Denver, Colorado
The ODTUG team was pleased to host a meetup on the first night of RMOUG Training Days 2016. We had a blast at Crave in downtown Denver, Colorado.
Folks from all walks of Oracle life attended, and there was great discussion on multiple technologies. In addition, we were privileged to meet local folks who were new to ODTUG. We even had a drawing for a free pass to Kscope16. Congratulations to Melissa Kienbusch from The Bean Consulting Group!
Special thanks goes to Qingchen Chen and Sarah Zumbrum for helping to organize this networking event. RMOUG Training Days 2016 was a great success, and we look forward to seeing you all at future events!
South Florida Meetup a Success – Great for Both Experienced and New EPMers
The South Florida Meetup Group headed up by Jessica Cordova, President, ARC EPM Consulting recently met at Dave & Busters in Ft. Lauderdale for an evening of learning, networking, and a bunch of fun! Jessica got the group in gear with introductions and followed with some thought provoking exercises as everyone had a bite to eat and their favorite beverage.
The event was a resounding success which promises another meetup in the near future. Afterwards, Jessica caught up with Carlos Fajardo, EPM Administrator, ADT:
Jessica: Why did you join the South Florida EPM Meetup?
Carlos: I joined the group to learn from my peers. I am fairly new to the EPM world and learning as I go. I want to be able to talk with others in my profession and collaborate for new projects and ideas.
Jessica: The goal of the EPM Meetup is to add value by sharing knowledge within the EPM community. Do you feel this was achieved?
Carlos: It is achieved as participation increases. The meet up brings opportunities to connect and learn how others found solutions to solve a problem within their environment. This past Meetup included a wide range of users from local companies in various industries. We had a simulated exercise and we had as many solutions as participants to a simple question: ‘How do you allocate expenses in a P&L?’
Jessica: What were the strengths of the event?
Carlos: The biggest strength is the diversity of the Meetup participants and the wealth of information they bring with them. The opportunity to showcase how different people solve for equal problems is unique. A Meetup discussion is not designed to reinvent the wheel but rather to help you choose among the different rim and wheel options available. That is the value of bringing such diversity and experience together.
Jessica: What did you find most useful or enjoyable and why?
Carlos: I loved the “Design your database” group exercise and the fact that it included an allocation component. I was paired with other members who had different strengths in EPM. I was surprised by how different the problem was approached. Every option was considered from using the full EPM stack to avoiding it completely. It certainly opened my mind to new ways to prototype for future projects.
Jessica: What would you like to see in future events?
Carlos: I would love a meetup for newbies. Not everyone is an expert in the full EPM stack. For those of you who are – congratulations – you are probably a consultant or an Oracle ACE! I would like a place where we can ask questions and have discussions around the basics and improve understanding of product and process. There should also be a place for asking ‘how to’ questions. The forum could also be enhanced with presentations on specific ‘how to’ topics such as the benefits of hierarchy and best practices for leveraging alternate hierarchy, use of system variables in Essbase, member list in HFM, adding new data sources to studio.
Jessica: Would you recommend the Meetup?
Carlos: Yes, I would recommend the meetup to any new or experienced EPM user I come across!
Jessica: Do you have any other comments or feedback?
Carlos: I believe this group must push to bring in more companies to the meeting. The last meetup had representatives of at least 3 different companies. But we need more to keep fresh and evolve into a sustainable gathering. I also love that even though consultants are welcome there are no sales push or sales pitch during the meeting.
