B I S T E C H   U P D A T E      Winter 2007

BISTECH TOPS COGNOS AWARDS TALLY...
As most of you now know, Bistech took out the coverted 'Cognos Partner of the Year FY07' award and the 'QLD Regional Partner of the Year 07' award in Melbourne last March. This was a major milestone for Bistech and built on our previous years award of 'Cognos Business Intelligence Partner of the Year FY06'.

A recent media release from ARN magazine published the news story 'Bistech Tops Cognos Awards Tally' and featured a brief quote from Bistech's Director Shane Morgan.

"We are honoured to receive these awards, which recognise the depth of knowledge we have in our team, our commitment to be certified and our capability of delivering solutions that enable customers to realise exceptional returns on their Cognos investments," Bistech director, Shane Morgan, said.

Check out the news brief from ARN HERE...

COGNOS FORUM 2007 IN SYDNEY...
The annual Cognos Forum Asia Pacific for 2007 is fast approaching and Bistech will again be sponsoring this premier event. The Cognos Forum is the most important event of the year for Cognos customers and partners and will be held in Sydney next month between the Wed 8th Aug - Fri 10th Aug 2007.

If you've never been to the Forum then nows the time to...

SEE - How peers are successfully using, deploying, and adopting Cognos solutions

SHARE - Challenges, success stories, and experiences with other Cognos customers

LEARN - Best practices, tips and techniques for maximizing your Cognos solutions…and your Return On Investment!

August is fast approaching so if your interested in attending this years forum you need to register now!

For more information about the forum click HERE...

COGNOS RADIO & PODCAST...
If you've visited the Cognos website in recent times you may have come across the new Cognos Radio and related Podcasts. This new edition to the website provides recurring radio programs from Cognos, which features interviews and guests who provide opinions on business intelligence, performance management and planning.

Don't have time to listen at work...no problems, simply download the radio program in MP3 and listen on your iPod or in the car!

Listen to leaders from Google, RIM, IBM and more about hot topics in business intelligence and performance management.

Hear how you can get more value from your investment in Oracle, SAP, and other ERP data sources with business intelligence.

Listen, Download or Subscribe, the choice is yours! Here are some recent programs of interest...

  • Uni of Wollongong: Bal. Scorecards & "BI Cadets" CLICK HERE
  • Measuring Up: Retail Perspectives 2006—Part 1 CLICK HERE
  • Cognos 8 Go! Mobile and the Blackberry CLICK HERE
  • PeopleSoft and Cognos CLICK HERE

Find more podcasts HERE...

COGNOS 8.2 NOW AVAILABLE...
The Cognos 8.2 is now available for download by migrated C8 customers. The focus of this release is on performance, conformance and quality enhancements.

Major investments were made to enhance performance in the following areas:

  • OLAP Cube performance: improvements have been applied to known use cases on all OLAP providers. Performance improvements range from a few percent in some use cases to several hundred percent in others.
  • Analysis Studio Performance: user interface improvements & cube performance improvements.
  • Master-detail report performance: improved by tuning how values are passed from the master to the detail query.
  • Concurrent query execution: allowing report author to execute two or more queries for the same report at the same time.
  • First page prompt performance: enhanced by allowing the report author to designate which queries are used to reconcile parameters. As a result, key reports such as dashboards, return results much more quickly.

Other Features

  • Extended Data Access and Platform Support
    Cognos 8 BI Version 8.2 extends data access to MS SQL Server Analysis Services 2005, Salesforce.com and SAP 2004s. Cognos 8 BI Version 8.2 adds support for Internet Explorer 7 and SUSE Linux.
  • Easy Upgrade from 8.1
    Extensive testing on the conversion of applications from Cognos 8.1 to Cognos 8.2 in Cognos' Quality Control labs and at Beta Testing sites to ensure a smooth upgrade process.
  • Extending reach of Data Manager
    This release enables Data Manager to use the scheduling services of Cognos 8 BI Platform making it simpler and easier to administer Data Manager, and to automate the process of ETL to report generation and distribution.
  • Open source installation
    This release includes supported use of Apache Derby for the content store so enabling customers and partners to install Cognos 8 BI in open source environments.
  • Solid Foundation for Other Cognos Components
    Cognos 8 BI Version 8.2 will serve as the foundation for several capabilities like Cognos 8 Go! Mobile and Search, as well as upcoming enhancements to Cognos Planning, Controller and Analytic Applications.

COGNOS ON THE MOVE WITH COGNOS 8 GO! MOBILE...
Cognos 8 Go! Mobile is the latest addition to the Cognos 8 Go! family of consumer modes that enable users to easily view and consume BI information using the application or device most convenient to them. Cognos 8 Go! Mobile was built on and fully leverages the Cognos 8 BI platform - providing users with access to timely, secure, and personalized information on their BlackBerry® wireless devices.

Executives and mobile workers who have become dependent on mobile devices like a Blackberry to access email can now also view and consume strategic business intelligence information with Cognos 8 Go! Mobile.

Cognos 8 Go! Mobile optimizes how Cognos BI information is displayed on a small screen, while maintaining the intuitive interactivity that users are familiar with in their regular BI environment.

Like to know more or perhaps see a demo? Feel free to contact us at:
info@bistech.com.au

WELCOME TO OUR RECENT RECRUITS... style='color:white'>
It's been a while since our last newsletter and our Bistech team continues to grow at a constant rate! It’s with great pleasure that we profile some of our 'newer' members of the Bistech team:

Ryan Cox (B. Info Tech)

Ryan joined Bistech last year from Village Life where he worked as the Marketing and BI Analyst providing critical data analysis and business decision support. Prior to this, he worked at InfoHRM where he refined his BI& Data Warehousing skills utilising primarily Cognos and SQL Server.

