Killer App? Show It Off at KScope 2011!

So you think you have a killer Essbase, HFM, Planning or OBIEE application that everyone would envy?  Please share with us and show it off at KScope 2011 in Long Beach.  Time is running out and the last day to submit an abstract is October 26.  You can find more information at http://www.kscope11.com/content/technical-content.

Kaleidoscope 2010 - Java API Session Slides / Source Posted

As promised, I have posted the slides and source code examples from my Introduction to Development with the Essbase Java API session at Kaleidoscope 2010.  There is a readme file that gives you the basics of how to run them from the command line.  If you are serious about learning the Essbase Java API, I strongly recommend you download one of the free Java IDE's available.  My favorites are:

• IntelliJ
• Oracle JDeveloper
• Eclipse

You can download the files from the Blog-Content section of the Applied OLAP website at http://www.appliedolap.com/downloads.

Kaleidoscope 2010 Review

Kaleidoscope 2010 wrapped up a week ago Thursday and, not surprisingly, I haven’t had time to write about it until now.  Here is a summary of some of the highlights.

Community Service

The Community Service project this year provided labor to the Ronald H Brown Middle School in northeast DC.  The school is was named for a US Secretary of Commerce who was killed in a plane crash in 1996 in Croatia.  The ODTUG crew worked on refurbishing a playground, did landscaping and sorted books in the library.   Joe Aultman from AutoTrader, Jeff Sims from Tethsys and I worked on the basketball courts which literally had no lines or layout when we started.  Cameron Lackpour and my son Billy worked in the library and Whitney, my daughter, worked on the hopscotch and four-square areas with an EPM consultant I had never met before, Jessica Cordova.  Here is a picture (thanks to Larissa Stamey from ODTUG and Wayne Van Sluys for the picture).

For what it is worth, I placed the basketball in the center of the circle for this picture (and laid out the lines and painted much of the blue court.  I am standing on left end just in front of my daughter, Whitney.  My son, Billy, who labored for weeks on the Windows 7 installation blog, is standing just in front of the guy holding the letter 'B'.

Sunday Symposium

The Sunday EPM Symposium is one of the unique things about Kaleidoscope as it is the only forum where customers and consultants can meet the Hyperion development teams face-to-face.  There was some great exchanges of information but, of course, as Oracle was talking about futures, everything presented came with heavy disclaimers.

During the Symposium last year, the product manager from Smart View held an impromptu ‘tell me why you like the classic add-in better than Smart View’ session that lasted nearly his entire allotted time.  From his presentation this year, it is very apparent that he listened to the feedback.  The Smart View team is working hard on classic add-in parity and are they are starting to get Smart View much closer to the point where it will gain more widespread acceptance.

Keynote / General Session

The General Session had a huge announcement for us Hyperion people as one of our own, Edward Roske from interRel, is the Conference Chair for Kaleidoscope 2011 in Long Beach.  Edward has worked very hard on the previous conferences and has thus earned his way to a very tough job.  For us Hyperion people, however, having a Hyperion person as the Conference Chair shows the importance of Hyperion in the ODTUG world.   I expect that next years conference will have even more Hyperion content and will be even more of a can’t miss event.

The keynote was by Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.  Lee discussed some very interesting facts gathered from their research.  One interesting trend he discussed is ‘lifelogging’ where people document everything they do on-line.  I instantly recognized my daughter follows this tendency and, if fact, we always kid her about her natural ability to take pictures of herself with her iPhone for her Facebook page.  I encourage you to read the findings at http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2010/Jun/The-Future-of-the-Internet--National-Geographic.aspx. This presentation features the same content contained in the keynote

Sessions
I normally don’t get the opportunity to go to many sessions other than my own and this year was no exception.  I did get to attend the Smart View sessions on Thursday and they were all very good and thought provoking.

I gave three presentations in DC as well.  The first session was a vendor session which highlighted the features and benefits of Dodeca.  It was well attended and we gave away a bunch of Dodeca T-Shirts at the end.

