Alun Cochrane helps make OPN Specialised programmes the centre of the Oracle Partner Awards 2010

The Oracle Partner Awards ended with much celebration and roars of laughter as even the infamous Glaswegian comedian Alun Conchrane referred to the OPN specialised programme. The British stand-up helped bring to a close the respected annual awards ceremony at the Langham Hotel in London.

Throughout the evening all speakers made significant reference to the new Partner programme that recently recognised Inatech as a Platinum Partner. The night spelt out the value that Oracle can bring to the IT industry, global commercial growth and helping businesses to have confidence in secure and stable IT platforms.

The OPN Specialised programme helps open business opportunities and differentiate Oracle service providers within the market with the tools and resources to:

• Differentiate from the competition through in-depth expertise in Oracle solutions
• Grow customer satisfaction through an accredited team
• Find new opportunities through the power of acquired knowledge
• Increase sales and revenue by broadening reach in the market through specialization

Oracle Applications User Group Launches in Middle East

A new support website has been launched to help users of Oracle applications in the Middle East. The OAUG portal will assist organisations with understanding product capability and opportunities to further enhance efficiencies within businesses using Oracle.

Powered by Inatech, an Oracle Certified Advantage Partner, the website provides details of events, latest Oracle news, discussion forum, information resource and whitepapers, Oracle partner directory and an opportunity to become a member of OAUGME.

Users will be able to connect directly with experienced Oracle experts, new products and developments within specific industries to help meet the demands of a global market place.

For more information click here

Inatech Shortlisted For Oracle UK Specialist Technology Partner of the Year

After a long and successful project implementing multiple new levels of systems operations for HDNL, Oracle has recognised Inatech as a leader in its field by being shortlisted for Oracle UK Specialist Technology Partner of the Year.

The recognition of Inatech's work specifically on HDNL shows the innovation and the developments of utilsing Oracle platforms and systems within an international business finding new ways to support the needs and requirements for organisations.

More details to follow.

Inatech accelerates at UKOUG with scooter giveaway #ukoug_tebs

From today for the next three days UK OUG delegates to the Technology and e-Business Suite 2009 conference at the ICC in Birmingham UK will have the opportunity of winning the latest in electric vehicles. Inatech has presented its prize for this year's annual conference in the shape of a blue and white scooter.

Delegates must visit the stand and discover opportunity.accelerate the new speed offering from Inatech, the global Oracle specialist.

Inatech’s Michelle Maden will deliver her presentation entitled ‘Oracle Business Accelerators: Better and faster than an upgrade?’ at 10.55am on Monday 30th November. “There is a culture of anxiety over the risk and costs of upgrading to E-Business Suite Release 12, and many Oracle users have put off or abandoned upgrade projects,” said Michelle, who will discuss the advantages of reimplementation using Oracle Business Accelerators. She will also demonstrate how Oracle Business Accelerators automate, set up and enable a rapid CRP.

On the Tuesday at 1.00pm, Inatech’s Piyush Govil will deliver his presentation ‘Business Intelligence (BI) Applications: Do you buy or build?’ According to a 2009 Gartner report, over 35% of the world’s top 5,000 companies will fail to make insightful decisions due to a lack of sufficient BI; with this in mind, Piyush will explore the ‘Buy versus Build’ problem, looking into why 30% of Siebel users use BI applications, and why 70% decide not to buy.

LIVE from #Oracle UG UK - Inatech wins small business partner of the year (bronze)

Inatech has been awarded small business partner of the year (bronze).

The ceremony was opened by Carole Thatcher - promised great expectations by the OUG Chairman - taking centre stage she talked about winning and losing, her likeness to the Obama girls and how her father described himself as 'always present, never there'. The crowd were keen to get on with the awards - our own Keith Rock took the heckling block to be given rave support from the delegates.

Lucky 13 is working out after all!

