BIC2G Images Update
About The New MS Windows Based BIC2G Images
Through an exclusive licensing agreement with Oracle, Microsoft, and Vlamis Software Solutions, Inc., Vlamis recently announced the availability of MS Windows virtual machines to Oracle Partner Network members. These BIC2G images are stuffed with more than 20 gigabytes of installed and configured Oracle software, data sets, and demo scripts and allow OPN members to demonstrate Oracle's Hyperion EPM and Oracle BI software without the need to invest hundreds of hours installing and configuring software into a demo environment. To learn more about the BIC2G images available from Vlamis, visit www.vlamis.com/. To view the March 20th announcement webcast, click here.
Special BIC2G Review and Input Webcast Session
The announcement webcast for the BIC2G: EPM (Hyperion EPM) and BIC2G: BI images was oversubscribed and not all OPN members who wanted to attend were able. A special Webcast Session has been scheduled to allow people that could not attend the March 20th webcast, to provide an overview of the program, and to provide OPN members with an opportunity to provide feedback and submit questions on the program. The BIC2G Review and Input Webcast is Friday, April 3rd, at 3:00PM Central. The connections information is below:
Domestic / International:
888-921-7502 / 706-634-1712
Passcode: 72455
Web Conference
Conference ID / Key: 139995078 / 72455
Countdown to Collaborate
Collaborate 2009 is just around the corner. This year the event will be in Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, from May 3rd to May 7th. Collaborate is a combination of the Independent Oracle User Group (IOUG), Oracle Applications User Group (OAUG), and Quest International User Group conferences. Attendees will hear from Oracle President, Charles E. Phillips, Jr., and from key Oracle speakers like Tom Kyte during the Oracle Executive Sessions.
Collaborate will host more than 350 sessions with user-driven education, covering the hottest topics such as database administration, development,Essbase, and Oracle OLAP. Vlamis is scheduled to present several topics at the conference. Mark Thompson will be presenting "Tales from the Front: Strategies for a Successful OBIEE Implementation" on Wednesday, May 6th at 9:45 am. Chris Claterbos will be presenting on two topics: "Having your Business Intelligence the Way You Want It!" on Wednesday, May 6th, at 8:30 am and "Building Cubes and Analyzing Data Using Oracle OLAP 11g" on Thursday, May 7th, at 9:45 am. Dan will be co-presenting with Michael Schrader, from Oracle on "Oracle Essbase and Oracle OLAP: A Guide to Oracle's Multidimensional Solution" on Monday May 4th, at 10:45AM and an interactive session later that day "Ask the Experts: Dan Vlamis and Michael Schrader - Time dimensions in Essbase and Oracle OLAP", on Monday May 4th at 2:30pm.
Attendees can also choose from more than 15 University Seminars at an additional fee. Chris Claterbos will be teaching "How to Use Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) to Solve Real World Problems", Sunday, May 3rd, from 9:00am - 5:00pm.
For a full list of all scheduled events check out the Collaborate 2009 website. We will also be adding additional information throughout the month on our website.
ClearView for Oracle OLAP 10g and 11g
Collaborative Concepts Consulting has announced the release of ClearView 2.0 for Oracle OLAP 10g and 11g cubes. ClearView 1.0 has been in production for over 2 years with support for Oracle OFA Express clients. ClearView 2.0 works with Excel 2002, 2003, and 2007 leveraging all existing Oracle OLAP 10g and 11g Data Warehousing implementations.
ClearView's advanced Board Ready Reporting, Ad Hoc Query, Analytical Modeling and Write Back features showcase the power of Oracle OLAP. Also, since the product works for both Oracle OLAP 10g and 11g it eases the transition from 10g to 11g.
We look forward to showing our clients what can be accomplished using ClearView as the centerpiece of a BI solution using Oracle OLAP as a back end. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more.
Employee Spotlight - Dan Vlamis
Dan Vlamis has been working with Oracle BI technology (and its predecessors) for over two decades and has led hundreds of BI projects with many of America's leading corporations.
Dan started his career working for Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) after graduating with a BA in Computer Science from Brown University in 1986. For a fun perspective on Dan's decision to work in Boston for IRI, see Jeff Erickson's blog article "Salute to Dan Vlamis' College Girlfriend". He worked on Express applications at IRI for six years. He ended up managing the back end portion of what would later be named Oracle Sales Analyzer after Oracle purchased the Express product line from IRI in 1995.
