On the way to…ASUG Annual Conference/Sapphire 2017

[GoLaSalle]

This installment of 'On the way to…' is brought to you by- my house! I’ve decided to get this entry out to my blog earlier than the usual ‘day of traveling’ edition. (But I will post the usual SCN version from the airport.  This time- PHL's own Dunkin' Donuts!!)

Let's get right to it…I think there's a lot at stake for SAP Analytics with the 'launch' of Lumira 2.0 and I suspect that the feedback given in Orlando will be key. They’ve had a lot of time and several attempts to get within striking distance of Tableau, Power BI and others in the marketplace. I don't think customers are looking for a direct point by point competitor, but something that is going to make their lives easier working with their SAP data. If it doesn’t make things easier, I'm going to start begging for SAP to make up with Microsoft and put back the UNX connector into Power BI Desktop. I’m thinking that this topic may be a separate blog after the dust settles.

That being said- here's a few selections that are on my conference agenda. Some I'm presenting at and others I'm really just interested in listening to the material. If you do decide to attend any of these, try and save me a seat if the room gets crowded, OK? Just send a tweet to @golasalle or look for SAP Mentor jersey #212 and point me to where I'm sitting!!

Tuesday:

HS6529- Heal Thyself: Self-Service Analytics at Mercy (12:30-1:30pm, S310A)
I'm always down for a good healthcare analytics story and if it's presented by my good friend and fellow Diversified Semantic Layer podcast teammate, then even better. I would highly recommend seeing Jamie when he presents, so feel free to join me.

Wednesday:

BIA9214: BI Community Networking (11:00am-12:00pm, ASUG Hub on the show floor)
Come and meet other ASUG BI volunteers and community members while networking with other analytics professionals. If an ASUG Volunteer doesn't know the answer to your question, they should be able to point you in the direction of where to turn! Bring some business cards and get your networking game going!

BIA6466: World Premiere of SAP BusinessObjects Lumira 2.0 Including SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio (12:30-1:30pm, S310A)
Like I mentioned above, I think a lot rides on the successful rollout of Lumira 2.0. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one that thinks that, so this session may be one of those "can't miss" sessions in Orlando.

Thursday:

BIA7625: Interactive Influence: SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence (3:30-4:30pm, Third Floor Influence 3)
Want to influence where WebI is headed? Want to hang out with me ONE more time (other than at the Hilton Lobby Bar)? Join SAP's Gregory Botticchio as we lead a Design Thinking session around topics attendees would like to see covered by the ASUG Web Intelligence Influence Council.

(On a personal note- It's been a while since I blogged and I apologize for that. But I'm going to try and be more productive in 2017, so hopefully this will be part of a good start.)