Inatech shortlisted for seven UK OUG Awards - Thursday 1 October

The annual UK Oracle User Group (OUG) Partners Awards ceremony recognises overall excellence in delivering a full range of skills and services around applications solutions across the Oracle portfolio. In a turbulent economic year, businesses have been striving to reduce costs, enhance operations and improve productivity. Inatech has been noted for its achievements in one third of the award categories for Oracle applications.

The integration specialist has been nominated for; UKOUG Business Intelligence Partner of the Year, UKOUG Cost-efficient Partner of the Year, UKOUG Database Partner of the Year, UKOUG E-Business Suite Partner of the Year, UKOUG Managed Services/ Support Excellence Partner of the Year, UKOUG Middleware Partner of the Year, and UKOUG Small Business Partner of the Year.

“We are overwhelmed by the level of support we have seen from our Oracle industry partners who have nominated us for these categories,” said Chris Baker, Global Sales & Marketing Director. “It goes to show our proactive approach to Oracle solutions and the level of support we provide at the numerous UK OUG events we attend each year has helped us achieve recognition for our efforts. The team is excited about the opportunities that are available for our Oracle customers in the next decade and look forward to making the most of them.”

This year’s prestigious UKOUG Partner of the Year Awards will be taking place on Thursday 1st October at the Landmark hotel from 18.30 (GMT)

Oracle video library launched on Inatech website

Videos looking at Oracle applications, opportunities and discussions featured across multiple video websites are being brought to a single location. Inatech has taken the initiative to find all online videos and place them on a dedicated video page of its website.

Oracle enthusiasts, IT directors, CIOs, CTOs, CEOs, researchers, journalists or anyone with an interest or passion in the vendor and applications can now enjoy hours of dedicated footage. The video library will continue to grow to provide a resource for people looking to learn more about Oracle.

The videos follow events, OUG, Oracle Open World, news and announcements, case studies and discussions generally hosted by professionals in the field.

For more check this link.

Inatech snuggles with UK OUG

As part of Inatech’s ongoing commitment to supporting Oracle users, the IT specialists have become a community tier sponsor for UK OUG.

Inatech will now be visible at all UK OUG events including its series on Technology & eBusiness, Hyperion & BI and Siebel. For a long time the company has worked directly with Oracle as a Certified Advantage Partner and within the confines of the OUG.

As business gets tougher but opportunities increase, Inatech is now able to provide more informed consultancy to its customers and businesses requiring support with Oracle platforms. We will have more announcements relating to OUG in the coming weeks.

To see Inatech’s position on the UK OUG website, check here.

Inatech becomes community tier sponsor for OUG

Inatech is now a proud Community Tier sponsor for UK OUG. The IT specialists in Oracle platforms will be continuing its commitment and support to all Oracle User Group sessions and members in the UK.

Following a successful year gallivanting across the British countryside on the UKOUG tours, the Inatech team are preparing for another successful year providing insight to Right-Shoring, Data protection, security, Siebel, and Business Intelligence.

Inatech presents at Chicago OUG, 21 August 2009

Inatech took part in another OUG event, this time in America. The event was the North Central Oracle Apps User Group NCOAUG on Friday 21 August in Oakbrook Terrace, Chicago.

It had approximately 400 customers and partners in attendance for the days presentation of Oracle Applications. The focus was R12 and the latest functionality, Inatech presented "The benefits of UPK to Oracle and non-Oracle applications".

Steve Duff commented on the event: "we had 30 people attend and there was very positive feedback from Oracle and several customers. We are currently touring to provide insights into how UPK can be used with Oracle apps and Non Oracle Apps. The events are going extremely well, it is an area, many businesses are unsure of."

Inatech was joined by USG Corporation, Camping Solutions, Tootsie Roll, NAAP eBiz, Rail Road, AAR Corporation, and Life Fitness among others.

Inateach attends UKOUG Scotland 2009

Inatech exhibited at the Radisson SAS in Glasgow yesterday, the venue of Scotland 2009; part of the UKOUG Conference Series.

