VALLEY FORGE, Pa. – Credit unions not only want their IT department to be able to pull data from their core system and create custom reports, they want that power CU-wide for all employees. USERS has released the latest version of DataSafeSQL – a standards-based tool that gives credit union staff members access to critical data from their desktops. "Financial institutions recognize that there is tremendous value in giving end users greater access to information from the desktop, and the autonomy to work with that data in ways that suit their specific needs," said Anne Ballard, Director of Technology Research for USERS. "DataSafeSQL accomplishes both goals, using industry standard tools that make data access easy and reliable." DataSafeSQL's is based on industry-standard language, structured query language, which is used to pull data from databases. Once developers have defined the data in a database, end users can easily access and manipulate that data, typically to generate and customize reports. More and more credit unions are looking to bring up reports using off-the-shelf products. DataSafe SQL interfaces with the SQL-compliant Cach post-relational database, which powers USERS' core DataSafe system. DataSafeSQL users will be able to do customized reporting through common tools such as Crystal Reports. The $157 million Picatinny Federal Credit Union, Dover, NJ DataSafe SQL will replace the use of standard report writers, and move report generation out of the IS department. "DataSafeSQL is giving our end users real-time access to the kind of information they need to make effective decisions, without requiring our IS staff to be in the loop," said PFCU's Director of Information Systems Andy Alexander. "It's enabling us to provide users with faster access to data, while allowing our IS staff to focus on other issues." Picatinny will roll out the solution to users across the enterprise, in marketing, lending, finance and operations. Alexander said the application's use of object technology will allow the CU develop its own Web-enabled applications for a variety of purposes. [email protected]