ouug
Join AST and other industry experts March 1-3 at the annual Oracle Utilities Users Group (OUUG) Conference 2016 in Phoenix, AZ!
This annual “for users, by users” grassroots customer community event will once again be your opportunity for product-specific collaboration with fellow utility colleagues, partners, and expert industry resources.
AST is a Presenting Sponsor of the event with the following presentation on Thursday, March 3 at 1 PM:
 
“Lessons Learned from Integrating WAM with Oracle Fusion Cloud” – Mrityunjay Kant
Join us in Phoenix for a little early springtime sun and a lot of learning opportunities.  Register here!

ast-employee
We are well on our way to breaking our 2015 Certification record!
Four team members from three different practices completed certifications this month! Mark H. completed his Oracle Linux 6 Sales and Presales specializations and David A. passed the Oracle Database 12c: SQL Fundamentals and Oracle User Productivity Kit 11 Presales Specialist exams.  Vikas T. completed his Oracle SOA Suite 11g and 12c PreSales specializations and Tom G. obtained his Prosci Change Management Certificate.
Congratulations and keep up the great work!

big-data
Is your company queueing up a Big Data effort?  One of the challenges will be making it comprehensive enough to positively affect decision-making at all levels within your organization.
A Big Data project should focus on more than just reducing costs for a firm.  Many companies in the midst of a Big Data project wind up with greatly improved data management solutions, but don’t realize the business transformations that accompany such an endeavor.  A significant hurdle for these, and many other BI projects, is the lack of input and visibility to the solution by non-executive staff.  This article by Thor Olavsrud in CIO magazine highlights this problem for firms undergoing a Big Data project and offers some ways to capitalize on the investment in a Big Data solution.
To help alleviate the feeling of missed opportunity within such a project, it is important to include metrics that benefit all departments.  Also, provide an access strategy that includes non-executive teams, allowing them to effectively participate in the decision-making process.
Make the most of your investment in a Big Data solution by making it a comprehensive effort, transcending all levels of data within your organization.

security
Companies spend vast resources to harden the outermost perimeters of their enterprise. The intent of these investments is to prevent sensitive company data from becoming exposed to hackers. Unfortunately, hardening the outer perimeter of an enterprise is not enough. Without focusing on “inside out” security, companies are left in a state that is, in so many words, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside.
The image of a hacker sitting in a dark room for days on end, cracking codes and downloading the secret sauce is a bit misleading.  Several recent and infamous attacks have come from disgruntled or dubiously incentivized employees or contractors that already have access to critical assets.
Fortunately, there are many tools, processes and procedures that can be implemented to reduce this risk. The key is to look at security from the inside to the outside – “inside out” security.
Some of the major initiatives to reduce the internal risk include:
 
Audit – Ensure that users have the appropriate level of access.
 
Multi-factor authentication for sensitive assets – A more assured way of identifying that a user really is who they say they are.
 
Privileged Access tool for sensitive assets – A privileged access management (PAM) tool requires users to request access to sensitive assets through a centralized system.
 
Encrypt sensitive data – Encrypt data in two states – at rest and in transit.
Read more about these methods and the importance of inside-out enterprise security in this white paper.

ast-hires
In 2015 we added 70 new employees to our team and we are not slowing down in 2016!
In the first six weeks of this year we have already welcomed five new people to Team AST!  Welcome to Michelle W. and Pam N. in our corporate office, Ron G. in our Hyperion Practice, and Ektaa L. and Swagat M. in our Middleware Practice.
Thank you all for helping us start out 2016 on a great note.  This is just the beginning of a year of abundant growth for AST!

ncoaug
Please plan to join us at the upcoming NCOAUG Training Day on Friday, February 26, 2016 at the Drury Lane Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.  This FREE one-day event will bring the members of the regional Oracle Applications community together with Oracle Corporation to share knowledge, ideas, tips, and tricks.
AST, the event’s Gold Sponsor, has representatives participating in several sessions:
 
