond to customer
The United Federation of Danish Workers (3F) is
up-to-date labor information requests in real-time, and create new reports
Denmark ‘s largest trade union. Formed through
through 78 offices and applications at a moment’s notice. But 3F’s
the merger of the General Workers’ Union
IT-department of 70 people was still using a
(SiD), the Women Workers’ Union (KAD) and
tOOlS legacy system of Adabas databases coded in
the National Restaurant Trade Union (RBF), 3F
Natural. Though still functional, the system had
ER/Studio® organizes both skilled and unskilled workers in
been developed in the 1980’s and was inflexible,
several sectors including industry, building and
expensive and time consuming to maintain.
ChallEngES
construction, transport, cleaning, gardening,
• Needed ongoing 3F’s IT department made a decision to develop a
agriculture and forestry. Covering both the
compliance and visibility new IT strategy that focused on data quality and
private and public sector, 3F focuses on offering
control, comprised of two significant initiatives.
its 362,000 members the best and most up-to-
• Manages large amounts
First they wanted to migrate from Adabas to
date information and support for labor issues via
of data used to produce Microsoft SQL Server. In order to accomplish
78 offices countrywide.
statistics and customizable this, all new systems had to be developed in a
reports Microsoft environment, with data residing in SQL
ChallEngE
• Legacy system was Server databases, while also establishing a new
The Danish government mandates 3F as data warehouse using Microsoft products instead
inflexible, expensive and
the organization responsible for managing of SAS. Second, they wanted to transition
time consuming to maintain Denmark’s unemployment insurance. In this towards service oriented applications (SOA),
• Very little data modeling capacity, 3F manages large amounts of data building systems modularly and standardizing
experience used to produce the reports and statistics that wherever possible.
form the basis of negotiations between unions,
Data modeling quickly became an urgent
employers, and politicians and the foundation
rESUltS
requirement as 3F migrated from the poorly
of public policy decisions. This data must be
• Database modeling documented Adabas legacy system to SQL
correct, factual and easy to access. With ongoing
effectively lowered Server relational databases. The IT team’s
changes to the law, the systems that manage this
administration costs of developers had neither data modeling
data need to be meticulously maintained not
integrating data experience nor the tools to create them.
only to ensure data quality and provide visibility
Without a logical or conceptual model to
• Increased utilization of data into how data is used over time, but also to
understand the structure of database it was
support and comply with the most current
assets
going to be difficult to migrate over to a new
legislation.
• Data model-centric system.
approach helped team The upkeep of this data infrastructure is
absolutely critical to all of Denmark’s working
better understand and SOlUtiOn
citizens, as ultimately it forms the basis for how
utilize their data, reduce
Ulla Sprogøe, data administrator for 3F, and
workers will be cared for by the state in the
redundancy, and build
her team created a comprehensive Request
event of an insurance claim.
consistency
for Proposals (RFP) and distributed it to several
• Ease of migration of data- local solution providers to source a solution
bases from legacy systems that would meet their current and future growth
needs. 3F required a solution that would

2. A ER/Studio Success Story
“Based on functionality, support, customer
provide cross-platform support as well
as extensive data-modeling capabilities.
It would also need to enable them to
references and price, Er/Studio was and
thoroughly analyze existing data sources
”
and design and implement high-quality
still is the right choice for 3F.
databases.
– Ulla Sprogøe, Data administrator, 3F
After demonstrations by local solution
providers, the team took the products
through a more detailed review to see
how they performed when tasked with BEnEFitS modeling practices. By enforcing standards,
specific problems. 3F found ER/Studio’s and being able to analyze and document
global functionality made it easier than data elements, 3F’s IT team can better
Complete Database Modeling
the competition to work across models understand and utilize their data, reduce
ER/Studio functionality made it dramatically
and libraries, which is important for future redundancy, and build consistency.
easier to work across models and libraries.
development. It was also easier to scope
With new model development underway,
redundancy and data reuse with ER/Studio, Ease of Migration From legacy Systems
models can be used and reused across the
and the user interface was superior. Access
ER/Studio makes it possible for 3F’s IT
organization, improving consistency and
to metadata was easier than Computer
management to migrate from a legacy
saving time. Although measuring ROI can
Associate’s ERwin. 3F found ER/Studio’s
system to SQL Server in the most efficient
be difficult, ER/Studio created a modeling
metadatabase (RepoDB) easier to
manner possible. ER/Studio maps rules for
process that is streamlined, with automated
understand and access, and there are many
the converstion from Adabas to SQL Server,
information gathering and sharing of output
macros to improve functionality.
binding the two platforms together and
and models online. This effectively lowers
”I thoroughly tested a variety of products, ensuring a high degree of consistency and
the administration costs of integrating data
comparing them to the needs of our reduced duplication.
and allows the team to better estimate and
organization. Though I did not have deliver projects on time.
visibility to all our needs at that time, I am COnClUSiOn
very pleased with ER/Studio, which I think increased Utilization of Data assets
The rollout was highly effective in
of as the best data modeling solution,”
demonstrating organizational benefits within
3F’s IT team is realizing many of the benefits
commented Ulla Sprogøe. “Based on
a short period of time. 3F utilized ER/Studio
of ER/Studio by scoping redundancy and by
functionality, support, customer references
for the data modeling strategy that is central
re-using metadata to provide more accurate
and price, ER/Studio was and still is the right
to its new SOA strategy and SQL Server
data, which helps communication and
choice for 3F. It will be a very central and
implementations. ”My experiences with
provides better more relevant information
strategic tool.”
our Danish solution provider shows me that
to its customers. By utilizing the large
All new SQL-databases are documented in Embarcadero is more attentive to the needs
availability of varied macros, the team was
ER/Studio and this solution will serve as the of their customers than other companies
able to improve functionality quickly and
master model for the organization’s data whose data products may not be as core
efficiently without having to resort to time-
infrastructure. As Adabas is phased out over to the business. I am sure that our full
consuming customization work.
the next few years, 3F will use ER/Studio implementation of ER/Studio will have an
to document the transition to SQL tables enormous impact on our ability to serve the
Data Model-Centric approach to Ensure
and to map rules and ownership status. For needs of our customers,” said Ulla Sprogøe.
Data Quality
3F’s new CRM system, ER/Studio will also
3F is able to define and reuse common
document the relations between SQL tables
data elements and modeling components
and CRM records.
across projects to establish standards in their
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