VB is the language of choice for macros within Extra! that "scrape" data from Extra! screens and port it into other applications such as MS Office or Speedpay (a payment system for cardholders). VB is also used to create programs that make necessary changes to a large amount of cardholder accounts in a short amount of time, to bring them current or to update changing interest rates, for example. Automation has greatly increased the speed and reduced the human error aspect of these processes. VB is chosen for its versatility, as it will communicate with mainframe systems, as well as with MS Windows systems. VB is a quick and easy development environment that is widely supported, which makes integration with other programs simple.
Information management is a vital function for OWE. Cardholder data must be secured, call data must be evaluated, sales data (cardholder and merchant) must be examined. In-house database programs are written to assist the end-users with data gathering and analysis. .
For many years, OWE used MS Access for data management. Access, however, was not meant to be used by the number of users that OWE now employs. Other solutions have been implemented, and Access databases are slowly being converted to more robust platforms with more functionality and greater data protection.
MS SQL (Structured Query Language) is used for local database management. Since SQL is a transactional-based system, many users can be connected to the database at one time, without fear of data loss or corruption. Information is collected from various sources, including the dialer and the mainframe, and databases are populated on a SQL server onsite. .
Several different programming languages are used to allow end-user access to the databases. Some programs are web-based, and developers use Active Server Pages (ASP), HyperText Markup Language (HTML), as well as Java to create user-friendly interfaces.