The second session was a new presentation intended to educate Oracle database developers about Essbase and where it fits into the enterprise.  This was a fun topic and I think it is becoming more relevant with each passing day as Essbase gets integrated deeper into the Oracle stack.

The last session was a fill-in session on the Java API.  My friend Jason Jones was scheduled to do the session but, at the last minute, was unable to attend.  This session was the most fun for me as I really dig into Essbase at the API level and foster new understanding of how Essbase works ‘under the covers’ to even experienced Essbase people.   A number of people of have asked for the sample code from this session; I will make it available on our website soon.

Overall / The Future

This Kaleidoscope was the best one yet but I still expect it to be bigger and better next year, but there is still a lot of work to do.  Many people, including me, still long for the days of the Hyperion Solutions conference.  The Solutions conference had the advantage of being run by the vendor, so the marketing department could devote many dollars to make sure it was ‘the place to be’ for Hyperion people.

In the Oracle world, the comparable conference is Oracle Open World but, as Hyperion is a small percentage of Oracle as a whole, Open World will never have the Hyperion focus that Solutions had or that Kaleidoscope has today.  Kaleidoscope, on the other hand, is run by the Oracle Development Tools User Group which means that it is completely controlled, and funded, by the users.  That means you can make difference on the direction of this conference.  To help make Kaleidoscope even better, I plan to run for the ODTUG Board of Directors in order to provide Hyperion users a voice on the governing body.  Elections are coming up in the fall and paid members are eligible to vote.  I encourage everyone to join, participate and please vote for me for the Board of Directors!

Kaleidoscope 2010 Keynote - Not More of the Same

The keynote at the two Kaleidoscope conferences I have attended have been Oracle executives which is quite different than the keynotes at the Solutions Conferences.  My favorite keynotes at Solutions were both by John Cleese of Monty Python fame.

This year, ODTUG is changing things up a bit and, although it probably won't be comedic, it certainly should be interesting.  Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, will deliver the keynote this year.  The Pew Internet & American Life Project is a non-profit, non–partisan organization that studies the social impact of the Internet.  During his Keynote, Lee will discuss findings of a survey of experts about the social impact of the Internet and cell phones as technology continues to improve and provide more opportunities for users.  I look forward to it.

In other Kaleidoscope news, the agenda for the Hyperion Symposium has been published.  Friend and fellow blogger Cameron Lackpour has posted the agenda on his blog at http://camerons-blog-for-essbase-hackers.blogspot.com/2010/05/kalidoscope-2010-symposium-agenda-is_18.html.

How You Can Make Kaleidoscope Better

Since the acquisition of Hyperion by Oracle, I have worked with the Oracle Development Tools User Group ("ODTUG") to make their conference, Kaleidoscope, a home for the Hyperion community.  I believe my efforts, along with the efforts of some other dedicated individuals have paid off and this summer Kaleidoscope 2010 is shaping up to be the best Hyperion conference ever.  The dedicated individuals who have had the most impact on the success of the Hyperion content at the conference is the ODTUG Hyperion Special Interest Group ("Hyperion SIG").  You have a chance now to join this group of individuals as nominations are now open for three directors to fill expiring terms on the board.

The nominations are open to both Hyperion end users and partners.  The board by-laws do, however, state that at least 50% of the board membership must be from the end user community.

Current board member (and friend) Natalie Delemar is the person responsible for gathering the nominations.  She has volunteered many hours and very hard for the Hyperion SIG over the past couple of years and deserves a big round of applause from our community.  You can send the nominations to her at Nadelemar@yahoo.com.

For more information on the qualifications, please see this Network54 forum post.

Kaleidoscope 2010 Registration - Discount Code

A bunch of Hyperion people have been talking to their friends and have heard about how much they learned at previous Kaleidoscope conferences; it is starting to show. I heard that the Kaleidoscope registration count to date is significantly higher than at the same time last year. Applied OLAP is again sending at least four people to the conference including two of us who will be leading some hands-on labs.