The event was attended by over 200 delegates, exhibitors, speakers and staff with a keynote presentation given by Caroline Stuart, Business Development Director Scotland at Oracle. She used the example of Oracle’s own business as the key to controlling and managing costs downwards in these times of recession.

After the keynote addresses, delegates were treated to a choice of eBusiness, BI, Developer and DBA streams to get updates from Oracle on product direction and hear and compare how other organisations are taking advantage of technology to drive their businesses.

A new incentive rolled out at this OUG event; ‘Stamp Collection’ ensured a steady stream of interest at the Inatech stand, manned by Doug Toop and myself. There was a good balance of interest from the mix of Public Sector and Commercial organisations attending. The winner of the prize donated by Inatech was Ruth Davidson of South Lanarkshire Council, who walked away as the proud owner the latest iPod shuffle.

Tomorrow the Inatech exhibition moves South to Twickenham for the next event in the UKOUG Conference Series 2009, for BI and Hyperion.

Keith Rock, Sales Director

Inatech goes mad for UKOUG

Inatech will be attending the upcoming User Group (OUG) Events to provide insight to the most innovative business systems. Come and find out what opportunities are available to you and your business.

UKOUG Conference Series Scotland 2009, Radisson SAS Hotel, Glasgow
The agenda spans five streams over one day with a total of 25 sessions, covering topics in Oracle Technology DBA, Oracle Technology Developer, Applications, Business Intelligence along with a added bonus of a Partner stream.

UKOUG Conference Series Hyperion & BI 2009, Twickenham Stadium
Chris Baker (MD), Keith Rock (SD), and Inatech's partner Donald McDonald (Rosetta Stone) will be available to answer your questions.

This is the first independent two-day Conference representing the Hyperion community in the UK since the acquisition by Oracle. The event is dedicated entirely to the Hyperion & BI communities of the UK, with content covering the full Oracle EPM suite.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: John Kopcke, Oracle's Senior Vice President of the Enterprise Performance Management Global Business Unit, presenting on the future of the Hyperion and BI suite of products followed by presentations from other key speakers on Smartview and road maps, backed up with proven and compelling case studies. Also discover the importance of upgrading product Integration and Fusion.

Oracle Siebel, Ascot Racecourse
This Conference is fully focused on developing Siebel product knowledge, we are also a key sponsor.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Anthony Lye, Oracle’s SVP in charge of Siebel and CRM On Demand development. This a must-attend event for members of the Siebel community who want to hear about the product directions Oracle is following.

Inatech will be a hosting an exclusive case study presentation with one of its leading customers.

Integrating Siebel Order Management with the Web Channel at Phones4U
In this Case Study, Johnson from Phones4U and Piyush Govil, Inatech, will discuss how Siebel Order Management and Siebel Product Configuration have been used with Oracle eBusiness Suite to provide a seamless experience for customers.

DAY ONE: Collaborate 2009

Day one kicked off with a keynote address from Oracle President, Charles Philips.

We will be attending to watch other Senior Oracle Executives who are scheduled to present later in the week including Duncan Angove, Bret Fuller, Cliff Godwin, John Kopcke, Anthony Lye, Steve Miranda and Jim Patrice.

On Sunday the Inatech Team landed in Orlando, Florida for the 10th OAUG Conference, the event runs from Sunday to Thursday at the Orange County Convention Center.

Florida, located in the southeastern region of the United States, is home to 18m people, and its infamous tourist destination Orlando receives over 50 million visitors a year attending the many attractions including the nearby Walt Disney World Resort, SeaWorld and Universal Orlando Resort. The Orange County Convention Center, the country's second largest in square footage makes Orlando a popular venue for business conferences.

Today, Wednesday 6th April, at 3.15pm (EST) in Room 109A, Piyush Govil will be delivering a presentation on the Inatech approach to “Accurate historical reporting in BI Applications”.

