There are 4 meetings scheduled for 2019:
Attendance is free; however, we do ask that you register for count purposes.
See you soon!
November 15, 2018 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, November 15th 2018.
Location: City of Mesa 200 S Center St, Building 3, Room 119 Mesa, AZ 85201
Registration is free, but we do ask that you register to help us keep count.
Agenda
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome & Announcements
1:10- 1:55 pm | Vixxo Strategist Dashboard Case Study – Cindy Spohn, Vixxo
A case study describing the process of designing and building the Strategist Client Dashboard. The dashboard will truly enhance the client experience when rolled out to the field.
2:00- 2:30 pm | What’s new in Web Intelligence 4.2 SP6? – Runali Ghosh & Bree-Anna Mustad, InfoSol
This session will explore the latest features and enhancements with Web Intelligence 4.2 SP6.
2:30- 2:45 pm | Break & Networking
2:45- 3:30 pm | Using The Web Intelligence Administrative Management Tool – A Case Study – Ethan Durda, Vixxo & Jean-Francios Cayron, Sagitta BI
Take a look at the business problem that inspired the usage of an underrated and unsupported SAP Management Tool for Web Intelligence administration. The session will take a look at the case study as well as showcase the tool in a technical overview through demonstration.
3:30- 4:00 pm | (Continued) Group Open Discussion on BI Pressures and Trends for 2018 and into 2019 – Ethan Durda, Vixxo
This open format discussion is a continuation of discussions in previous AZBOCUG’s, lead by Ethan Durda, which opens to the audience to explore and discuss the various trends and pressures of Business Intelligence in 2018 and also discuss what trends may continue into 2019.
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes
August 16th, 2018 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, Aug 16th 2018.
Registration is free, but we do ask that you register to help us keep count.
Location: Mobile Mini 4646 E. Van Buren St. 3rd Floor Phoenix, AZ 85008
AGENDA:
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome & Announcements
1:10- 1:40 pm | The Top 5 Deadly Sins to Avoid when Developing & Releasing BusinessObjects Reports – John Clapper, Mobile Mini
Everyone is looking for their Reporting releases to run smoothly whether you are releasing one report or hundreds of reports; whether you are developing on a SQL Server foundation with nightly batch processing or developing on a native HANA real-time foundation. The goal always remains the same…customer satisfaction and the completion in a timely manner. This session will explore examples in order to address the top 10 deadliest sins that you should avoid when it comes to BusinessObjects Report Releases.
1:45- 2:15 pm |Web Intelligence Tips from the Trenches – Runali Ghosh, InfoSol
Web Intelligence has so many features and functions that it is hard to know them all and when best to use them. Senior BusinessObjects Consultant, Runali Ghosh, will share some recent situations she encountered and demonstrate how she solved them. They include merged dimensions and using dynamic visibility.
2:15- 2:30 pm | Break & Networking
2:30- 3:00 pm |IDT vs UDT: The Secret Weapons – Jean-Francois Cayron, Sigatta BI
The case has been made repeatedly that the UNX format is the future of the Business Objects ecosystem.
But people tasked with developing universes will also appreciate how different the tools themselves are.
We will show you how the IDT opens up your options.
3:00- 3:30 pm | Universe Design Date Customization – Cindy Spohn & Amanda Zibella
This session will explore different ways to design, filter and build date customization’s in UNV and IDT environments. Formatted as a collaborated presentation, topics discussed will include items such as:
- Adding custom date filter
- Setting up Pre-defined quires
- Building prompts into an object
- Formatting dates in the Universe
- Dimension vs Detail
- Formatting numbers
3:30- 4:00 pm |Open Discussion on The Future of BusinessObjects – Hosted by Paul Grill, InfoSol
This open format session will allow the community to freely discuss and ask questions that pertain to how they use BusinessObjects today; what concerns or questions they have for the future of their organizations usage of BO or the future of SAP BO all together.
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes
May 17th, 2018 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, May 17th 2018.
Registration is free, but we do ask that you register to help us keep count.
Location:
City of Mesa
200 S Center St, Building 3, Room 119
Mesa, AZ 85201
Agenda
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome & Announcements
1:10- 1:55 pm | Business Objects in Cloud, Infosol’s Story – Minith Patel, InfoSol Inc.