As a sponsor of Kaleidoscope, we also have been given a discount code that you can use to save $300 on registration. The discount code is valid until April 23 so don't miss your opportunity to attend the most concentrated Hyperion and Essbase information exchange anywhere. Register today at www.odtugkaleidoscope.com and use the discount code OLAP to get your discount.

I hope to see you there.

Win a Free Kaleidoscope Registration

ODTUG is set to announce a new contest that gives you a chance to win a free registration to Kaleidoscope or, alternatively, a suite upgrade at the Marriott Wardman Park.

All you need to do is create a 3 minute (or less) YouTube video on “Why You Need to Attend ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010”.  Make it funny, musical, or informational.  Mostly, make it memorable.  Make it viral and we will see you in DC!

To qualify, make sure to include the ODTUG Kaleidoscope logo and submit your video for consideration by emailing you name and YouTube video link to Crystal Walton at crystal@odtug.com.  By the way, Crystal works on the small team of full-time ODTUG people who work very hard to make Kaleidoscope the best Hyperion conference in the world.

Video Contest Guidelines: Video must be three minutes or less, contain no inappropriate content, and be posted publicly to YouTube by March 31, midnight EST. All videos must remain in public domain until after July 1st, 2010. The winning video will be selected from among all the entries. The judges’ decision will be final. Judges may include members of the ODTUG Kaleidoscope Conference Committee and others. Winner will be notified by April 2nd, 2010. Winner will have the choice of a complimentary non-transferable registration to ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010 or a suite upgrade at the Marriott Wardman Park.

Kaleidoscope Sunday Symposium Passes Available

ODTUG has decided to offer a one-day rate for the Sunday Symposia.  This is great news for people who can't make it to the entire conference but don't want to miss the opportunity to interact directly with the Oracle Product Managers who will be at the Hyperion Symposium.

You can see details posted at the bottom of http://odtugkaleidoscope.com/registration.html.

Kaleidoscope 2010 Community Service Day

I just found out the annual ODTUG Community Service Day at Kaleidoscope 2010 is going back to school (to volunteer, that is!)  On Saturday, June 27, ODTUG volunteers will be working under the guidance of Greater DC Cares (GDCC), the leading and largest nonprofit volunteerism coordinator in the D.C. area.  We will work at a local school to:

• Organize the library and sort books to create a place for imaginations to soar; 
• Beautify the school grounds to plant strong minds and bodies among colorful flowers and shady green trees; and
• Paint games and a U.S. map on the blacktop to encourage learning outside of the classroom.

I have volunteered for the Community Service Day at both Kaleidoscopes since Hyperion joined the ODTUG family and it has been a lot of fun.  I also have met, and worked alongside, some very interesting people including Duncan Mills who is a key Oracle technologist.  For me, the Community Service Days have also been family participation events.  Here is a shot of my youngest son, Logan, painting in New Orleans.  For those of you who met Logan in Monterey last summer, this is what he looked like 'pre-dreadlocks'.

You can signup for the Community Service Day when you signup for Kaleidoscope.  For more information, including links to more pictures and videos of the last 2 events, visit the ODTUG website at http://odtugkaleidoscope.com/communityserviceday.html.

ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010 Abstract Deadline

The deadline for submitting abstracts for Kaleidoscope is fast approaching. If you have deep technical knowledge of Essbase or the other Hyperion products that you would like to share with your peers, go to http://www.odtugkaleidoscope.com and let us know. ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2010 will be at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. from June 27 to July 1.

