Introduction
I’ve already covered the Essbase and Planning side of the house in parts one and two of this series. What about the foundation for these tools? You know, the data and metadata that make EPM applications, well, right, accurate, useful, etc. Without good data (and metadata) all we EPM practitioners have is a pretty design and bad numbers. Hmm, I may have written a book (or at least a chapter) about this.
Happily, ODTUG agrees with me (Or do I agree with them? Whatever) and they have an EPM Foundations and Data Management track. This is the third in the series of sessions I am looking forward to, and if history and culture are any guide: there is the Rule of three, the Page Cavanaugh Trio’s version of The Three Bears, and perhaps most famously, “All Gaul is divided into three parts”. In other words, three is an important number. And so is this track.
Whoops, before I continue, I should mention that I am friends with, or at least am acquainted with most of the people below. Am I just shilling for them? Nope, these are good sessions. Of course you pick and decide what you want to attend – this is what I am interested in.
Note – you will notice that the name Cameron Lackpour is absent from the below sessions. This is not some kind of false modesty as I do think that the SQL session I am presenting is at least worth considering. I will cover that later in the week – this block is for everyone not named Cameron.
EPM Foundation Data Management sessions (stolen right off of Kscope13.com) with my comments
Integrating PeopleSoft with Planning -- How Amerigroup Replaced HAL with ERPi & FDM
When: Jun 26, 2013, Session 14, 1:45 pm - 2:45 pm
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: FDM
In this session discover how Amerigroup replaced a black box HAL process with FDM & ERPi to load their Planning application. During this session the presenter will review the decision to use ERPi in conjunction with FDM to enable drill through to PeopleSoft. The session will highlight the automation that provides flexibility to process data for the entire company or a single business unit. Finally the session will demo the drill-through capabilities that ERPi provides - not only to the ledger but also to the subledger.
A project that replaces HAL? Death to HAL, I say, death to HAL. That product caused me grief, pain, and psychic discomfort every time I brushed up its mediocre spaghetti diagrams. Yes, yes, I know, it has its defenders, but they’re wrong. Proof? Come see this presentation. You’ll feel clean afterwards, like after a mountain hike whilst eating a York Peppermint Patty. Or am I confusing that with Irish Spring soap and cheesy faux-Irish dialogue? Anway, see how HAL got the coup de grace. And cheer.
Stump the Experts - Hyperion EPM Panel
When: Jun 24, 2013, Session 4, 1:45 pm - 2:45 pm
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: No Subtopic
TBD
Intriguing content there, yes? :) I have no idea who is to be on this panel but Kscope always does these right with a good mix of freewheeling questions and lots of opinion. You know, the things consultants are afraid to say to their clients lest they be bounced out on their noggins. Ouch. But no clients (other than the punters in the seats) in this. I am looking forward to it.
ODI - Tips and Tricks to Build Better Integrations
When: Jun 25, 2013, Session 8, 11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: ODI
Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) is a powerful data integration suite which allows you to build integration processes with enormous productivity gains over conventional tools of the same breed. In this session you will gain insights in how ODI works and what you should consider to build master-class integrations. Learn about tricks and tips on architecture, Knowledge Module optimization, migration, flexible load processes, and many other areas that your organization should be aware of when working with ODI.
Matthias knows ODI. Really, really well. If he does a session on it, it’ll be good.
Think Outside the Box - New Ideas in Financial Data Management
When: Jun 26, 2013, Session 11, 8:30 am - 9:30 am
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: No Subtopic
Are you wondering if you could manage your (financial) data more efficiently? Often, the answer is yes. In this session you will see how other organizations found unusual ways to improve their financial processes. Looking at the bigger picture often allows discovery of new solutions to either automate more effectively, increase transparency, or improve your ability to adapt to change faster. Join this session to learn about unconventional ways to use Hyperion products and OBIEE.
See the above on my opinion on Matthias’ knowledge level and presentation skills. Also, I get sort of obsessed about data, so this ought to be really interesting.
How to Turn New Recruits into Oracle EPM Support Gurus
When: Jun 26, 2013, Session 16, 4:15 pm - 5:15 pm
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: Infrastructure & Essbase Exalytics
Oracle EPM requires a knowledgeable team to provide production support due to its criticality as a service. Typically skill levels vary in the team as resources are pulled from other areas or are required to support multiple services. Consequently, the need for infrastructure training is a recurring theme in an organization. This presentation covers how to explain Hyperion and its architecture in a way to fully engage new support staff. It includes getting started with EPM modules, logs, and troubleshooting.