Since joining Bistech, Ryan has worked on such high profile consulting engagements as the Port of Brisbane, Brisbane Airport Corporation and more recently Suncorp. He has assisted a number of these organisations with their Cognos 8 migrations providing support during the transitional phase while successfully delivering some complex business reporting requirements.

As a Senior BI Consultant with Bistech, Ryan has well rounded skills, not just as an analyst, but also as a technical resource with expertise across SQL Server (2000/05), Analysis Services (MDX), Visual Basic (VB6, VBA, .Net) & Oracle.

Ryan is a great addition to our current team, bringing he's expertise to both new and existing Bistech customers.

If you would like to talk to Ryan about any aspect of your deployment, please don't hesitate to contact him on;
email: rcox@bistech.com.au
phone: 3230 0377

Tim Ridolfi (B. Bus / CA)

Tim joined Bistech last year from Transpacific IT where he held numerous positions including the Finance Manager and Group IT Manager roles.

Appointed as a Cognos Enterprise Planning specialists with Bistech, Tim's role encompasses offering clients a range of specialist services including business analysis, solution scope & design, application build and documentation.

Tim has been involved in assisting a number of large and well respected Qld organisations with the implementation of their Cognos EP solutions. He has a high level of both technical & business understanding and is a fully trained Senior Consultant in Cognos Enterprise Planning as well as a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Tim is a welcome addition to the team, further expanding Bistech's skills and ability in the Performance Management space.

If you would like to talk to Tim about your planning requirements you can contact Tim on the following;
email: tridolfi@bistech.com.au
phone: 3230 0377

Tim Hunt (B. Info Tech / MAAT)

Tim joined Bistech from Tabcorp Holdings where he held the position of Casino BI & Data Architect responsible for the successful implementation and development of Cognos and the CRM Data Mart.

With over 15 years of experience in the Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing field, Tim brings with him years of practical & hands on consulting experience gained in both Australia and the UK. He has assisted many leading organisations with their Data Warehouse and BI reporting initiatives including, Smorgon Steel, Colorado, Dept Emergency Services, Qld Public Works and more recently Blue Care. In fact, his work developing a financial reporting and balance scorecard system with the Dept. of Pubic Works in 2002 was awarded a Qld IT Award.

A Senior Consultant with Bistech, Tim's expertise in the data warehousing space further bolsters Bistech's strength in delivering robust and efficient BI solutions to it's customers.

If you would like to talk to Tim about any aspect of your deployment, please don't hesitate to contact him on;
email: thunt@bistech.com.au
phone: 3230 0377

BISTECH WEBSITE WINS PLATINUM AWARD…
We received some surprise news last month when our website developer, Sunshine Coast based 'Devision' received a Platinum Website Award for their work on www.Bistech.com.au

WebDesigners .net.au gave the award from it's official panel of judges based on categories like Graphics, Artwork, Layout, Navigability, Functionality and Originality.

Bistech used Devision last year to assist wth creating a new image and branding for Bistech including the development of our website used for promoting our business technology solutions!

ATTEND AN ENTERPRISE PLANNING WORKSHOP...
Learn how to transform your planning, budgeting and year-end processes from a fragmented and cumbersome administrative struggle to an efficient and collaborative process that is central to the performance of your organisation.

Come and see first hand how you can minimise errors and maximise control by replacing manual spreadsheets with an integrated workflow and robust, multi-dimensional modelling capability.

So why not join us at one our workshops... for details and sessions times please contact us and check out the Bistech website for more details CLICK HERE.


STOP PRESS - REGISTER NOW FOR THE COGNOS FORUM 2007...
We're heading south again this year for the Asia Pacific - Cognos Forum which will take place at The Sheraton on the Park in Sydney. If you've never been to the Forum you don't know what your missing! Cognos Forum is the place to connect with the people who know Cognos.

We look forward to seeing you there...make sure you drop by the Bistech booth and say 'hello' we'd love to see you!


Registration is Now Open!



COGNOS SUPPORTLINK ONLINE...

Many of the longtime Cognos users out there will remember the days when we use to receive a hard copy of the Cognos SupportLink magazines...

Well the printed mag stopped sometime ago but supported customers can still get all the techniques and articles plus lots more online at cognos.com

Inside Support Link you'll find many useful techniques around the new C8 functionality as well as access to multimedia techniques and exclusive webcasts. If you haven't checked it out before get onto it... it's well worth taking a look to see what's available to you!

Check out it by clicking HERE...


BUILD A BRIDGE...

Never afraid to take on a challenge, the Bistech team took on Brisbane's famous Story Bridge earlier in the year for a twilight bridge climb. The team managed to scale the historic landmark with relative ease and later visited the associated public bar for a round of well earned refreshments. Well done team...

Did you know the Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed , fabricated and constructed in Australia by Australians and is held together by 1.5 million steel rivets?


BISTECH TEAM HEADS UP THE CREEK...

With paddles of course!

In June this year the Bistech team took timeout to venture into nature for a day of kayaking and team building.

The team event involved a challenging 11km paddle across Lake Cootharaba and up the Noosa River to the famous 'Harry's Hut'. Upon reaching the hut, the group stopped for some team building activities and some lunch before hoping back into the tandem kayaks to paddle back to base camp.

The team set a cracking pace on the paddle home as they stroked a total of 22kms to complete the round journey in a record time!

Needless to say there was some pretty sore arms and stiff necks on the bus ride home...job well done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BISTECH PTY LTD
Level 20, 300 Queen Street BRISBANE QLD 4000
Ph: (07) 3230 0377
Fx: (07) 3230 0299

www.bistech.com.au
info@bistech.com.au