Hyperion Solutions Conference Returns (in 2 different ways)

Solutions 2.0

The story first broke at Collaborate 2009 in Orlando when Kristin Newman (who's now President of the OAUG Hyperion SIG) announced that talks were underway to resurrect the Solutions conference. Now this meant different things to different people. Some thought of Solutions as the big, annual conference where 4,000+ Hyperion users got together. Others thought of it as a place where users of Hyperion could gather to be educated in-depth about Hyperion. So the question was, what exactly was going to happen in Solutions 2.0?

Turns out, there are two answers.

The National Conference

As I've blogged about before (some would say that I've blogged about it ad nauseum), where there used to be one major gathering in the USA per year, there became at least three post-Oracle acquisition: Oracle OpenWorld, OAUG/IOUG/Quest Collaborate, and ODTUG Kaleidoscope. If you added Hyperion attendance for all three of these conferences in 2008, you got less than a third of the people who made it to the last Solutions. So where did all the people go?

They stayed home. Simply, since no one was quite sure where to go, 3,000+ Hyperion Solutions attendees went... nowhere. Well, the good news is that the dust seems to have settled on these major conferences and we seem to have a winner: ODTUG Kaleidoscope.

Of the three conferences with major Hyperion content, it was the only one to grow its attendance from 2008 to 2009, and it's growing even more next year. Compare that with Collaborate which reduced the number of Hyperion presentations from 2008 to 2009. Further, Collaborate is reducing their presentations on Hyperion even more in 2009 to less than 50 total sessions. OpenWorld will have fewer Hyperion attendees this year than 2007 or 2008 and the trend will probably continue into next year.

In other words, if you want to have a ton of different options spanning the gamut from the introductory Oracle EPM sessions to the hardcore Hyperion presentations, go ahead and make your reservations now for Kaleidoscope. It will be held in Washington, DC from June 27-July 1 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. For more information, visit http://odtugkaleidoscope.com/.

If you want a free pass to Kaleidoscope (and who doesn't with companies as frugal as they are these days), ODTUG is currently looking for presenters for the 2010 conference. Some of the Hyperion (Oracle EPM) categories for which they need speakers include Essbase, Hyperion applications (Planning, HFM, HSF, et al), Hardcore Hyperion, and the OBIEE/Hyperion Reporting Tools. The deadline for submitting abstracts is October 27, so hurry to:

http://www.technicalconferencesolutions.com/pls/caat/caat_abstracts_upd.main?conference_id=68

The Regional Conferences

But what about those who can't devote a week of travel to Hyperion? For those users who want 2 days of intense Hyperion content including multiple presentations across multiple themes, theOAUG Hyperion SIG now has an answer for you.

The Hyperion SIG will be putting on a series of regional conferences in in 5 different cities around the USA over the course of 2010. These 2-day events will have 5-7 tracks of content and each track will have 10 or so different sessions in it. As such, users of Hyperion will be able to travel to their region's conference for more than 50 different sessions. For those cutting back on travel in 2010 (or those who only have 2 days to give to the cause of Hyperion and Oracle EPM learning), these conferences are a great option.

They're still trying to iron out the details for 2010, but as the Essbase Domain Lead for OAUG, I've been privy to some advanced briefings. Barring some political snafu, these conferences will definitely be happening. OAUG is finally to the point where they're starting to make the general population aware of these conferences.

OAUG Hyperion SIG Partner Briefing Call: October 9

There will be two introductory calls to brief the partner community on Friday, October 9. The first will be at 8AM Central and the second at 2PM Central. The dial-in number is (219) 509-8020 and the participant code is 154751. That's from an e-mail I received, so if that number doesn't work on the 9th, make sure to visit http://hyperionsig.oaug.org/ to see if they've updated the call-in information.

In case there were any partners who didn't received that e-mail, here's the bulk of it (reprinted with permission from OAUG Hyperion SIG President, Kristin Newman):

Dial-in Number:1-219-509-8020
Participant Access Code:154751

WE ARE EXCITED TO FINALLY ANNOUNCE AND SHARE INFORMATION WITH THE HYPERION AND BI COMMUNITY ABOUT 2010 CONFERENCES!! THIS IS A CALL YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS!!

Agenda:

1. Collaborate 2010 - Information on Hyperion presentations and focus for 2010 - presentation numbers, target audience, etc.

2. Regional Conference Model for 2 day "Solutions" type conferences across the USA for 2010.

This is a unique and innovative opportunity for Partners to be involved on the ground floor up! The OAUG has supported the Hyperion and BI community in supporting the need for Education in the local markets!

This has been in works all year and the Board of Directors of the Hyperion SIG and OBI SIG want to share first hand what we've been advocating for and what is happening.

We will discuss the conference model, sponsorship opportunities, speaking opportunities, tracks, etc.

If you receive this e-mail as a member of either the OAUG Hyperion SIG or OBI SIG, but you think that other decision-makers at your firms should attend, please forward this invite to them. We will hold 2 calls on Friday, October 9th to choose from. Additionally, we will discuss this model at our semi-annual meeting at OOW on Sunday, October 11 at the OAUG Hyperion SIG meeting (1-3pm). After Open World, we will publish this information on our website!

We look forward to sharing information with the Hyperion & BI Partner Community!!!

Kind Regards,
Kristin Newman
President/Coordinator
OAUG Hyperion SIG Board of Directors
E-Mail: hyperionsig(at)gmail.com
214.223.7171

So if you're a partner/vendor interested in presenting or exhibiting at one of the regional Solutions 2.0 conferences, make sure you attend the call on the 9th.

So, to be clear...

If you're looking to go to a national conference in 2010 that comes the closest to what you got out of Solutions, go to ODTUG Kaleidoscope. If you want something more regional in scope (like the Hyperion User Groups of old but on cool, designer steroids), make plans to attend whichver of theOAUG regional conferences in 2010 is closest to you.

So where does that leave Collaborate and OpenWorld? Well, I'd go to OpenWorld or Collaborate if Oracle EPM and Hyperion were not my primary concerns. These conferences will still be there for people looking to find out about multiple products though the EPM content will be noticeably light in 2010 (even more so than it was in 2009).

Personally, I'm breathing a sigh of relief because we finally have a clear answer as to where the Essbase and Hyperion user community will be gathering in 2010. I'm just glad we found out before the budget season closed. Go forth and make your Hyperion conference travel request for 2010.

Where does that leave me?

Not that anyone particularly cares, but I have to go to all of the conferences and that now includes five more regional conferences. An Oracle ACE Director's speaking life is never done.