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managed-services
Managed Services Providers (MSPs) are able to provide organizations, both small and large, a great competitive advantage, resulting in a worthwhile disruption to the architecture of the Information Technology firm.  Last month, we reviewed some of the key advantages that an organization can realize in utilizing a Managed Services team.  Here, we’ll focus on #2 of that list – how Managed Services teams can aid your organization in accessing and properly utilizing the most relevant infrastructure.  
 
Managed Services teams allow their clients to stay current with software and hardware upgrades and patches, which provide consistent improvements in stability, performance, and security.  Employing a dedicated team of experienced professionals will allow the savings in staffing and IT department resources to multiply.  This is what makes this level of infrastructure much more accessible to small- and medium-sized firms.  Maintaining an internal, dedicated Managed Services staff is often cost-prohibitive for small businesses, so by utilizing an independent Managed Services Provider, small firms are able to compete with even larger players in the industry.  This is the key to how MSPs act as disruptive innovators in an industry dominated by the high costs of maintaining internal teams.
 
Managed Services Providers aid innovation through the reduction of staffing and cost demands for small- and medium-sized firms.  This significance is evident in the increasing adoption rates, slated to surge by nearly 80% by 2018.
 
It’s no secret that IT components such as data management, software and hardware, backup, and security are critical to the success of any size firm.  As the industry matures, the pressure is mounting for organizations to find ways to be efficient and to keep up with rapid technological changes, while also cutting costs. Managed Services teams provide all of these benefits and more, while offering a distinct model and level of IT support and experience. This is disruptive innovation:  the shift towards a Managed Services relationship that organizations are becoming dependent upon to stay competitive and relevant.
 
Learn more about differentiating your firm with a Managed Services Provider here.

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hcm
Don’t miss the 2015 Global Conference of the Oracle HCM Users Group (OHUG), June 8-11 at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.  The conference will offer attendees various opportunities to build long-lasting business relationships while delving deeper into Oracle’s extremely valuable Product Lines: Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, and HCM Cloud (including Fusion and Taleo). 
AST will participate with two sessions during the Public Sector/Higher Ed SIG, including a presentation on Modernizing HCM Tools and a presentation on Creating a Roadmap to the Cloud.  Additionally, AST will present two educational sessions, including:
  • #15319: Go Paperless! Automate E-Business Suite HCM Processes with Enterprise Content Management
  • #15030: R12 Upgrade from 11.5.10.2 to 12.2

It’s not too late to register for the 2015 Global OHUG event.  We look forward to seeing you there!

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reporting-tool
EPM applications integrate with multiple sources and have the capacity to generate reports using a variety of tools. Your Systems Integrator will ensure that you thoroughly understand your options and determine what tools and approach should be used for reporting in your system. For example, you may need to decide if a specific report should be developed using Hyperion Financial Reporting or a simple SmartView (which is an Excel add-in tool). You will also need to determine if it is feasible to move your budget reports to BI.  By integrating the EPM planning application with the BI application, you may give users more flexibility and visibility on how they view the data.
Available reporting tools include:
  • Hyperion Financial Report (HFR): Used to generate fully formatted reports
  • Reporting scripts/MDX: Used to create reports which do not need full formatting
  • BI Dashboards/Publisher: OBIEE integrates with Hyperion Essbase to create dashboards with graphical representation of data
  • Excel SmartView: An Excel add-in heavily utilized by business users

It is important to know what type of underlying database will be used for reporting. There are two types of databases, a Block Storage Database and an Aggregate Storage Database. Both will drive how and what type of reports are developed.  

Don’t miss our next installment regarding Security Setup and Configuration.

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bics
Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Services (BICS) can help your organization increase productivity and actionable business insights.  With a quick deployment of BICS, your firm can be back on track with its BI strategy and gain the detailed analytics it needs.  Some ways your organization may benefit from a BICS implementation include:
  • Ease of Use:  Setup is fast.  You control the schedule and BICS automates the work.
  • Always on and trouble-free: A cloud-based solution puts maintenance in the hands of the Oracle experts.
  • Multiple Data Views:  Rapid analysis enables you to build compelling BI applications quickly.
  • Mobile Capability:  Every BI application is immediately available on any device.
If your organization needs a boost in productivity and more comprehensive analytics, a quick deployment of Oracle BI Cloud Services may be just the kick start it needs to reach maximum efficiency.
Learn more here!

