Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

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Alan Kirk
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Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by Alan Kirk »

Does ANYBODY know whether there will be a Cognos AP user conference this year, and if so where it will be (i.e., whether it will be somewhere OTHER than "the middle of nowhere" this time) and how long it will take (i.e. whether it will be less than 3/5ths of a week this time)?

I spent half an hour on the useless IBM site that has replaced the Cognos one yesterday and while I could find far more than I could ever give a rat's about on the subject of blade servers and user conferences relating thereto, I could find bupkis on anything relating to Cognos conferences. (Aside from the list of user group events, which was on page number 404.)

I'm supposed to be putting together our budget for next year and I'm at a loss to figure out whether / how much to budget for this.

If anyone does know, you'll have my thanks and a gold star for your data mining skills.
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by Alan Kirk »

Alan Kirk wrote:Does ANYBODY know whether there will be a Cognos AP user conference this year, and if so where it will be (i.e., whether it will be somewhere OTHER than "the middle of nowhere" this time) and how long it will take (i.e. whether it will be less than 3/5ths of a week this time)?
Oh you CAN'T be serious...

OK, I finally have an answer to this question, since I've just received an e-mail from Iboglix.
Become a speaker at IBM Cognos Forum Asia Pacific 2009.

Submit your paper now.

Each year, Cognos customers gather to increase their knowledge and understanding of all things Cognos — to discover practical tips, new best practices, and smart strategies. Most importantly, they come to learn from people like you.

Please join us at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, August 12-14, 2009, and showcase your company's success.
{Bites lip, sucks in breath, rolls eyes to ceiling, sighs...} Well, they're persistent, I'll give 'em that.

Lemmie see, where will the bulk of their customers be? Ah yes, Sydney, Melbourne and, with government agencies taken into account, probably Canberra. Brisbane might run 4th. Maybe.

Where do they hold their conference for the second year straight? Not even Brisbane itself, no, the Gold Coast, melanoma city, baby, Vegas without... pretty much anything. Except beaches. It has beaches. But then so does Normandy. Oh, and it has a bitchin' UV level. Normandy doesn't have that. A 1.5 hour and several hundred dollar flight from Sydney (never mind our southern cousins in Melbourne) plus travel time to and from the airport plus three days' worth of accommodation and meal costs. (Oh, and the cherry on the cake? The place is serviced by Jetstar, Australia's own el-cheapo airline, except... not so much cheap by price.)

Perhaps the expression "GFC" has yet to darken the door of IBM's marketing department. However most of the rest of us (including the 5,000 axed from IBM recently) are riding out a situation which may yet see Herbert Hoover rise from the grave and say "Y'know, this reminds me of MY time in office...". A situation in which many companies are putting the axe through discretionary expenditure, of which travel and accommodation are the big two categories. But yeeeeeaaah, let's hold it on the Gold Coast! For three days. Again.

Maybe we could hold it in Tibooburra next year. It probably wouldn't take any longer to get there, and the night life and UV exposure would be just as exciting. No beaches I grant you, but they have plenty of sand. And we might as well do a full week, I mean let's face it, if you're going to chew up the better part of one you might as well go all the way, especially if your workload has increased because some of your colleagues have been retrenched...

Good grief.
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by Steve Rowe »

I hope your going to send us a postcard to let us know what good time you had then Alan!
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by Alan Kirk »

Steve Rowe wrote:I hope your going to send us a postcard to let us know what good time you had then Alan!
Hey, why wait until then? I'll send it to you now!

Don't say that we're not pro-active here at OLAP Forums.

Just give me a second to fire up the De Lorean and charge the flux capacitors, aaaaaand... 88MPH, here we come.
Greetings From Sydney! {Postmark Sydney GPO 14-AUG-09 17:00}

Thu. 13 August 2009

Hi Forumers! Yes, I'm here not at the Asia Pacific conference for the second year running. Boy, let me tell you there are a LOT of Cognos and TM1 people here!

HERE, that is, not THERE. I'm sure that there are some THERE as well, but I suspect far fewer than IBM bargained for.

Anyway, let me tell you about my day so far; I went to the gym this morning (we have them down here in Sydney), then I had breakfast at a café and went to work. During my lunch break I watched a couple of Lynda.com videos which probably increased my technical skills more than an entire day's worth of user conference would! Pity that there aren't any videos for Cognos or TM1, but hey, there's other stuff to learn. And Deke McClelland and Garrick Chow both ROCK!

After work I went back to the city to do some shopping, grab some dinner at one of the cafes (we have restaurants here too, if one feels so inclined), browsed a couple of book shops (yes, we have THOSE too!), then I had the option of going to the theatre or a movie or... a whole bunch of night life options in fact. Makes me chuffed that I decided to hold my non-conference in a major city, though admittedly we don't have a couple of theme parks and a water slide (well, not a really BIG one like they have on the Gold Coast anyway). Oh, and I also spared a thought for the delegates on the Gold Coast who had the splendour of their hotel rooms to indulge in of an evening, but it was a pretty brief thought.

In fact, I had such a great time today that I've decided to spend NEXT year's conference here as well!