Piyush Govil is the Global Head of Information Management Solutions at Calsoft. Piyush sold International Innovations, a company that focused on Business Intelligence, Rules Engines and Enterprise Search, to Calsoft in March 2008. With over 17 years of successful experience in product development and solutions delivery with Fortune 500 companies. He has held multiple leadership roles ranging from engineering to product management, sales, professional services, operations and marketing.
Inatech joins OAUG 2009 as a ‘Rising Star’ Partner
As part of the prestigious Oracle Application User Group Star Partner Program, Inatech can now provide new and enhanced ways of bringing our corporate message to the OAUG membership throughout the year.

Collaborate offers in-depth education and exclusive networking opportunities created by The Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG), the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) and Quest International Users Group (Quest). The global community of technology and applications professionals and experts come together to exchange of ideas and best practices. It\’s an ideal event for those wishing to learn what works — and what will work best for you.

There are hundreds of user-led sessions arranged by OAUG for Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Retail, PeopleSoft, Siebel, Oracle Communications, MetaSolv, Hyperion and the rest of the growing family of Oracle Applications, so there’s a lot of useful information here.

We’ve looked through the schedule so we can attend as many of the events, seminars and panel discussions as possible.

The rest of the team will be meeting prospective clients on stand 4341 all week if you would like to meet them.

Inatech to tackle Oracle BI Applications at OAUG next month

Ahead of the Oracle Applications User Group in Orlando, Florida next month, Inatech is busy preparing for its presentation on dynamic hierarchies.

The OAUG is set to be one of the most important conferences for businesses working with Oracle applications, and Inatech is to bring its own take on business intelligence to the fore.

The presentation, entitled “Dynamic hierarchies for ‘as is’ and ‘as was’ reporting”, will explore how historical information can be accessed in the right context in order to make the best possible decisions. This, Inatech believes, is what Business Intelligence is all about.

Oracle Pre-Built BI applications access information using built-in hierarchies which do not allow historical data to be viewed by the hierarchy as it existed at that point in time, meaning that a real sense of context is difficult to achieve.

Inatech’s presentation will demonstrate their Dynamic Hierarchies solution, which allows Oracle users to tackle the issue of dynamic hierarchies, and illustrates Inatech’s position as a thought leader in BI consulting and end-to-end implications.

The session will cover the need for Dynamic Hierarchies as businesses change frequently; how customers can implement slowly changing dimensions hierarchies across their pre-built BI applications; and how implementing Dynamic Hierarchies will reflect results more consistently.
The session runs at 3.15pm on 6th May at the AOUG Forum, Orange County Convention Centre, Orlando. To register, please visit http://oaug.collaborate09.com/reg/.

Inatech’s presence at Collaborate 2009 is not restricted to the Dynamic Hierarchies; it will also be exhibiting at the Partner Pavilion, showcasing its serves, solutions and client success stories. On top of that, Inatech will be running a fantastic competition where you can win a Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player.

Arun Kumar reports on Dubai Connection Point

My first visit to the Oracle-obsessed Middle East region, for the Connection Point event in Dubai hosted by the OAUG group, truly was an experience from many angles.

The Keynote session delivered by one of the prominent personalities within the region, Husam Dajani, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MEA, Oracle Corporation. The message was in concurrence to the IT users of Oracle products: “We will embrace the Oracle products and make them work for us.”

Inatech had hosted a stall which attracted most of the visitors with a host of solutions and services that can help businesses. We displayed the variety of offerings and project experiences in the form of brochures and case studies. Our rolling presentation on a flat screen was even more appealing to the audience.

The buzz words among the sessions and participants were as expected; R12, SOA, IDM, SSO, Integration, MIS. Conversations with the users made me realise why Inatech stands apart in the region in terms of “pure” consulting. In today’s information-overflow age, users are not shopping for products. They have their agenda of business drivers very clearly chalked out and look for some experienced business and technical consulting experts. With Middle East’s passion for Oracle, one needs to really know Oracle offerings in depth.

