Danmarks Statistik
““Websites have become an important means of communication – especially for an institution like ours. It is therefore important that we have a system that may handle progress, so we may service the users in the best possible way in the future.””
-Jesper Ellemose Jensen, Statistics Denmark
Summary
With a new Sitecore Content Manager, Statistics Denmark has a web solution that via the XML layer of Sitecore is capable of presenting the enormous amounts of data, which Statistics Denmark generates. The solution is developed with the user in mind and it combines advanced functionality with user friendliness.
Challenge
Statistics Denmark collect, treat and communicate enormous amounts of data from all over the country, which is conveyed via the two websites; dst.dk and statistikbanken.dk.
www.dst.dk alone contains references and cross-references to almost 10,000 documents in PDF format and in www.statistikbanken.dk there are more than 900 tables, which added up contain almost one billion figures.
The large amounts of data, which must be accessible for the users, are very demanding for the web solution. The solution must not only be able to handle extensive statistical material, but it should also contain a search function in order for the users to precisely locate the figures they need.
Statistics Denmark has experienced an increase in the demand for information via the Internet. The visitors to the two sites had a variety of different demands on the information required. Therefore the key to success was to present the many figures for the user, without having to compromise on the user-friendliness.
Simultaneously it was a prerequisite that the solution for Statistics Denmark complied with the technical standards of the World Wide Web Consortium, W3C
Statistics Denmark use Oracle as their database platform and it was therefore a requirement that a new CMS solution should be able to store data in an Oracle database and integrate data from other databases via XML.
Solution
The crux of the solution is integration between Sitecore and the other information databases of Statistics Denmark.
When a user searches on the website of Statistics Denmark, the process runs via Sitecore onto the various statistics and publication databases. The resultant data is collected in Sitecore and is clearly presented on the user’s screen.
The integration is performed transparently so the elements collected from a number of diverse systems are presented on the website of Statistics Denmark in a totally coherent manner to the visitor.
The direct integration has a series of advantages both for Statistics Denmark and for the users. The extensive search function of the Sitecore solution makes it easier for the user to find his way around much information, and the smooth integration makes it easier for Statistics Denmark to present the data on the website.
In addition the flexibility of Sitecore means that Statistics Denmark may easily develop new services in the future – a fact that is very important to Statistics Denmark.
Result
The new website solution for Statistics Denmark went ‘on the air’ on December 1st 2003, and all material from the previous website was moved to the Sitecore platform. With this new platform, it is easier for Statistics Denmark to develop and implement new solutions, and can act more quickly on customer requests which will ensure a greater degree of user friendliness on the website.
Sitecore’s open standards and the modular construction give Statistics Denmark a solution which can be developed continuously. On their list of wishes they have, for example, an extension to the system that will facilitate integration with third party or external systems. This way other media may link information directly to Statistics Denmark’s databases, in this way precision and workflows will be significantly improved, to the benefit of both Statistics Denmark and their customers.
Finally the new solution meets all requirements with respect to availability and with the Sitecore software, the website is better presented to search engines such as Google.
Technical Description
The solution for the new Statistics Denmark website has been created with a full XML-integration – in the new system, all information is delivered through the Sitecore XML layer, which sends requests on to the Oracle databases and receives the data that is returned.
The use of XML makes it possible to simultaneously collect information from various systems into a coherent output – the presentation on the user’s screen is controlled by Sitecore.
The Sitecore software handles the presentation and the navigation on the page visible to the users when they visit www.dst.dk. In addition Sitecore defines how the results of database queries are displayed to the visitor.
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