This is an interesting session and more of an Organizational Psychology topic than technical – I find these fascinating. Some of my clients understand how to do this and some…do not. It’s not easy finding the right person or persons and as the EPM stack become more and more sophisticated and complicated the profile of the right EPM administrator has changed. And a bad admin = a bad system (yes, I have all too painfully experienced this), so this ought to be an informative session.
How Windstream Leverages Essbase Analtyic Link to Increase Their Analytic Capabilities
Co-presenter(s): Jennifer Moline, Windstream Corporation
When: Jun 24, 2013, Session 5, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: No Subtopic
Windstream Corporation utilizes Essbase and Essbase Analytic Link to unlock analytic value from their HFM application. This presenation will detail how Windstream implemented Essbase and Essbase Analytic Link with drill through to transactional detail via FDM. See the architecture, the data flows, and how this environment was built, and hear the lessons learned about Essbase Analytic Link.
Once upon a time at a mildly disagreeable client, I worked on a HFM to Extended Analytics project. Which was somewhat amusing as I could and still can barely spell H-F-M but it wasn’t my choice and I met some great people along the way; nothing builds teamwork like adversity. In any case, this was back in the System 9 (remember that?) days and the link was…crude. Wouldn’t it have been great if there was a HyperRoll module that pulled data out of HFM in real time and then pushed it to BSO Essbase as a quasi-transparent partition via a CDF? Why yes, it would have, and I wish it existed back then. And now it does, so come see how it works. Although, if I had had this, would I have made those friends? One of life’s imponderables.
Exalytics - An Apples to Apples Comparison
Co-presenter(s): Cameron Lackpour John Booth, Tim German
When: Jun 25, 2013, Session 6, 8:30 am - 9:30 am
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: Infrastructure & Essbase Exalytics
This session will be a panel discussion highlighting the results of our apples to apples test comparing an Exalytics-based solution to a comparable machine in the Amazon Cloud. These tests encompassed ASO and BSO; they covered data loads, BSO calculation, and ASO Aggregation; and finally multi-user performance tests of BSO Planning Rules and ASO Queries. Given the breadth of this testing some of the results are applicable to non-Exalytics solutions (assuming you have the "lots" of CPU and or Memory).
Okay, full disclosure here – I am involved in this one but I am but a supporting player. This is a really interesting session. And yes, I broke my own rule but if I can’t do that on my own blog, where can I?
FDM to ERPi - Upgrade/Migration Strategies & Considerations
When: Jun 24, 2013, Session 2, 9:45 am - 10:45 am
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: FDM
Not the fish, anything but the fish! The FDM product is nearing the end of its life. This session will introduce you to FDM 2.0, aka ERP Integrator (ERPi). The session will begin with a technology overview of the new product - architecturally and functionally. The session will continue on to explore key features/changes from FDM. The session will explore strategies, techniques, and key watch-outs for migration from your existing FDM application. Finally the session will discuss best/leading practices for ERPi implementation and go-forward maintenance.
The fish, the fish, oh the humanity! Hmm, something about that doesn’t make sense. Anyway, FDM has always struck me as somewhat old fashioned. And we all know that ODI is all kinds of awesome. And now we see FDM replaced with…ODI in a wrapper. This ought to be interesting. And I’m glad I never learnt how to be an FDM consultant. :)
The New and Improved FDM -- Financial Data Quality Management Enterprise Edition 11.1.2.3
When: Jun 24, 2013, Session 3, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Topic: EPM Foundations & Data Management - Subtopic: FDM
The FDM EE 11.1.2.3 release combines the deep functional flows of classic FDM with the deeply integrated technical aspects of ERP Integrator. This new solution allows customers to build deep integrations directly against popular ERP's like E-Business Suite, Peoplesoft and SAP while taking advantage of the functional workflow required in any end user driven data quality process. This session will deep dive into the changes that were made, how they benefit new and existing customers, and typical use cases across the EPM product family.
Whoops, there I go slagging off Oracle’s (well, Hyperion’s which should actually be Upstream’s) fine products and yet I suggest that you attend an Oracle session on FDM EE. If you want to know where the product is going, and what it’s all about, I can’t think of a better person to listen to.
Are you crying Uncle yet?
That is nine, count ‘em nine (you will note that this is divisible by three, I stick to my themes come Hell or high water), different EPM Foundation and Data Management sessions. Is that the sum total of these sessions at Kscope? Absolutely not. In fact there are 17 on offer. And that is just a subset of all the EPM sessions. Kscope has content, content, content.
The next blog post will be The Truth About EPM Reporting at Kscope.
Be seeing you at Kscope13.
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