I’m preparing to attend my first IBM conference next week when IBM Information On Demand 2013 begins in Las Vegas. While it’s not the first IBM conference Global Knowledge has attended since becoming an IBM Global Training Provider, it’s the first one I’ll be covering, so be on the look out for my IBM IOD-related blogs next month.
There are quite a few sessions I’ll have my eyes on as I pass by the Mandalay Bay’s elegant restaurants, glorious pool, and other distractions I hear Vegas has to offer.
IBM IOD is all about big data, information management, and business analytics. I love a good case study, and IBM IOD has plenty of sessions to pick from. Learning how a Fortune 500 company uses IBM software that might be underutilized in my own organization intrigues me.
Boeing’s John Boggio will present “Fighter Jets and Dashboards: Bringing Business Intelligence to the F-15 at Boeing” during IBM IOD. He’ll explain how Boeing quickly experienced millions in cost savings after adopting IBM’s Cognos Business Intelligence within its F-15 fighter program. Boggio will discuss what made Cognos so useful to their program. He’ll also give tips for quickly and easily creating customizable dashboards to provide visibility to ever-changing priorities and discuss how this model can be applied to other programs.
In the same vein, two folks from Nike will discuss how they used the IBM Cognos tool suite to include business functions beyond IT. Nike’s Business Intelligence and Analytics Lead David B. Vinson IV, along with Business Systems Analyst Meadow Heath, will present “From Weekend Warrior to Olympic Decathlete: Maximizing IBM Cognos V10.2 Usage at Nike” during IBM IOD. Nike’s Planning team took an in-depth look at the Cognos V10.2 suite during its Planning Transformation project. They were able to pinpoint functions of the toolset that were being underutilized and discovered which tools might be used to further improve business intelligence.
I’ve always been a fan of user groups so I want to make sure to stop by “Secrets to a Successful User Group” presented by DataClarity’s Doug Isbecque. User groups are a valuable resource to many technologists. Isbecque will focus on how to start and maintain an IBM Cognos Business Intelligence user group as well as how they encourage networking and help you discover how other companies in your area use IBM Cognos Business Intelligence to address critical business challenges. He’ll also cover which tools are out there to help you execute a successful meeting.
Last but not least, I noticed some locals on the IBM IOD agenda. I’m based in Cary, NC, not too far from the Center for Innovation Management Studies at North Carolina State University (NCSU). A group lead by Mike Kowolenko, a principle researcher at NCSU, has worked with IBM to develop technologies and business processes that allow users to conduct business analytics on unstructured data in a cloud environment. At IBM IOD, Kowolenko will present “Embrace Big Data: How NC State Uses IBM Content Analytics, BigInsights, and PowerLinux for Business Analytics.” It should be very informative with a big data slant.
If you are attending IBM IOD, you can visit us in the Solution Center at Booth #1208. You can also find us at both the Hands-On Labs and Product Certification Testing sections. If you want to keep up with what’s going on at IBM IOD 2013, follow us on Twitter @GKonIBM for daily updates.