Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Business Intelligence, Data, Data Visualization, OBIEE, Reporting, Reports — No Comments ↓
data-visualization
Spreadsheet-style reports are monotonous, dull, and unappealing, but a more lively report with visuals, such as pie charts, bar graphs, heat maps, or others induce creativity and fruitful discussions.
Take advantage of the full power of Oracle’s visualizations.  Keep the attention of audiences with aesthetically pleasing, captivating, and interactive reports.  The visualizations available in OBIEE 11g and OBIEE 12c are coined “Data Visualizations”.  Oracle has made them even easier to use by offering visualization recommendations based on the data you want to display.
Be proud to show off your reports to peers and executives, receive positive feedback, and springboard your BI project into action and ultimate success with Oracle’s Data Visualizations!
Read more about the importance of Data Visualization here!

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Achievement, Certified, Continuing Education, HR, Human Resources, oracle certified — No Comments ↓
oracle-applications-cloud
Team members across our practices and in our corporate office completed a total of over 50 certifications last month!
Our ERP practice is certainly on a roll!  We now have an additional…
8 Oracle Applications Cloud Reporting 2016 Implementation Specialists:
            Bala C., Fatima G., Tamil G., Suresh G., Dennis H., Raju J., Raman M., and Arun R.
7 Oracle Applications Cloud Data 2016 Implementation Specialists:
Bala C., Tamil G., Suresh G., Dennis H., Raju J., Raman M., and Venkat V.
7 Oracle Applications Cloud Security 2016 Implementation Specialists:
Bala C., Fatima G., Tamil G., Suresh G., Raju J., Arun R., and Venkat V.
7 Oracle Applications Cloud User Experience 2016 Implementation Specialists:
Bala C., Fatima G., Tamil G., Suresh G., Raju J., Raman M., and Arun R.
2 Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Service Specialists:
Bala C. and Arun R.
2 Oracle Financials Cloud 2016 Sales Specialists:
Bala C. and Suresh G.
2 Oracle Fusion Financials 2014 Data implementation Specialists:
Tamil G. and Suresh G.
2 Oracle Fusion Financials 2014 Reporting Implementation Specialists:
Tamil G. and Suresh G.
But, wait!  There’s more! 
Phani K. is now an Oracle Big Data 2015 Sales Specialist. Suresh G. is an Oracle Fusion Applications 2014 Security Implementation Specialist, Oracle Fusion Applications 2014 User Experience Specialist, and an Oracle Fusion Financials 2014 PreSales and Sales Specialist. Dharmender C. is an Oracle Fusion HCM 2014 Security Implementation Specialist. Lisa R. is an Oracle Human Resources Cloud 2016 Implementation Specialist Consultant. Raman M. is an Oracle Applications Cloud Extensibility 2016 Implementation Specialist. Uma N. is now an Oracle Hyperion Financial Management 11 Certified Implementation Specialist.
Our Middleware practice also completed 4 certifications this month! Ramdas C. completed his Oracle Identity Governance Suite 11g Essentials Certification, Jaymeen S. completed his Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I Certification, and Abhay K. completed his Cloud Application Foundation Presales Specialist and his Oracle SOA Suite 12c Presales and Sales Specialist Assessments.
Last, but not least, Michelle W. from our Marketing team also completed her Oracle Field Service Cloud Service 2016 Presales Specialist Exam!
We are extremely proud of all of these team members for their accomplishments.  Keep up the great work!

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Cloud Solutions, CRM, Customer Experience, Customer Relationship Management, Customer Satisfaction, Oracle Social Cloud, Press Release, Service Cloud — No Comments ↓
oracle-service-cloud
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), as part of its strategic planning initiative to improve the transit rider experience, has engaged AST to replace its legacy Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application with a new, state-of-the-art Cloud customer service solution.  The new solution, powered by Oracle Service Cloud and Oracle Social Cloud, will provide fast, accurate customer service across web, e-mail, chat, and social media channels.
 
Read more about this important partnership between AST and WMATA here.

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Collaborate, Collaborate 16, Las Vegas, OAUG, Trade Show — No Comments ↓
The annual COLLABORATE OAUG Forum will be held April 10-14 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in exciting Las Vegas!  Connect with peers and experts in the Oracle Applications User community by attending a variety of the 1200 educational sessions about everything from E-Business Suite, Cloud Applications, Hyperion, OBIEE, and more.
Register here!