For those of you are are really geeky (like me), let me express it in your terms:

if (essbaseOrHyperionExpert && wantToShare) {
// act before Oct 27
submitAbstract();

// Hyperion SIG board action required
waitForAcceptance();

// assuming the abstract rocks!
registerAsSpeaker();
} else {
// future deadline
registerAsAttendee();
}

Kaleidoscope Sunday Symposium - Essbase Roadmap Part 2

Here is the remainder of my ODTUG Technical Journal article. As before, the standard Oracle disclaimer applies:

The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

Smart View Improvements

There are a number of improvements and, in fact, architecture upgrades coming for Smart View in the near future. The major improvements Oracle is publicly talking about for 11.1.2 include:

• An improved installation experience. The installation of Smart View will continue to be a standalone installer and, starting in 11.1.2, will not be packaged with the EPM installer. Further, satellite .dlls will be available for non-English language support.
• A plug-in architecture. The plug-in architecture eliminates the need for the Smart View team to create and control all new features put into Smart View. Further, the architecture is designed to ensure that new add-ins can peacefully co-exist and access Smart View’s features. Finally, in the future, Oracle plans to open up the plug-in architecture to partners, and I am sure that a number of partners will leverage this platform to create their own tailored functionality.
• An improved Connection Manager. The connection manager will talk to Shared Services, as well as explore all registered providers.
• Deeper integration of Office 2007 Ribbon technology. Oracle is planning to architect the Ribbon UI technology such that each provider will have its own context-sensitive Ribbon.
• Better EPM Application integration. Smart View will become even better integrated with both Hyperion Planning and Hyperion Financial Management. On the Hyperion Planning side, Smart View will reach ‘Web Parity,’ where all features available in Planning web forms will also be available in Smart View, including composite form support, task lists, and data validation. On the Hyperion Financial Management side, Smart View will add support for task lists, updates to the database, and XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language).

These are all exciting improvements to Smart View that will certainly make it more popular with users.

The Future

I was surprised that Oracle actually discussed some of the things they are working on post-11.1.2 and the discussion emphasized the feature list is still to be determined, but they did talk about some directions that are very exciting. One overriding theme familiar to anyone following the Hyperion/Oracle is integration. Integration continues for both the OBIEE/Essbase integration and the integration of the Hyperion Applications and Essbase into the Fusion Middleware Stack. To accompany those integrations, Oracle expects to further evolve Essbase web services to make Essbase information more widely available as part of their SOA architecture.

One the pure Essbase side, the two most significant items include a thin client Essbase studio that is targeted to replace Essbase Administrative Services, Essbase Integration Services and the thick client version of Essbase Studio. Finally, IT departments will be happy that Oracle is targeting native failover for both the Essbase Agent and Essbase Server processes are part of their future plans.

I feel as though I have only scratched the surface when it comes to the amount of information presented at this year’s Kaleidoscope Hyperion Sunday Symposium and, as I think you can see, Essbase is not only alive at Oracle, but thriving. If you missed the Symposium this year, mark your calendars for late June next year, as we hope to make next year’s the best Symposium yet.

Kaleidoscope Sunday Symposium - Essbase Roadmap Part 1

This is the first half of an article I wrote recently for ODTUG Technical Journal; I will post the remainder in the next day or so.

The Hyperion Symposium at Kaleidoscope 2009 was one of those sessions that every Hyperion professional needed to attend. The focus of the Symposium was the new and exciting features that Oracle/Hyperion development is working on for the future. Due to economic conditions, it was difficult for many members to attend Kaleidoscope, so this column will focus on the some of the new features expected both in the Essbase engine and in the further integration of Essbase deep into Oracle Applications. If there was one clear message at the Symposium, it was this: Essbase is a key strategic technology for Oracle Applications and Oracle is investing heavily in the technology.

As always, the Oracle slides were all marked with the following disclaimer, which basically means that the features I am discussing are subject to change before they ship:

The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

The roadmap, as presented, provided details for 3 upcoming versions of Essbase:

• 11.1.1.3
• 11.1.2
• 11.x.x.x (future)

Essbase 11.1.1.3 is considered a minor release, but it brings with it a significant advancement in Fusion integration. This version introduces the concept of built-in drill back to Fusion Financials via pre-mapped pathways, using Smart View. It is due to be released soon (although Oracle is quite firm in not stating ‘release dates’ until they actually happen).

Essbase 11.1.2, known internally as ‘Talleyrand,’ is a major release. This release boasts a large number of improvements coming to the Essbase engine and toward integration into the Fusion application stack. There are also a number of improvements in process for Smart View.