This presentation will cover how Infosol moved from In-house Network to cloud for business objects and how cloud helps support its day to day operations.
2:00- 2:30 pm | The Future of Web intelligence – What’s Planned for SP06 and Beyond – Paul Grill, InfoSol Inc.
The popularity of Web Intelligence continues to grow, as along with the Universe and Semantic Layer, it forms the central pillar of BusinessObjects. The number of new features and functionality introduced with each service pack of BI 4.2 has been unprecedented and continues unabated. After the current SP05, we will see SP06 released this Summer and more coming.
This presentation will provide both an evaluation of where Webi is today and where it is heading along with a sneak preview of what is planned for SP06 .
2:30- 2:45 pm | Break & Networking
2:45- 3:15 pm | What Makes a Visually Appealing Dashboard – Taylor Packwood, InfoSol Inc.
A well designed and good looking dashboard has a much better chance of being used and therefore being successful. This session will showcase and discuss design concepts, best practices, and theories behind what makes a visually appealing dashboard; from colors to components to infographics and images, this presentation will also demonstrate great examples of well-designed dashboards to emphasize design concepts.
3:15- 4:00 pm | Web Intelligence Tips from the Trenches – Runali Ghosh, InfoSol
Web Intelligence has so many features and functions that it is hard to know them all and when best to use them. Senior BusinessObjects Consultant, Runali Ghosh, will share some recent situations she encountered and demonstrate how she solved them. They include Merged dimensions and using dynamic visibility.
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes
February 8th, 2018 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, February 8th 2018.
Location: Scottsdale Community College, 9000 E Chaparral Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85256, Student Center (SC) Building, Room 209
Select here for Campus Map detail
Click to view SC Building Room Map: Student Center Building (SC) Room 209
Agenda
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome and Announcements
1:10- 1:55 pm | Web Intelligence: Optimizing Response Times and Productivity – Jean Francois Cayron, Sagitta BI
This session is a study of techniques available to improve performance and productivity in Web Intelligence. How you approach the design of the overall visualization solution will deeply impact performance as perceived by the consumer. An adequate selection of techniques from the query design to report distribution will allow your organization to optimize the user experience. Learn about how to achieve success by combining Query Stripping, Scheduling, Document Linking and more.
2:00- 2:30 pm | How to Convince Upper Management to Keep BusinessObjects (Part II), The BI Strategy – Paul Grill, InfoSol
BusinessObjects remains the most popular Business Intelligence suite in use in the world today. Not only is it feature-rich, mature and solid but it is known, used and loved by millions who bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to its ever-growing ecosystem.
Many organizations have tried to replace it over the years only to come back to using it again.
In Part 1 of this fascinating topic, we talked about the key features of the toolset that make it so popular and part 2 will talk about the benefits and wisdom of keeping BusinessObjects as the centerpiece of your organization’s BI strategy.
2:30- 2:45 pm | Break & Networking
2:45- 3:15 pm | Dashboard Development made easier: An Xcelsius add-on created by InfoSol – Runali Ghosh, InfoSol
Despite numerous great features and advantages of Xcelsius, developers often face challenges when building complex and large dashboards. The first major challenge is that the work cannot be divided among multiple developers due to its lack of capability to merge and share dashboard projects. The second challenge is faced when the number of components increases because the loading, previewing and navigation of the dashboard tends to slow down. This session will demonstrate examples of Advanced iFrame; an add-on component that enables developing large dashboards with several tabs and pages, permitting multiple developers to work in parallel while breaking it up into logical modules.
3:15- 4:00 pm | What’s New in SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.2 SP5? Adam Lange, A. Lange Consulting
Join expert consultant, Adam Lange, for a live tour of the latest features and enhancements offered in SAP BusinessObjects 4.2 SP5. This brand new version includes several exciting improvements to bolster the quality and efficiency of your reporting operations, with benefits for administrators and Web Intelligence users! This presentation will include practical applications and examples of the new features, plus caveats and best practices.
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes
2018 Meeting Schedule
There are 4 meetings scheduled for 2017:
Attendance is free; however, we do ask that you register for count purposes.