Dan moved from the Boston area to Kansas City to be closer to family in 1992 and founded Vlamis Software Solutions. Dan oversees all of Vlamis Software's projects and takes a personal interest in every project. Dan has been recognized as an "Oracle ACE" is currently working on co-authoring a book on Oracle's OLAP Solutions. Dan was featured in the March/April 2009 issue of Oracle Magazine and was recently the subject of Oracle's Up Close Video Podcast.
A passionate and dynamic speaker, Dan is in demand as a speaker at major Oracle conferences and events. He serves on the BIWA SIG board and was Conference Chair for BIWA Summit 2008 held at Oracle headquarters. Dan is a regular beta tester and customer advisory board member for Oracle BI and OLAP-related products and consults with Oracle product management regularly.
On the personal side, Dan uses his technical expertise to help his 8th grade son's local school computer club. The club meets meets monthly, sharing computer concepts such as programming, HTML, how the internet works, etc. with kids in grades 6 through 9. Dan is very environmentally conscious, and has led an effort to encourage kids to walk to his daughter's school and is on the board of directors for Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary.
Upcoming Events
BIC2G Review and Input Webcast
Friday, April 3rd, 3:00pm Central time • Webcast
For those not able to attend the March 20th Webcast, a special Webcast Session has been scheduled to provide an overview of the program and to provide OPN members with an opportunity to provide feedback and submit questions.
Domestic / International:
888-921-7502 / 706-634-1712
Passcode: 72455
Web Conference
Conference ID / Key: 139995078 / 72455
Collaborate 2009
May 3-7 • Orlando, Florida • http://www.collaborate09.com
| Speaker Name | Date and Time | Presentation Title |
| Chris Claterbos | 05/3/2009 9:00AM - 5:00PM | University Class: How to Use Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) to Solve Real World Problems |
| Vlamis and Schrader | 05/4/2009 10:45AM - 11:45AM | Oracle Essbase and Oracle OLAP: A Guide to Oracle's Multidimensional Solution |
| Vlamis and Schrader | 05/4/2009 2:30PM - 3:30PM | Ask the Experts: Dan Vlamis and Michael Schrader - Time dimensions in Essbase and Oracle OLAP |
| Chris Claterbos | 05/6/2009 8:30AM - 10:45AM | Having your Business Intelligence the Way You Want It! |
| Mark Thompson | 05/6/2009 9:45AM - 10:45AM | Tales from the Front: Strategies for a Successful OBIEE Implementation |
| Chris Claterbos | 05/7/2009 9:45AM - 10:45AM | Building Cubes and Analyzing Data Using Oracle OLAP 11g |
ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2009
June 21-25 • Monterey, California • http://www.odtug.com/
| Speaker Name | Date and Time | Presentation Title |
| Dan Vlamis | 06/22/2009 3:45PM - 5:15PM | Having your Business Intelligence the Way You Want It! |
| Mark Thompson | 06/25/2009 9:15AM - 10:15AM | Tales from the Front: Strategies for a Successful OBIEE Implementation |
Abstracts for all presentations can be found on our website. Please contact us if you are attending the conference so we can arrange a time to meet with you during the conference.
Prior and Future Newsletter Articles
We feature breaking news in the "Headlines" section of our home page at www.vlamis.com. More news items can be found on our Business Intelligence and Datawarehousing Blog at http://www.vlamis.com/blog. An archive of our newsletters going back through 2002 can be found at http://www.vlamis.com/newsletters.
Our March 2009 newsletter featured the following articles:
- Vlamis Interviewed in Oracle Video Podcast
- New Oracle Hyperion EPM and Oracle BI Demo Images Available from Vlamisp
- Viewing Oracle OLAP 11g in Microsoft Excel
- Employee Spotlight - Cathye Pendley
Our February 2009 newsletter featured the following articles:
- OracleBI Spreadsheet Add-In Released
- BIWA Summit Recap
- Oracle Sales and Financial Analyzer De-support
- Employee Spotlight - Mark Thompson
- Upcoming Events
- Chris' OLAP Tip
Our next newsletter will contain several exciting announcements including:
- Meet at Collaborate 2009
- Introduction upcoming book co-authored by Dan Vlamis and Chris Claterbos on Oracle OLAP and Essbase
- Employee Spotlight - Chris Claterbos
Please visit our blog for the most up-to-date Business Intelligence and Datawarehousing developments.