Essbase/Fusion Integration

It appears that the integration of Essbase into the Fusion application stack begins with the ability of the next version of Fusion Financials, i.e. Oracle Financials/E-Business Suite, to use Essbase for custom calculations and allocations. Thinking back to my days as an accountant, I can remember the tremendous complexity involved in some of our allocations; those allocations literally begged for a multidimensional solution. All Essbase users will benefit from this innovation, however, as the Essbase Aggregate Storage Option engine, known simply as ASO, will be getting outfitted with the first parts of a procedural calc engine. Procedural calcs are currently available only in the Essbase Block Storage Option, or BSO, engine. This new functionality will support specific calculation functions against ASO applications and will store results back in a slice of the cube. The calc functionality will be exposed in the C and Java APIs, as well as the MaxL scripting language.

Currently, most Oracle DBAs use Oracle Enterprise Manager to manage their databases. Starting in 11.1.2, many Essbase management functionalities will be incorporated into Enterprise Manager as well. Also Slated for inclusion are Oracle Single Sign-On and security integration, Oracle Diagnostic Logging, and the beginning of Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server (“OPMN”) integration. OPMN integration will add built-in, industrial strength failover to the Essbase stack that has been needed for many years, setting the stage for future innovations in Essbase reliability.

Another integration feature coming in Essbase 11.1.2 is the ability to access Essbase data via Oracle PL/SQL. For those of you from the Hyperion community, PL/SQL is Oracle’s proprietary procedural extension to SQL, targeted specifically at the Oracle database. This new feature will allow a whole new audience of developers to access Essbase data with the tools they are accustomed to using, promoting the use of Essbase to a wider audience. Further, Oracle JDeveloper developers will get a new Application Development Framework (“ADF”) control for Essbase that will make integrating Essbase content into web applications much easier.

Essbase Engine Improvements

Outside of Fusion integration, there are a number of other improvements coming in 11.1.2. One change that will help nearly every customer is the removal of the Shared Services-to-Essbase security sync. Currently, customers manage users in Shared Services and must either manually synchronize users from EAS to update the Essbase security (.sec) file, or they must setup an automatic sync process in the Essbase.cfg file. Many times these syncs cause performance issues, especially in large environments where auto-sync is configured to occur too frequently. Starting in 11.1.2, user information will automatically be retrieved from Shared Services at login. The only downside to this is that any changes to user provisioning in Shared Services will require a logout/login to be recognized by Essbase. The security file (.sec) file will not go away entirely, though, as Essbase filter security will still be stored in that file.

Essbase 11.1.2 will also add support for Oracle SQL*Net, which should increase both increase performance, as well as add support for Oracle Real Application Clusters (“RAC”), to the data load and dim build processes.

Essbase Studio gets a number of 11.1.2 improvements, including:

• The ability to move, copy, and backup the import/export catalog.
• Improved data source handling, including the ability to add or remove a table or column.
• Better support for ODBC DSN source, including the ability to set parameters in the DSN.
• Named level/ generations.
• Custom Text List mapping.
• Essbase Studio/OBIEE integration at the Business Model tier (in addition to the Presentation Layer as in earlier versions).
• Accessibility support (Section 508).
• Improved performance and usability.
• MaxL load scripts for batch load.

This last new feature, in particular, will make automation much easier, as it essentially records a cube deployment, much like the Macro Recorder in Excel records keyboard and menu actions into a VBA macro. I do suspect that the auto-creation of load scripts will “lower the bar,” when it comes to the skill-set necessary to automate Essbase administration tasks. But as with Excel’s Macro Recorder, I expect that the auto-creation of load scripts will serve as a starting point for further optimization by skilled Essbase developers, as well as an excellent learning tool for those new to Essbase administration.

Finally, my favorite new feature slated for 11.1.2 is the addition of Essbase web services. This is something that has been sorely missing from the Essbase stack, and I personally look forward to leveraging them in our products in the near future.

ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2009 Discount Codes

ODTUG has offered discount codes to partners who are participating in the Kaleidoscope 2009 conference as a way to help their customers attend the conference. The codes, which entitle attendees to register for the Kaleidoscope conference at the ODTUG paid member early bird discount rate of $1225, are available from a number of Hyperion partners.

If you want to attend Kaleidoscope, have a Hyperion consulting partner working with you, and want to save some money, call your partner and get the code.

If you are a Hyperion partner and don't yet have a code, contact me and I will direct you to the ODTUG person who can get you your own code to give to your customers.

Finally, if you don't have a relationship with, or know any, other Hyperion partners, Applied OLAP has a code. Send me an email at timtow@appliedolap.com and I will email you our code.

See you in Monterey!

BI Challenge 2 Go

There has been much interest in Hyperion since the Oracle acquisition and many partners have been working to install Hyperion systems. Oracle has a program that can make it easier to learn the products. The program is called the Oracle Business Intelligence Challenge to Go program or, shortened BIC2G.

Oracle recently released virtual machine images to help people get started. The images were put together with the help of longtime Oracle Partner Dan Vlamis at Vlamis Software Solutions. I spoke with Dan about the program and he told me about one of the most difficult parts of creating the images on Windows. Apparently, Microsoft has a pretty good legal department so making sure the images had a proper Windows license took some effort. As a result, there are two different images types available.

First, you can get an image, with Oracle EPM preinstalled, that runs on Microsoft Virtual Server and has a 30-day Windows demo license. That means the image works for 30 days after you first log on, then it expires. You can reuse the 'base' image any number of times but each copy you fire up expires after the same 30 days. We are planning to use this image for the ODTUG Kaleidoscope hands-on labs.

Alternatively, you can get a VMWare image, again with Oracle EPM preinstalled, that has an OEM copy of Windows 2003 Server and does not expire. I believe you can only use this image *once*.

There is a small cost associated with the program but that basically covers costs most of which are Microsoft licensing fees. You can get more information on the BIC2G program at http://bic2g.oracle.com/ or at http://www.vlamis.com/blog.php/?p=87.

I am encouraging Oracle to make this image available to customers as well; perhaps it will be available in the future.

ODTUG Kaledioscope Cost Saving Idea

Fellow blogger Gary Crisci posted a blog yesterday about how to save costs to attend Kaleidoscope 09 in Monterey, CA and he specifically mentioned getting the hotel shuttle from the airport. I certainly concur if you fly into Monterey but my thought is that it may be a less expensive flight to go to an alternative airport. The two closest alternative airports are San Jose and San Francisco. Both of these airports are served by discount carriers and have decent driving routes to Monterey. The driving routes take you either over the coastal mountains to Santa Cruz, then around Monterey Bay or take you south through Gilroy, the "Garlic Capital of the World" and Salinas, where we have an customer in the produce business (and where I first saw broccoli in an Essbase outline.. really..)

I will probably fly into San Jose on Southwest and drive from there. If I booked my flight now, I could get there from Nashville, TN for about $400 roundtrip. My family is coming so my car will be full but perhaps we could setup a ride sharing post on Network54 and OTN if others want to fly into the other airports.

ODTUG Kaleidoscope Early Bird Registration Deadline Approaching

If you are planning to join us in Monterey, CA in June for the best technically-oriented Hyperion ever assembled, the early bird registration ends in less than 3 weeks. Register at http://www.odtugkaleidoscope.com/registration.html before February 24 and save $200.

I hope to see you there.

Tentative ODTUG Hyperion Schedule

A team of Hyperion practitioners have been toiling away for the past several months on putting together the ultimate Hyperion technical conference and finally, we are ready to share the agenda. A couple of notes:

• This schedule may change but we don't expect significant changes.
  