I also managed to attend few sessions which were very interesting and inspired me to give back something to the Oracle community. The choice of the topics and speakers were of a high standard. To start with, Dr. Nadia Bendjedou’s session, “Oracle eBiz R12 – Technology Highlights” gave an insight into how much Oracle is investing in ensuring the success of their latest release and to ease the process of upgrading to R11i.

Interestingly, the sessions delivered by end-users who have adopted SOA and AIA. One such session was on “Use of SOA Suite Tools in Public Sectors” wherein City of Las Vegas had used SOA extensively demonstrating the advantages of SOA and getting a quick ROI out of these technologies.

Another interesting session was on “Using Oracle AIA Foundation Pack to Build a Best-of-Breed Landscape” delivered by Michael Rulf, AT&T. This was my first impression on AIA in real world and clarity towards the structuring of the product.

Other sessions on Identity Management, GRC and a demo on SOA with eBiz were enlightening to see the products in action. I had also enjoyed the dinner cruise on Dubai Creek with stunning views of what Dubai holds.

Overall it was a rich experience for the participants with the variety of information offered in a short time. I appreciate the impressive energy of the OAUG team who had organised the event.

Inatech at the Benelux OUG conference

Inatech’s appearance at the Benelux conference was a resounding success, with the managed services provider achieving fantastic market penetration.

At the conference, which attracted around 700 attendees, Inatech gave a presentation that was well received and drew in around 20 participants.

Inatech’s Ravindra Krishnappa, director presented on eBS Supply Chain and Manufacturing. The session provided insight to Real World Experiences of Oracle Release 12 Supply Chain and Manufacturing. The session, entitled "Living (again) in the Material World", assessed how far the Oracle Supply Chain and Manufacturing products have progressed since Release 10.6.

Ravindra said: "A significant number of visitors talked about standalone Peoplesoft and again, the majority had PS requirements. This was a great opportunity to show Oracle we are 'real' players in the market."

Several other interesting presentations were given by various providers.

Dhow Palace Hotel – Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Today, April 1^st 2009 saw the opening of the first Oracle User Group show in the Middle East Region, OAUG Connection Point 2009. Inatech is proud to be an inaugural sponsor and exhibitor of this event.

The Inatech team arrived early to prepare. The event kicked off sharply at 8.30am, with an internal team of presenters gathered from the strongest Oracle teams across the world.

The Inatech team enjoyed the Keynote Session which was given by Oracle's most senior executive in the Middle East & African (MEA) region, Husam Dajani, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MEA, Oracle Corporation. Husam was extremely enthusiastic in his opening address as this is the first time the OUG event has been held in the region, over the 22 years that Oracle has been present driving and pioneering Enterprise IT applications in this part of the world.

Husam Dajani has been with Oracle for more than 20 years, during which time the company has become the number one provider of technology and e-business solutions in the Middle East and Africa. Oracle's industry-leading technology solutions are so ingrained into the region's technology infrastructure that it is not possible to spend a day without interacting with an Oracle system in some way or other, whether it is a bank system, the immigration system at the airport or an electricity and water bill.

With a customer count in the thousands, Oracle caters to almost every government in the region, as well as industries from oil and gas to aviation to banking and businesses from auto dealers to department stores. It is hard to find an industry or business that is not using Oracle applications, database or technology. Inatech is delighted to be supporting many customers representing a large number of industries in this region. Inatech is particularly pleased to announce the successful completion of a complex Oracle E-Business Suite upgrade project at Dubai Bank.

Inatech has a strong representation at this first OUG event which is represented by some of the most prestigious names in Oracles 2500 E-Business Suite customers in the region. International Key speakers for Day one include from Oracle, Cliff Godwin, Dr. Nadia Bendjedou,

Brian O’Neil & Roopa Dhanalal. The final speech of the day will be delivered by Cliff Godwin the Senior Vice President of Applications Technology at Oracle Corporation who will be providing an insight and road map into the future of oracle E-Business Suite. Cliff Godwin runs the Applications Technology Group and is responsible for ensuring that Oracle Applications effectively leverage Oracle's systems technologies, and for building the common objects and services used throughout Oracle Applications. Specific areas of responsibility include applications architecture, standards, performance, installation, and the Oracle Application Object Library, Oracle Workflow, Oracle XML Gateway and Oracle Alert products.

