CHALLENGE:

SONIC is the largest chain of drive-in restaurants across the U.S. with 3,500+ locations in 44 states. Drawing data from millions of customers daily, SONIC recognized Tableau’s potential to quickly turn enormous amounts of data into actionable business reports. With Tableau in hand, SONIC sought expert help in getting their data initiatives off the ground. This included extensive amounts of Tableau training along with the right mix of consulting savvy, to create the proper data structures to be brought into Tableau. They needed assistance from someone that fully understands how to implement lasting data analysis solutions in Tableau.

SOLUTION:

SONIC discovered that the most-qualified Tableau partner for the job had an office only a stone’s throw from their corporate offices in Oklahoma City, OK. InterWorks stepped in and immediately began working alongside a team of SONIC analysts, producing key reports to be presented to executives. In order to create these reports, InterWorks first pulled out data from Cubes, Hadoop and 1010data, transforming it in such a way that’s easy for Tableau to use. After applying this technical knowledge, they also helped build final reports in keeping with Tableau best practices. All the while, InterWorks provided detailed, hands-on training to SONIC’s analysts, giving them the tools necessary to continue in-depth analysis of their data in Tableau independently.

RESULTS:

InterWorks immediately changed the way SONIC analysts interacted with their data. Instead of having to manually pull out and manipulate data, they can now access that data directly via Tableau. Not only can they access their data faster, they can also create beautiful reports and dashboards on the fly. It wasn’t long until InterWorks began working with other groups throughout the organization, showing how Tableau could help them. This organization-wide adoption of Tableau, fostered by InterWorks, has streamlined the way Sonic makes data-based decisions.