Solutions Africa 2004, the annual co-hosted Global Technology Business Intelligence (GBI) and Hyperion user conference, will get under way in November, during which GBI will introduce Hyperion`s real-time enterprise analytics platform, Essbase 7X and Hyperion`s financial modelling and analysis tool, Hyperion Strategic Finance, to the South African market.
Entitled "The premier BPM and BI gathering in Southern Africa for Business and IT users", the conference will be held at Alpine Heath in the Drakensburg, KwaZulu-Natal from 14 to 17 November.
"Solutions Africa is designed to bring existing Hyperion users together to get updates and enhancements and to share experiences," says Marc Scheepbouwer, CEO of GBI, the local distributor of Hyperion products and solutions. "It is also an opportunity for GBI and Hyperion to interact with customers and to reinforce the message that business performance management and business intelligence is no longer a nice-to-have, but rather a must-have."
The conference has been set out in such a way that delegates can tailor it to suit individual needs. There are more than 60 breakout sessions and separate networking sessions for analytical, consolidation and budgeting/forecasting users, as well as customised sessions for the business and technical/professional user.
The conference will emphasise compliance issues surrounding Sarbanes-Oxley, IAS/IFRS 2005, Basel II, and King II; and Hyperion Financial Management and Hyperion Performance Suite will be highlighted.
"The face of business is continually changing and shifting at breakneck speeds, and it has never been more important for businesses around the world to increase profitability, predict bottom line results and execute quickly on plans that align business resources and objectives across the entire organisation," Scheepbouwer says.
Other highlights at the conference will include discussions on Hyperion`s Business Intelligence Platform and how Hyperion Financial Management and Hyperion Strategic Finance work together to provide more benefits to an organisation.
There will be sessions on Hyperion Business Intelligence for SAP; how Hyperion Strategic Finance can help steer an organisation`s course with its out-of-the-box cash flow modelling and forecasting application; and developing and using Strategy Maps to drive performance.
Sasol and Anglo Gold will present on their successes with Hyperion Financial Management, Standard Bank will discuss its implementation of Hyperion Essbase, and Spar will discuss its use of Hyperion Essbase and Analyzer.
"Together with Hyperion, we believe that we have the solutions organisations need to face inevitable changes and regulations, and the resultant challenges these introduce in the business environment," Scheepbouwer says. "The conference is a channel through which we can show users what can be done using Hyperion solutions and where we can outline our plans for continually enhancing and enabling business performance management and business intelligence."
Key partners for Solutions Africa 2004 are BEA (Weblogic), EOH KPMG, Proficio Business Solutions, and KPMG Consulting. Other sponsors include Enerweb, Highbury Solutions and Optimatix.
Marc Scheepbouwer and Alain Blanc, Hyperion VP, EMEA will give plenary addresses on two of the days.
* To register, go to www.solutionsafrica.co.za or contact Tanya Furniss on (011) 319-9800.
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GBI provides BI solutions which include comprehensive support to the entire management cycle, delivering data platform and integration services, query and reporting, data analysis, performance scorecarding, modelling, budgeting, planning, activity-based costing, forecasting and financial consolidation and reporting. When these solutions are used in collaboration, they contribute towards improved organisational growth and profitability, and form a framework of BPM software solutions. GBI is the local distributor of Hyperion and Armstrong Laing, and a reseller of Ascential products. These solutions are used by 85 leading South African companies, including 20 of the top 25 public companies.
Hyperion
Hyperion is the global leader in business performance management software. More than 9 000 customers - including 91 of the Fortune 100 - rely on Hyperion software to translate strategies into plans, monitor execution and provide insight to improve financial and operational performance. Hyperion combines the most complete set of interoperable applications with the leading business intelligence platform to support and create business performance management solutions. A network of more than 600 partners provides the company`s innovative and specialised solutions and services.
Named one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2004, Hyperion employs approximately 2 500 people in 20 countries. Distributors represent Hyperion in an additional 25 countries. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Hyperion generated annual revenues of $622 million for the 12 months that ended 30 June 2004. Hyperion is traded under the Nasdaq symbol HYSL.
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