The Inatech Team are looking forward to the Dinner Cruise on Dubai Creek at the end of what will be a long day.............

Inatech presents eBS Supply Chain & Manufacturing

As this year’s OBUG Benelux Connect conference looms, Inatech’s Simon Ellis, Director of Custom and Product Development, prepares to speak on eBS Supply Chain and Manufacturing.

Ellis will present a session from 11.30am-12.15pm on 31st March, in Room 12 of the Metropolis Cinema Complex in Atwerpt, Belgium.

The session will provide insight to Real World Experiences of Oracle Release 12 Supply Chain and Manufacturing. During the session, entitled "Living (again) in the Material World", which will assess how far the Oracle Supply Chain and Manufacturing products have progressed since Release 10.6.

As well as a large exhibit area in the Hollywood Lounge, at which delegates can meet, network and showcase the achievements of their organisations, there will be several other mini-lessons from the Oracle University. Marc de Kam of KPN and Balt Leenman of CapGemini will present a seminar on improving financial transaction processing and consolidation with Financial Services Accounting Hub and Oracle DRM at KPN. Gerard Stam of Public Works Rotterdam, and Eric Vennix of Deloitte will present “From Redactive To Proactive Governance”.

There will be an opening keynote speech from Jose Lazares, Vice President of Oracle's Applications Development and Applications Integration Architecture, whilst the closing keynote will come from Andrew Sutherland, vice president of technology for Oracle EMEA.

Microsoft invests in skills while UK battles recession

While Oracle’s OUG held their annual conference this week, Microsoft has been pushing out new products and investing in European skills. On Tuesday, Microsoft announced its investment of a further £4million in NGOs running community skills training projects in 30 countries across Europe. The investment is part of the company’s drive to create employment opportunities for young unemployed people, the older generation and people with disabilities.

Following on from this, Microsoft have backed the housing of a £20million cloud computing datacentre in Inverness, run by Scottish IT firm Alchemy Plus.

Also this week, Microsoft has launched the latest beta of Windows Vista Service Pack Two (SP2), which became available on Thursday. The code will be available to who join Microsoft’s Customer Preview Program (CPP).

Mike Nash, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Windows Product Management, said: "The CPP is intended for technology enthusiasts, developers and IT pros who would like to test SP2 in their environments and with their applications prior to final release." On Wednesday, Microsoft released Open XML Document Viewer, a plug-in working within Firefox to allow open XML documents to be viewed within the browser, and which can be used on Windows and Linux plaforms without installing Office.

On the same day, Microsoft announced that it has halved the number of criteria LARs must meet to hit rebate targets, meaning that partners will earn less on volume licensing deals. The new programme will come into effect on 1 January 2009. Simon Aldous, UK partner group manager at Microsoft. “We are simplifying the scheme, halving the number of metrics on which rebates are paid.”

Outside of Microsoft, investment in IT is proving to be a popular choice amongst some businesses in an effort to beat the credit crunch. Red Hat, the IT services provider, reports that it has had a high demand for Linux since the recession began, with its revenues growing 30% year-on-year. Chief executive Jim Whitehurst said: "The downturn is good for open source software. We have an embarrassment of opportunities. In a difficult economy our message sells well."

It isn’t just IT firms reporting the financial benefits of investing in IT. Insurance firm Kennedys and Rowanmoor Pensions are now using the cloud computing model of online services to virtualise its IT operations, and claiming to have saved £350,000 in the process.

All this in one week just makes you realise that even during an economic downtown industry development and the IT market is still going strong. CIO magazine said that now is the time for CIOs to prove their worth which means there really will be some winners in a recession.

Inatech has been working with businesses to find these solutions; CIOs struggling to identify core IT needs for their company should explore the priorities to maximise customer relationships and increase efficiency.