Hope everyone's well and that John's enjoying PALO V3!!

See you all when I get back to the office (where I won't find over half a week's worth of work waiting for me),

AK.
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by belair22 »

Rollcall - anyone going?

Likely I'll be in attendance.
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by Alan Kirk »

belair22 wrote:Rollcall - anyone going?

Likely I'll be in attendance.
I just got the following e-mail from Iboglix regarding some new additions to the conference (with a month to go?):
Iboglix E-Mail wrote:Pre-conference Super Sessions – 2 hours of absolute focus on the technology that matters to you most
Demo Theatres – Get an in-depth look at new products and features, and a sneak peek of soon to be released solutions at one of the 10 demonstration theatres scheduled
Test Drive IBM Cognos products – visit the Hands On Zone and evaluate how to improve your existing implementation
Meet the Experts at Performance World - Speak with IBM Cognos experts about proven roadmaps for BI, BI migration, BI conversion, Planning and Controller
I have to admit that I wouldn't mind the "Hands On" zone assuming that there are enough terminals, though I think that may not be a problem...
Iboglix E-Mail wrote: Unbeatable educational value

Don’t delay.
... since I translate the last bit as "FOR THE LOVE OF GLUB, WON'T SOMEONE, ANYONE, JOIN BELAIR AND REGISTER, PLEEEEEAAAASSSEEE!!!!" :D
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by belair22 »

Looks like there aren't many takers Alan.. And to think I was going to shout a round of drinks for fellow olapforum.com'ers.... (watch them all come running now.)

Hopefully I'm not the only sole there with a TM1 hat on.
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by Alan Kirk »

From today's e-mails...
Iboglix E-mail wrote:Alan,

We haven't heard from you, and we want to make sure you don't miss out on this great value learning opportunity. Visit the conference web page at www.ibm.com/cognos/au/forum2009 for the latest highlights and event information.
Haven't heard from me? On this subject? Obviously whoever composed the e-mail isn't a regular reader of OLAP Forums. :lol:
Iboglix E-mail wrote:If you've been waiting to register,
Eeeeeh... not so much, no.
Iboglix E-mail wrote:now's the time to take action and reserve your place. Accommodation at the conference hotels is limited.
Why am I visualising huge, empty caverns right now?
Iboglix E-mail wrote:We think you will agree, it is a great line up of IBM Cognos customers, partners and subject experts willing to share their experience.
Hmmm... kinda reminds me of the aforementioned OLAP Forums. But without the 90 minute flights to nowhere and thousands of dollars of travel, accommodation and conference expenses.
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by bihints.com »

So who turned up there?

official site http://www-01.ibm.com/software/au/data/ ... forum2009/
and the sessions program http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/p ... Agenda.pdf

a few people currently tweeting on #ibmcfap
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=TM1+%23ibmcfap

And a mention about TM1 9.5 new features
http://twitter.com/CognosCommunity/statuses/3261164451 "The user has the ability to annotate any cell, just like Excel, within TM1 #ibmcfap"
http://twitter.com/CognosCommunity/statuses/3260579269 "TM1 Personalised Hierarchies blends real-time what-if analytics in a planning envrionment #ibmcfap"
http://twitter.com/CognosCommunity/statuses/3260563468 "TM1 9.5 release 'best in class': personal hierarchies, personal scenarios, manage contribution (Contributor for TM1) #ibmcfap"

Has anyone got more info about 9.5?
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by Steve Vincent »

Hmm, if they don't tell you about latest releases of 9.4 i can't see how they would about 9.5!!! :o

Interesting tho, sounds like a bunch of new features no one has actually asked for, wonder if they have fixed all the issues we have requested them to solve? :roll:

<imagines supporting a users "private hierarchy" when it goes Pete Tong> :?
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Re: Asia Pacific User Conference in 2009?

Post by belair22 »

Got back from the conference yesterday evening.

A very good turnout and a great conference - quite a few IBM reps, Partners, and Delegates - by all accounts was one of the best attended IBM/Cognos conferences with a real solid interest in TM1.

A great opportunity to hear first hand from IBM where TM1 will fit and by all accounts we should see it being integrated more closely into the Cognos suite first up through Cognos Express.

Hats off to IBM for arranging the summer-esque weather the Gold Coast experienced during the conference.
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Asia Pacific User Conference in 2010

Post by Alan Kirk »

Today's E-Mail wrote:Exciting changes to IBM Cognos Forum

The Forum experience you know and love is about to get better.

Mark your calendar for the new IBM Cognos Asia Pacific customer conference, Business Analytics Forum Asia Pacific—formerly IBM Cognos Forum. With more content than ever before, it's your best opportunity to dive deep into business intelligence, advanced analytics, financial performance and strategy management, and analytic applications.
Business Analytics Forum 2010
Asia Pacific

November 3–5, 2010
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre | Queensland
Mmm, big changes, huge changes!
* For yet another year, held over three, not one, not two, but THREE valuable business days!
* For yet another year, held in the middle of nowhere!

Even though it's done by a vendor rather than Iboglix, it's making that one dayer by Cubewise look really good...
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