ODTUG/EPM Coming to Australia!

I can’t believe it has been nearly a year and a half since I visited Sydney and spoke at the ODTUG EPM Seriously Practical Conference.    It seems just like yesterday and I can’t wait to get back to the Land of Oz, but I am not making the trip this time.  However, my good friend Cameron Lackpour is going to make the trip and is working on some great presentations for the ODTUG EPM Seriously Practical Conference coming up March 21 and 22 in Melbourne, Victoria. New Queensland (Note to self: Remember to google things like this before you post your blog).  Cameron brings some great experience to share at this conference and, in fact, when I have an Essbase or Planning question, who do I call? I call Cameron.

Cameron will be stopping by New Zealand on his way to the Australia and speaking March 18 and 19 at the NZOUG Conference in Wellington.  If you are in either Australia or New Zealand, make sure to catch Cameron on this trip.

As a side note, I really wish I could be in Wellington for a couple of reasons.  First, the NZOUG Conference was really fun when I was there last year.  The other reason is more personal in that my wife’s grandfather spent significant time near Wellington, in Paekakariki, during World War 2.  Many Marines were there on the ground staging and training for the major beach invasions of the islands of the South Pacific.  He stormed the beach in four of the bloodiest battles of the war including Tawara where his unit lost nearly 90% of their men on the first day.  He remembers every detail to this day.  Many local New Zealand communities have organizations called the RSA (Returned Services Association) that operate to, among other things, welcome military personnel back to New Zealand.  I hope to visit the RSA in Paekakariki sometime in the future.

Announcing Kscope13 Platinum Sponsor – Applied OLAP and Dodeca!

We are happy to announce that Applied OLAP and our flagship product, The Dodeca Spreadsheet Management System, have signed up as a Platinum Sponsor for the Kscope13 conference in New Orleans.  We believe that the conference, which runs from June 25 to June 28, is not only the best forum for Hyperion related content, but it is also the best place for Hyperion related vendors to show their products.

There are several events at Kscope13 that you should not miss.  The first event is the annual ODTUG Community Service Day on Saturday, June 24.  This year, ODTUG volunteers will be working to improve a school with a new coat of paint, landscaping and playground improvements.  The community service project is also a good time to meet others who share your interests.  I have made a number of new friends at these projects over the years.

The next can’t miss event is the Sunday Symposium.  The Symposiums are one of the only times during the year that you can get direct contact with the Oracle development team.   One of the cool things about the symposium is that Oracle not only talks about the new things they are working on over the next year, but they also spend a lot of time listening to the wishes of customers.

Last week, ODTUG announced the identity of the keynote speaker and, frankly, there have been many conferences where the keynote just didn’t interest me.  This conference will be different.  The story of the Kscope13 keynote speaker, Doc Hendley, is amazing and inspirational.  Doc is the founder of Wine To Water, an organization who is working to bring sustainable, clean fresh water to parts of the world that desperately need water.  I watched his TEDx Asheville presentation on YouTube and all I can say is this..  WOW!.  I can’t wait to meet Doc in New Orleans.

Finally, last time Kscope was in New Orleans, there was a Wednesday night Hyperion social event that wound its way down Bourbon Street.  There were about 22 of us that made that journey; this year I expect that number to be in the hundreds (and that is *after* the traditional Wednesday night Kscope “special event”, the just announced party at Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World.

As a vendor, I hope you get to spend time in the vendor hall and visit all of the vendors to learn about their products and services.  As a self-funded user group, ODTUG relies on these vendors help provide the funding to put on a great conference plus you may find some tools to help you in your job.  If your company uses spreadsheets, I would be especially happy to tell you about the benefits our customers realize using The Dodeca Spreadsheet Management System.
 
As a Platinum Sponsor, we can also help you save money on your Kscope13 registration.  Use the special code AOLAP when you register for Kscope13 and save $100 on your registration.  You can learn more about Kscope13 and register for the conference at www.kscope13.com.

See you there!