8:30 a.m. – 9:10 a.m. “Cloud Data Conversions – Lessons Learned” – Pavan Vallabhaneni & Dennis Harrison
 
10:20 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. “12 Steps to Secure SOA 12c Services Using Oracle API Gateway” – Angel Pantoja (Underwriters Labs) & Abhay Kumar
 
1:00 p.m. – 1:40 p.m. “Single Sign-On – Reality or Myth?” – Shyam Kumar, Moderator; Heejoon Park, Underwriters Laboratories; Scott Brinker, CAP
 
1:00 p.m. – 1:40 p.m. “Seven Easy Steps for Integrating Hyperion and ERP Systems” – Praveen Kumar & Erwin Ricohermoso
Mark your calendar, we hope to see you at the event!  Register here!

floaug
The Florida Oracle Applications User Group is holding the FLOAUG Innovate 2016 conference this week and we have two employees presenting on innovative topics!
 
On February 11 and 12, this Thursday and Friday, Oracle Users from around the globe will convene at the Doubletree Hotel – Airport in Orlando, Florida for the annual two-day event.  FLOAUG Innovate provides a great opportunity for Oracle users to learn about the latest Oracle news, Oracle applications and features, network with peers, and foster collaboration.
 
Don’t miss the following AST presentations:
 
“Integrate Cloud AR with Third-Party Applications” – Arun Mavoori
“Go Paperless – Automate EBS HRMS Processes Using Oracle WebCenter Content and BPM” – Tim Brocker
 
We look forward to seeing you!  Advance Registration prices are still available – Register here!

event-at-ast
The Big Game is kind of a big deal for us here at AST.  We are ramping up for Sunday with a little friendly competition of our own – the 2nd Annual AST Souper Bowl Competition!
On Friday, February 5th, employees at AST’s Naperville home office are invited to bring in their most delicious home-made soup recipes to enter for prizes.  A panel of judges with the most refined palates will decide whose broth, bisque, or chowder will take home the trophy.
Regardless of who takes home the prize this Friday or on Sunday, we wish everyone luck in their Big Games.  Have a safe and fun weekend!

rmoug
AST employees will represent the company at the annual Rocky Mountain Oracle Users Group Training Days next week.
The event, an annual multi-day, multi-track training event, showcases the latest in Oracle and other technologies and techniques.  The RMOUG Training Days event attracts well-known speakers from around the world, speaking on novice to advanced topics.  AST has four presentations scheduled:
 
Tuesday, 02/09 at 1:00 PM in 401:  “E-Business Suite:  Mobile Applications Configuration” – Divya Shampur and Phani Kottapalli
 
Tuesday, 02/09 at 4:00 PM in 401:  “R12.2 Upgrade and Cross-Platform Migration” – Naveen Ankem
 
Thursday, 02/11 at 8:30 AM in 401:  “Cloud Explorations:  Patterns and Practices” – Zeeshan Baig
 
Thursday, 02/11 at 9:45 AM in 405:  “Empowering EBS by Integration with Oracle WebCenter Content and Imaging” – Donna Sternberg and Gilbert Jadallah
 
This year’s event, Tuesday, February 9th – Thursday, February 11th, will be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Downtown Denver.
Learn more about this event and register at http://www.rmoug.org/training/training-days-2016/

cloud-service-specialist
Six of our AST Team members have started off the year in a great way by continuing their education and earning respected certifications this month!
From our Managed Services team, Syed A. is now an Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Associate.  Chris L., of our BI/EPM team, completed his Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Service Specialist Certificate training.  From our ERP practice, Phani K. is now an Oracle Big Data 2015 PreSales Specialist, and Herbert B. earned his SHRM-SCP Certificate.  Michelle W., from our Sales & Marketing team, is now an Oracle Sales Cloud 2016 PreSales Specialist and an Oracle Eloqua and Oracle Content Marketing Cloud Service 2013 PreSales Specialist.  Finally, Tom G. from our PMO has earned his Prosci Change Management Certification.
We could not be more proud of our team members for setting and achieving these goals.  Keep up the great work!