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ast-hires
AST has welcomed four fantastic team members in May!  We would like to introduce Sarat B. and Michael D. who have joined our EBS practice, and Gena D., who is a great addition to our sales team.  Additionally, we welcome Sanjay G. into our management team. May has been a busy month for us, and we are ready for June, planning for over 10 new hires!  This is an exciting time for AST and we are thrilled to have these new talents on board and to see what they will achieve as part of the AST team!

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crm
Healthcare is one of the largest industries in the world, and most people in North America are connected to a health system.  Patients want a personal experience, yet providers want to automate manual processes to save time, cost, materials, and labor. David Gillman explains how CRM Analytics can help healthcare providers realize these goals while creating a better experience for both providers and patients.
Historically, paper charts and record-keeping dominated the health industry, but now many providers are migrating to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to maintain patient information.
Gillman explains that the use of CRM by healthcare organizations can provide a variety of benefits, including:
 
  • Assisting executives in making decisions as to where new clinics should be established.  By providing information on where patients live, CRM systems are providing valuable input on the size and location of healthcare options.
  • Addressing staffing needs using data to schedule or hire employees at the right time and for the right roles.
  • Providing payment predictions based on geography, age, demographics, and other patient characteristics.
  • Assisting with the collection of information which can be used for future analysis.

The use of a CRM system can streamline processes and analyze trends, resulting in higher efficiencies for healthcare workers and a more satisfying experience for patients.
Read more about how CRM systems can help modernize healthcare operations here.

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oracle-e-business-suite
Does your organization rely heavily on the Attachments feature in Oracle E-Business Suite?  Do you struggle with manual processes to create, approve and maintain documents?
Join AST Corporation on Thursday, June 18, 2015 at 1:00 PM CDT to learn how your organization can reduce costs and quickly introduce efficiencies in Oracle E-Business Suite.
ECM-for-EBS provides pre-built integration between Oracle EBS Attachments and WebCenter, Oracle’s world-class Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution.  Whether or not you already own Oracle WebCenter tools, AST can assist with configuring new features for your EBS Attachments, including upload options, check-in/check-out, versioning and expanded access for external parties.
During the webinar, we will demonstrate the solution, share how the solution has been successfully deployed and discuss the many benefits our customers have achieved with ECM-for-EBS.

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data-integration

Data resides in multiple sources and in disparate forms.  Therefore, selecting the right data integration approach is essential for the success of your EPM implementation project. An EPM application may use data from multiple sources, such as Oracle eBS, PeopleSoft, SAP, or from virtually any legacy system, spreadsheet, or flat file. Our preference when determining an approach for data integration is to carefully consider the application design and data models. Thorough knowledge of the source system and corresponding data ensure accuracy and reduce time and effort during this phase.

There are many available tools that can be used to facilitate the integration approach.   Financial Data Management Enterprise Edition (FDMEE), Oracle Data Integrator (ODI), and Data Relationship Management (DRM) each offer unique benefits to meet specific data requirements.  Your organization should work with your systems integrator to determine the right approach and the most suitable data integrator.
Now that we’re half way through this series, we hope you are gaining value and looking forward to putting these steps into action during a current or future EPM implementation project!
Don’t miss next week’s entry in which we visit the selection of the most appropriate reporting tools for your implementation project.

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ast-employeeLet’s congratulate Muriel S. for becoming AST’s Employee of the Month for May 2015. Muriel is being recognized for her hard work, dedication and excellent client service at Loudoun County. She has been on the Loudoun County project since January 2014 and since starting on the project, she has been the go-to person for both the client and her colleagues. She has demonstrated, day in and day out, her dedication to getting it done and her never ending professional attitude. She is a great example to her team mates and we are proud to have her as part of our team. Keep up the good work Muriel!

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oracle-partner
See AST’s own Jennifer Ryerson, VP of Business Development speaking about the benefits of being an Oracle Partner in this short, yet informative video.  Among the topics covered is the rising business of Cloud Computing.  Of AST’s Partnership with Oracle and Oracle Cloud, Ryerson states, “…it’s certainly going to be a significant growing percentage of the business, and we’re excited to be part of that.”
Ryerson also discusses the collaboration we have with the sales team and the channels organization, Oracle’s attentiveness to its Partners, and the breadth of Oracle’s technology and application solutions, all of which make AST a successful organization.
“We are successful because we have that kind of teamwork”, says Ryerson.
See the video and learn more about the Oracle PartnerNetwork Here: https://youtu.be/r1holWUCSkw