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Collaboration, Oracle, Transportation, Webinar — No Comments ↓
webinar
Transportation firms today need to interact with multiple organizations. Gathering the right data and aligning the appropriate resources in the process is paramount to avoiding mistakes. Auditing and Controls need to be in place in order to offer complete transparency.
Join Oracle and AST Corporation for a free webinar on Thursday, March 17th at 2 PM EDT, to hear how Oracle’s Digital Experience platform allows Transportation organizations to optimize their business processes through modern interfaces, such as mobile devices.
Oracle Collaboration Solutions will enable you to:
     ·        Increase Collaboration and Productivity
     ·        Empower Mobile Employees
     ·        Content-enable Business Applications
     ·        Streamline and Automate Business Processes

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Middleware, Oracle Cloud, Service Oriented Architecture, SOA — No Comments ↓
soa-deploymentAre you considering deploying SOA on Oracle Cloud?  This article by Mrityunjay Kant, “Understanding SOA Deployment Options in Oracle Cloud”, does a great job of identifying the key considerations for organizations interested in using Oracle Cloud.
Kant covers the pros and cons of deploying SOA on-premise versus in the Cloud. Also, the list of currently unavailable SOA components in Oracle Cloud is helpful in determining if the Cloud is a feasible option for your firm.  Furthermore, Kant also discusses an important detail when considering deploying SOA to the cloud – software licensing!
If you are considering deploying SOA in Oracle Cloud, do yourself a favor and consider the information presented in this article before diving into the project.

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Employee Satisfaction, HR, Top Workplace — No Comments ↓
Are you stressed out?  Feeling overwhelmed?  Longing for some ‘cute’ in your work day?  Look no further.  Puppies are coming to AST!
Yes, you read that right.  Puppies!
Dog Patch Pet & Feed of Naperville, IL will be visiting us on Friday, March 25th, and they’re bringing some of their furry friends with them!
An articlein The Seattle Times by Drs. Kay Judge and Maxine Barish-Wreden explains the advantages of having a pet in your life.  The benefits range from better recovery from heart attacks, to lower heart rates and blood pressure, reduction in stress, decreased cholesterol, more socialization, and increased mobility!
So, if you’ll be in the corporate office on March 25th, take some time out of your busy day, step away from the computer screen, and push back that conference call to spend some time with these adorable pups from Dog Patch!

*We won’t judge you for lacking the willpower not to take one home.

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Cloud, Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP — No Comments ↓
cloud-erp
Let’s revisit the path to Cloud ERP as Gartner predicted in 2014.  
As foreseen, we are referring to ERP applications as Legacy ERP and Cloud ERP.  That terminology itself is a big transformation.  The following quote from 2014 has also come to fruition:
“The ERP suite is being deconstructed into postmodern ERP that will result in a more federated, loosely coupled ERP environment with much of the functionality sourced as cloud services or via business process outsourcers.”  
This is the direction Oracle is moving for its Cloud ERP.  To re-visit the Gartner article from 2014, click here.
 

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in California Society of Municipal Finance Officers, Conference, CSMFO, Finance, Industry — No Comments ↓
csmfo
The annual California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) Conference is being held this week, March 1-4, at the Disneyland Resort Hotel in Anaheim, California!
The CSMFO is the statewide organization serving all California municipal finance professionals.  It promotes excellence in financial management through innovation, continuing education, and the professional development of its members.  CSMFO members are deeply involved in the key issues facing cities, counties, and special districts in the State of California.
Join AST and approximately 2,000 other industry experts and colleagues for a week of knowledge-sharing and networking.  Learn more about this event and register here!

Posted on by AST LLC Posted in Employee of the Month, HR, Human Resources, Recognition, Recognized — No Comments ↓
employee-of-the-month
Let’s all congratulate Santosh V. for earning recognition as AST’s Employee of the Month for February 2016!
Santosh is being recognized for successfully preparing for and deploying a Hyperion solution while putting in marathon days to resolve last-minute, critical production issues. He continuously completes his work with the highest level of professionalism and is always willing to help others. Santosh has effectively earned the confidence of his teammates, as well as that of each client he works for.  Furthermore, he is always prepared to deliver a strong work product, exercising his vast Hyperion expertise.
We are proud to have you on #TeamAST!  Keep up the great work, Santosh!