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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Any company that offers something, whether it’s a product or service, needs to know how much it produces, how much it sells, who’s buying its products and so forth. Much of that information can be shown in charts and graphs. But presenting it correctly sometimes isn’t so easy. And in the past, it has taken a lot of work and time.
Well, CORDA Technologies in Lindon has developed a solution. They’ve created a system of software tools called PopChart that allows Web managers or information specialists to develop and present their own interactive charts and graphs. Plus, the software can convert graphics into text.
In learning about the software, I ran through a demonstration at the company’s Web site at CORDA.com. Using the mouse to move the pointer over various areas of a pie chart shows not only percentages but actual dollar amounts as well. Clicking on a particular area provides further information in various graph types and includes descriptions in text. The descriptive text can then be read via a computerized voice for people who are visually impaired.
To illustrate how useful the software is, consider this: Back in June, the National Cancer Institute was working on creating a Web site where millions of graphics could be converted to accessible text within seconds. The project had begun following a federal mandate to make government information accessible to disabled persons. Converting the graphics to text by hand would have taken countless hours and cost an estimated $30 million. But with CORDA’s PopChart software, the graphics are converted to text instantly as they are requested, saving a lot of money.
CORDA’s software has also been instrumental in helping customers of E*TRADE compare and analyze the performance of the investments in their portfolio accounts. It helps them visualize the data, quickly run comparisons and get further information.
Since CORDA introduced its data-driven graphs and charts, it has become the global leader in providing data visualization on the Web. And it offers the fastest charting and graphing solutions available. And that’s a great thing for this Utah company as we all move toward Web-based computing.
For Zions Bank, I’m Fred Ball. I’m speaking on business.
