Dave's Adventures in Business Intelligence

Unfortunately today I had several conference calls and some client work that had to get done, so for the most part I was unable to attend any specific events. I did have some great conversations with people in the hallways of the convention center, and that’s one of the primary reasons why I am here.

But not much to report as far as specific track sessions, I’m afraid. So you, too, my blog audience, have the day off from the conference as well. Hope you were as productive as I was. 8)

We have to get this for the Business Objects conference! This was a lot of fun. They called it American Idol for Geeks. 😆

Continue reading “SAP TechEd 2008 Day 2 Part II: Data at Demo Jam!”

It has been interesting to look around during some of the presentations and see what everyone is doing. I see some folks on twitter, some folks working on blog posts (I recognize the WordPress blog edit screens as I use it myself), some folks having IM conversations… and people are barely paying attention to the presentations. I try to watch and absorb and remember (I take a few notes) and then blog later.

For example, the InnoCentive information I posted about just a little while ago came out on other blog networks while the general session was still going on! So I guess my “live” blogging is not nearly as live as it could be. When I went to the first-ever phpBB (the software used for BOB) conference in London I did live blogging from the main session room because there really weren’t any breaks. Here there is a separate (private) room for bloggers to set up and do their thing, so I’m not sure why (other than being “first to market”) they feel the need to blog during the actual presentation.

Not much time to check facts or add references that way either. 🙂

After Lunch

After the Xcelsius session wrapped up after lunch we made our way back to the larger ballroom for a question and answer session with Jimmy Wales. I don’t know if you know who that is (I did not, until I read his bio). He is the founder of Wikipedia, and he was really interesting to listen to. This session was a bonus; he was also to be the guest speaker at the opening keynote later this evening but as a part of Community Day we got him to ourselves for a while. This was probably my favorite part of the day… and it didn’t even have anything to do with SAP or Business Objects or anything. 🙂 The idea behind bringing him in is that he’s made a top-ten internet destination out of a huge community project. Since today was “community” day it certainly made sense to hear what he had to say.

Oh, and my “technical issue” that I mentioned earlier, about not being able to get hooked into the wireless network at the convention center? It wasn’t a technical issue. I just need new glasses. The network access instructions (including the password) were printed on the back of my conference badge. 😳 Despite this, I didn’t take the time to get my laptop out during the rest of the afternoon as I was getting more benefit from talking to people around me.

I have to say that I have been given an extremely warm welcome here. It seems like everyone I meet or am introduced to knows about BOB and our own little community, and everyone seems genuinely glad that I’m here. I finished out the day with a very warm and fuzzy feeling. And if you’re wondering, yes, that’s a good thing.

Continue reading “TechEd Community Day Wrap Up”

I am beginning to get an idea of what things would be like if BOB had over a million members. 😆 The “Community Day” is the pre-cursor to the full TechEd event, and the entire day is built around community members. The opening session was … interesting. They gave out harmonicas to everyone entering the room, and at one point we were all asked to join in a symphony of sorts. You can imagine the noise. 😉

Continue reading “TechEd Community Day Part I”

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. We had the formal launch of the Global Business Object Network (see the new website at www.gogbn.org) and I want to talk more (much more!) about that in some future posts. We also concluded the BOB Member of the Year voting process so I got to notify the winners and interview Michael Welter, one of the top three finishers this year. I started the BOB Member of the Year process last year as a way to celebrate the anniversary of BOB as well as provide some well-deserved recognition to members of the BOB community.

And during all of this (along with client work) I got an extremely wonderful complement myself a few weeks ago: I have been recognized as a member of the SAP Mentor program. What the heck is that? That was my initial question. 😆

Continue reading “GBN Launch, BOB Member of the Year, SAP Mentor Program, and Off to TechEd”

I got accepted to present at the fall Business Objects conference again this year. Things are really on a tight schedule; we only have about two weeks from acceptance to the date when the first draft is due. 😯 With all of the work required to keep up with client obligations, Integra projects, BOB stuff, this blog… well, blog posting may be a bit sporadic over the coming month or so.

Having said that, it seems that I will also be able to go to the SAP TechEd conference next month. I’m finalizing travel and other arrangements now. I hope to be able to do “live blogs” like I did from Berlin earlier this spring since I will be there primarily as an attendee and not as a speaker. There is a bit more news on that front but I need to get final confirmation on a few details before posting anything further.

Busy. Busy. I’ll be back when I can.

A few days ago I posted about the new GBN (Global BusinessObjects Network) organization. They’re going to be responsible for the user conference this fall that is replacing the “Insight” conferences run by Business Objects in the past. One of the questions posted as a comment to that post was this:

Will the Global BO Network be organising the conferences around the world?

We over here in the Asia-Pac haven’t had one for awhile…

I did some digging and asking around and some guessing, and at this point I have some rumors to share. 🙂 From what I can tell, the intent is to sponsor several conferences a year. If that is the case, then the Asia-Pacific Rim area should be on the short list of options to consider. I suspect that we will see plans for GBN-sponsored events in both Europe and Asia-Pac in 2009 along with at least one large “Insight-style” event in the US. Part of the reason for me guessing this is they will want to put their best foot forward in order to secure long-term support and interest for their program, and the best way to do that will be to get out in front of the users. By doing that, they can share their vision and mission with the largest group of people… which should ultimately prove beneficial for both parties if they can deliver. And from our first conference call (in my earlier post I mentioned that I was selected to the steering committee for the GBN) one of the focal points was the “G” or “Global” nature of the program.

Getting global events running would be the best way to reinforce that concept, yes? 😉

The EU-Insight from earlier this year was in Berlin along with the SAPPHIRE conference. Given that the GBN wants to emphasize the independence from the product company I would expect that future conferences will not be held in conjunction with SAPPHIRE but will instead be a separate venue. Most of this is guess-work at this point as the new organization is just getting off of the ground. If I learn anything concrete I will be sure to share it when I can.

There has been quite a bit of speculation on BOB about what the future holds for the annual conference. As many readers will know, I have been a very active participant in the conference for more than a decade. I attended my first conference in 1995 and delivered my first presentation in 1996. I have been honored to have been selected as a presenter every year since.

But that was then, what about now?
Continue reading “What’s Happening to the Annual Conference?”

The final speech has been spoken, the final demo has been given, and the final beer has been consumed. (What do you expect, the conference is in Germany… 😛 ) The beer was consumed by someone other than me (I don’t drink beer) but I sure enjoyed the company anyway. One of the things that I have found both this year and last is that with the smaller conference people are much more available. Obviously the full SAPPHIRE conference is very large (up around 9,000 people I was told) but the Business Objects portion of it remains smaller than the American Insight conferences. That means I get to talk to many more people that are both interesting and interested in what I might have to offer. Today was a great day for that. Continue reading “SAPPHIRE Day 3 – It’s Over”