IRVINE, Calif., Dec 10, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In such a tight economy, retailers compete best with razor-sharp focus: lead with the strong suit and run as efficiently as possible. But how does a retailer play to his strengths if he's not even sure what they are?

That was the question facing Clint Brauer, general manager of CyberRead ( http://www.CyberRead.com), an online retailer that sells ebooks directly to consumers and as a distributor to retailers like Amazon.com and others. And that was the business challenge that led him to Analytix On Demand(TM) ( http://www.AnalytixOnDemand.com), which provides enterprise-class business intelligence at a fraction of the cost.

With more than 70,000 titles offered in several different ebook formats for hundreds of different reading devices - not to mention the typical product subdivisions of genre and author - Brauer had a lot of data to sift through just to get a good read on the basics of CyberRead's business performance.

Overwhelmed with data from multiple sources about sales figures, distribution channels, royalty payments and more, Brauer said he had almost no insight into which authors, formats and categories were selling best.

"I need to know what's selling and what's not, and what parts of the business are growing so I can focus my resources there," said Brauer. "But I also need to spend my time running the business - not running calculations. I was doing some analysis manually, and had several distinct systems each crunching different sets of numbers - but nothing really worked together.

"But now Analytix On Demand automatically analyzes data from every area of the business, consolidating information from various sources - like Google Analytics - into one dashboard. Now I can see what products are selling best and which distribution channels are most effective. The insight helped me see that the publishing side of CyberRead - which I hadn't been paying much attention to - was actually the fastest-growing segment of the business. I was leaving a lot of money on the table by not realizing the relative value of one distribution channel over the others. Now I use Analytix On Demand to identify what's important."

Brauer said trended historical data gathered and analyzed by Analytix On Demand helped him decide which ebook formats were most valuable to the business. He was able to cut the formats he offered from 10 down to the four most profitable.

Analytix On Demand connects the dots across an entire organization to give companies the central truth about business performance. Its service offers fast and affordable business intelligence, helping companies of any size - from SMBs to the enterprise - see what's really going on throughout an organization and how each business area affects everything else. This insight helps clients act with confidence, save time, reduce costs and boost profits.

"Our mission is to help people solve business problems, not to deliver data for data's sake," said Vik Torpunuri, Analytix On Demand founder and CEO. "We start with a massive amount of pre-built reports and dashboards, but we also make it easy for clients to build customized reports to suit their needs. We want to liberate those who don't have the time, energy or resources to make sense of all the disparate data, and quickly and easily give them actionable business insight."

'What Used to Take Two Days Now Takes Just Two Hours.'

Calculating royalty payments used to take someone two to three days a month, according to Brauer. Now he's done in just a few hours. He doesn't need to hire or contract someone else to run the numbers -- he can easily do it himself.

He said soon CyberRead's 100+ publishers will be able to log into their accounts and see how all of their products are selling across all channels.

"We've gained all of this productivity without hiring more staff - an especially important bonus during an economic downturn," Brauer said. "Now it's easy for us to know the truth about what's happening across the business. We're able to be more efficient and strategic, and we're starting to see an increase in sales as a result."

About CyberRead

CyberRead ( www.CyberRead.com) is a socially responsible ebook retailer providing outstanding customer support for today's book lovers. The company's 70,000 ebooks are available for Microsoft Word, Microsoft Reader, Adobe Acrobat and Mobipocket. The formats are compatible with hundreds of devices, including PC, Blackberry, Bookeen, CyBook, Pocket PC and more. Owned and operated by a passionate reader, CyberRead stays true to those who appreciate the written word. CyberRead is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.

About Analytix On Demand

Business smarts, simplicity, speed - at a fraction of the cost.

Analytix On Demand(TM) ( www.AnalytixOnDemand.com) connects the dots across an entire organization to give companies the central truth about business performance. Its service offers fast and affordable business intelligence (SaaS), helping companies of any size - from SMBs to enterprises - see what's really going on throughout an organization and how each business area affects everything else. This insight helps clients act with confidence, save time, reduce costs and boost profits. Clients start seeing a return on investment in just 30 days or less. The company's service suite includes solutions designed expressly for healthcare and retail. Analytix On Demand(TM) is based in Irvine, Calif., and has offices in New York, Houston and San Jose.

SOURCE: Analytix On Demand

Edge Communications, Inc. 
Ken Greenberg, 818-990-5001 
ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com