See you soon!
November 9, 2017 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, November 9th 2017.
Location: City of Mesa
200 S Center St, Building 3, Room 119
Mesa, AZ 85201
Attendance is free; however, we do ask that you register for count purposes.
Agenda
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome and Announcements
1:10- 1:55 pm | Using Excel as a Data Source in Web Intelligence – Jared Hansen, City of Mesa
This session will explore how the City of Mesa used Excel spreadsheets as a data source in Web Intelligence to save time and effort on special projects.
2:00- 2:45 pm | Group Discussion on BI Trends and Pressures 2017 PART 2 – Ethan Durda, Ascension Business Intelligence
This is a continuation of Ethan’s first interactive presentation hosted at last Quarter’s AZBOCUG. With so many technology and business trends of weaving through the BI landscape it is difficult to understand what is going to “stick” and what will fade into the sunset. This session will be a moderated “wisdom of the crowd” discussion on these trends and flows. This will be a continuation of the discussion from last year’s IBIS and will focus on changes and observations from the past year. Questions and topics will include items such as: What are the prospects for advanced analytics in various industries and subject areas and what is holding them back? How do millennials and the next generation of information workers look at data and how can they be engaged? To cloud or not to cloud…what are you doing? What works for you with off-shore resources?
2:45- 3:00 pm | Break & Networking
3:00- 3:30 pm | How to propose to Upper Management why you should keep BusinessObjects: A Two Part Presentation – Paul Grill & Bree-Anna Mustad, InfoSol
PART 1: Why BusinessObjects? The key features, use cases and overall value of the Core BusinessObjects toolset – Bree-Anna Mustad, InfoSol
This topic was proposed by an individual who’s organization have been using for BusinessObjects for countless years and is now witnessing the organization’s consideration of getting rid of BO. This individual proposed a presentation that would help explain how to propose to the decision makers why they should continue using BusinessObjects.
Part one of this two part presentation will preface the “why” behind adopting, keeping and leveraging BusinessObjects. Focused on the core BusinessObjects tool set, Bree-Anna will discuss key features, highlights in reference to the overall value of the tools, and specific use cases in order to shed light on the “why” behind continuing to use BusinessObjects.
3:30- 4:00 pm | Understanding Server and Services in BusinessObjects: Tips and best practices on how to manage them – Minith Patel, InfoSol
Processing capability of Business Objects can be tweaked to your advantage and need if you know about Servers and Services in Business Objects. This session will introduce you to the concept of Server and Services in BO and share a few tips and best practices.
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes
August 10, 2017 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, August 10th 2017.
Location: Universal Technical Institute (UTI) 16220 N Scottsdale Rd #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85254.
Room Location: Growth/Performance/Success
Attendance is free; however, we do ask that you register for count purposes.
Agenda
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome and Announcements
1:10- 1:55 pm | Improving Report Performance in SAP BusinessObjects – Adam Lange, A. Lange Consulting
This session will discuss the problem of inefficient queries and long-running reports. Attendees will learn how to improve report performance by adopting key strategies at all ends of the BI architecture, including the database, the universe, and report design.
2:00- 2:45 pm | BusinessObjects Security made easy – Jean-Francois Cayron, Sagitta BI
Many companies struggle with managing rights and access in their Business Objects deployments, especially when changes occur in the business structure. This presentation will offer a structured approach to building a system that will withstand organizational changes and personnel turnover.
2:45- 3:00 pm | Break & Networking
3:00- 3:30 pm | Meritage Home’s Marketing Dashboard Journey
A review the process of Meritage Homes Marketing group as they collaborated with the Meritage IT group to create a one stop shop for the divisional, regional and corporate Marketing employees to track spending, effectiveness, and conversions of the many campaigns created by a top 10 homebuilder. This dashboard combines digital, print, phone and internet campaigns into a single consolidated view for all areas of the business.
3:30- 4:00 pm | Group Discussion on BI Trends and Pressures 2017 – Ethan Durda, Ascension Business Intelligence
With so many technology and business trends of weaving through the BI landscape it is difficult to understand what is going to “stick” and what will fade into the sunset. This session will be a moderated “wisdom of the crowd” discussion on these trends and flows. This will be a continuation of the discussion from last year’s IBIS and will focus on changes and observations from the past year. Questions and topics will include items such as: What are the prospects for advanced analytics in various industries and subject areas and what is holding them back? How do millennials and the next generation of information workers look at data and how can they be engaged? To cloud or not to cloud…what are you doing? What works for you with off-shore resources?