• Not all speakers have been notified or accepted their speaking slots. Further, several of the sessions are combinations of multiple sessions submitted and we have tried, when possible, to have the different people who submitted these sessions agree to team together to give the attendees the best possible content.
• The Monday morning sessions highlighted in a bluish color are reserved vendor sessions. This timeslot is reserved conference-wide for presentations paid for by software companies, vendors, etc and is supposed to be the only time you hear a sales pitch. There is a session entitled "Throw Excel Under the Bus and Hop on the Dodeca Train" that was submitted by one of our customers; we decided our company would pay for the session and make it our 'vendor presentation'. After all, who to speak better about your product than your customers (and we may have a few customers participate in the session).

Click on the graphic below to get a larger (more readable) version.

Hopefully everyone who sees this schedule will not want to miss this conference. I hope to see you there!

Kaleidoscope 2009 Planning

We have completed the tentative agenda for upcoming Kaleidoscope Conference. The Hyperion Special Interest Group board has put in quite a number of hours making sure the sessions will be highly valuable and help you justify your trip to beautiful Monterey, California next summer.

Though we aren't ready to release the complete agenda yet, let me tell you a little bit about it. It is separated into 4 separate tracks:

Essbase - Deep-dive from the experts

Applications - Focuse on Hyperion Planning and HFM

Hyperion and Oracle EPM - Reporting and other products

Hands-on Labs - Just Do It!

Just like last year, we will kick-off Sunday, June 21 with an Essbase Symposium featuring content from the Oracle Essbase development team.

The conference will again have a community service day. Last year, the 'ODTUG Brigade' painted a school in New Orleans. I even got my family involved as my wife, kids and even my Mom, on her first trip to New Orleans, gave a day to help out. Here is a link to a video of last years ODTUG Brigade and, if you look closely, you will see me and my family along with the faces of some other people you see on the Hyperion forums including my friends Cameron Lackpour and Joe Aultman.

Finally, while companies are cutting back in these tough economic times, we worked hard to make the Hyperion content of Kaleidoscope 2009 very deep to help you justify your attendance. Start planning now to join us in Monterey. Visit the Kaleidoscope 2009 website for the latest information.

Signup time for ODTUG

After a bunch of work, the ODTUG agenda is finally posted and if you want to keep up on the latest coming in the Essbase world and have access to the people who know, this is the place to be. Here is a link to the conference agenda:

http://www.odtugkaleidoscope.com/hyperion.html

My friend Edward Roske has already blogged about the trial and tribulations of putting together the track. His post, "Best Essbase Conference Ever?", is a good read. Here is the link:

http://looksmarter.blogspot.com/2008/03/best-essbase-conference-ever.html

Finally, there is a Hyperion-specific registration page that has just been published by the ODTUG team at:

http://www.prairiesystemsgroup.com/odtug_hyperion_registration.html

Hopefully I will get some technical content posted here again in the next few weeks. I am off to Denver the week before Collaborate (again in Denver) for OBIEE training; I hope to post on some of what I learn there.

Until then, back to writing a custom Hibernate Dialect for DB2 (the as-shipped Hibernate DB2 Dialect doesn't create CLOB fields properly nor does it properly write a where clause if the column is an integer.. Arghhh!)

ODTUG Update

I have an update on the ODTUG Conference that I wanted to share with everyone. Edward Roske and I have been working hard on putting together a killer program that will attract people who are interested in learning, in-depth, what there is to know about Essbase. Edward has proposed a session schedule that just blows me away. It will be very unlike the Solutions Conferences over the past few years that really focused on customer success stories along with a moderated dose of 'what has recently shipped'. Rather, this conference will be all technical, period. We hope to get the sessions nailed down this week so we can make the agenda public.

Another thing I like about this conference is that, instead of the traditional golf outings that *used* to be a fixture at Solutions (years ago), this conference has a community service event on Saturday. Although the French Quarter and the Garden Districts of New Orleans have recovered relatively well, much of New Orleans is still reeling from the effects of Katrina. I haven't had the opportunity to get back to New Orleans since flying a couple of AngelFlight missions just after the storm and I look forward to helping again.

If you are an Essbase developer, mark your calendars for June 15-19 for New Orleans. Keep an eye on the website at http://www.odtugkaleidoscope.com/ for upcoming Hyperion announcements.