Cloud computing has been a much-touted buzzword in technical circles for some years now, but businesses have not been quick to adopt. 2015 appears to be the year we begin to see an increase in cloud adoption. The push from both the public and private sectors to migrate database applications and platforms to the cloud has gained momentum. Oracle and other major companies, whose technology underpins most of our modern world, have dramatically improved their cloud-based solutions and the stock market has taken notice. Oracle’s stock rating and price have increased in response to the favorable and stable growth predicted by their shift in emphasis to the cloud; Oracle has even reduced prices to increase its market share. While technology visionaries have been advising us that the future of cloud computing is bright, 2015 looks like the year their predictions become reality.

Our team members are no strangers to a culture of excellence, and every day they strive to reach new heights in their careers. 

AST is excited to again be supporting the Oracle Applications Users Group as an exhibitor and presenter at the upcoming Collaborate 15 event in Las Vegas, NV, April 12-16, 2015.  Collaborate 15 is packed with excellent opportunities for learning, networking and collaborating on a wide variety of Oracle topics.  AST is involved with more than 20 presentations, as primary presenters, or as support for our customers and partners as they step up to share their stories with the community.  See our full schedule of presentations here. 

Stop by and visit us at booth #1148.

AST would like to extend a warm welcome to our 11 new employees. In our ERP Practice, welcome Wendy B., Carla E., Cindy H., and Brad P. In our Middleware Practice, welcome Yogesh B. and Smarajit P. At our corporate office, welcome Stephanie D. and Brandon W. We also welcome Timothy F. to our BI/EPM Practice, Venkat I. to our CRM group, and Kosta G. to our Managed Services team.  That makes 23 new employees in 2015!

AST is proud to sponsor the upcoming launch and forum of the Government Technology Foundation on Thursday, March 26, 2015.  The event will attract leaders from both public and private sectors, as well as from academia.  The focus will be how to deploy advanced technologies that meaningfully impact public and government sectors while paving a way for future technologies.

We look forward to collaborating with leaders in the Chicago area to promote technology and innovation in the government sector through public-private collaborative partnership.

For more information on the Government Technology Foundation, visit their website:

Higher education institutions are now relying on Eloqua (Oracle Marketing Cloud) to enhance targeting and engagement, and improve marketing efforts to students across multiple channels. Existing challenges for these institutions are constantly changing due to government fluctuations, rising student standards, and increased competition. Higher education institutions can now build lasting relationships with students by managing every interaction with them and by having the ability to communicate across the students’ preferred channels and devices. The Oracle Marketing Cloud can help solve these challenges and deliver the right messages and content to the most appropriate prospects, students, or alumni at just the right time.

Let’s congratulate Prabhu M. for becoming AST’s Employee of the Month for March 2015. Prabhu is being recognized for his contributions at various clients. His support and successful delivery has been remarkable. He is always available to his teammates and he consistently works long hours weekly to ensure that his project tasks are completed.

Join AST and Oracle Corporation on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 1:00 PM CST to learn about an innovative, cloud-based solution and how it can help your Transit organization improve the Customer Experience. We can help with challenges such as rising customer expectations, the need to deliver consistent operations and improve financial performance. Let us show you how!

Click to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2596283767844578561

The newest release of Oracle EPM (11.1.2.4) demonstrates Oracle’s strong commitment to its customers in improving the industry-leading solutions that help clients further explore their business potential and streamline the performance management processes. This new release introduces many improvements and exciting updates to the entire portfolio of EPM applications that will improve firms’ business processing.

This Saturday, 03/14/15, is Pi Day!  AST is celebrating Pi Day in our Naperville office today by sharing our favorite flavors of pie.  We will also find out which one of our team members can memorize as many digits of π as possible!  How many can you recite? (No cheating!)