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes
May 11, 2017 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, May 11th 2017.
Attendance is free; however, we do ask that you register for count purposes.
Location: City of Mesa
200 S Center St, Building 3, Room 119
Mesa, AZ 85201
Parking/Directions: It’s better though if you enter at 255 S MacDonald which is on the west side of the building. There’s more parking there and building 3 is the first one you will see.
Agenda
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome and Announcements
1:10- 1:55 pm | Improving Report Performance in SAP BusinessObjects – Adam Lange, A. Lange Consulting
This session will discuss the problem of inefficient queries and long-running reports. Attendees will learn how to improve report performance by adopting key strategies at all ends of the BI architecture, including the database, the universe, and report design.
2:00- 2:45 pm | BusinessObjects Security made easy – Jean-Francois Cayron, Sagitta BI
You’ve seen how the City of Mesa uses linking and input controls to dynamically change columns, switch between charts and tables, and link to detail reports, now further improve your Webi dashboards skills by including a speedometer, trend icon/arrows, and creating bars in table rows.
2:45- 3:00 pm | Break & Networking
3:00- 3:30 pm | Presentation coming soon…
3:30- 4:00 pm | Presentation coming soon…
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes
February 9, 2017 Meeting
You and your colleagues are invited to join us at the next information packed Arizona Business Objects and Crystal User Group (AZBOCUG) meeting Thursday, February 9th 2017.
Attendance is free; however, we do ask that you register for count purposes.
Location: Scottsdale Community College: 9000 East Chaparral Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85256
Turquoise Room — located in the Student Center (SC) — Room 164. It is well marked and everyone on campus knows it as “Turquoise”. The room has an outside entrance (which you will see as you approach the building), as well as an entrance from inside the Student Center.
Parking: Lot A is closest to the Turquoise Room (campus map).
Driving directions: 101 to Chaparral Road. East on Chaparral to the first entrance of SCC. After you’ve entered campus, turn left and follow the winding road to Parking Lot A.
Agenda:
12:30 – 1:00 pm | Registration
1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcome and Announcements
1:10- 1:55 pm | SAP BusinessObjects 4.2 Customization and Branding – Adam Lange, A. Lange Consulting
In this session, attendees will learn the procedures for tailoring your SAP BusinessObjects 4.2 platform. Learn how to: add logos and messages to the Launch Pad login screen, manage logos and other company images, selectively hide Web Intelligence features, create effective report templates, and more.
2:00- 2:45 pm | Mass Connection Credential Change in BOE – Alan Ziv, MCCD
In February 2015, the Maricopa Community College District moved its Student Information System to a new version on servers located in the Oracle Cloud. This required the connection information (server, username, and password) to be changed on thousands of reports. The way we accomplished this mostly worked, but there were significant issues. We started to look for an alternative method for future use. This led us to 360View which we had previously used only for managing security settings. GB&Smith has responded to our needs with updates to 360View to address the issues we have encountered. The current situation will be described.
2:45- 3:00 pm | Break & Networking
3:00- 3:30 pm | Tips and Tricks for Migrating from BusinessObjects XI 3.1 to BI 4.2 – Minith Patel, InfoSol
Upgrading BO Application can be challenging, this presentation will focus on important topics, Tips and Tools that help with the a successful upgrade of BO from 3.1 to 4.2.
3:30- 4:00 pm | The Five People You Meet in Dashboard Heaven – Paul Grill, InfoSol
Following the phenomenal success of “The Seven Deadly Sins of Dashboard Design”, BI Dashboard Evangelist, Paul Grill , shifts the focus to highlighting some remarkable BI dashboards – how they came about, the impact they had and the people that made them happen. The engagement of the business user is critical to both the success and user adoption of any BI solution. In the case studies covered, the users play critical roles in the idea, the design and the result and will show the importance of best practices in making the user experience the number one priority.
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Raffle & Prizes