Intelligent Insight on PerformancePoint : Training

Partner Training/Readiness Resources

btamblyn — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:41:00 GMT

Here's a wealth of useful online information around training, technical whitepapers, upcoming webcasts and demos. Also note the availability of the quick start PerformancePoint competency beta exam is available through till November 9th.

Online Training

Learn the basics of PerformancePoint Server 2007 through self-directed learning courses, which have been designed to give you a quick start on building your performance management solution. Click here to get started.

PerformancePoint Server MS Beta Exam: Now Available until 9/11/07!

Exam Name = TS: Microsoft(R) Office PerformancePoint™ Server 2007, Applications

Exam Beta Number = 71-556

Prometric Promo Code = TSPPS

Registration Information

You must register at least 24 hours prior to taking the exam.

Please use the following promotional code when registering for the exam: TSPPS

Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta; we recommend that you register immediately.

To register in North America, please call:

Prometric: (800) 755-EXAM (800-755-3926)

Outside the U.S./Canada, please contact:

Prometric: http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp

Technical Information

The most in-depth technical information about PerformancePoint Server 2007 is located at the PerformancePoint Server 2007 TechCenter on TechNet and the PerformancePoint Server 2007 Developer Center on MSDN.

Webcasts About PerformancePoint Server 2007

View these live and on-demand webcasts to learn more about how the integrated monitoring, analytics, and planning features in Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 can help you manage and improve your organization’s performance. You’ll also discover best practices for scorecards and dashboards and learn how to overcome common challenges.
Each webcast lasts about an hour.

Upcoming

Momentum Webcast: Keeping a Pulse on Your Business with Dashboards and Scorecards (Level 100)
10/29/2007 | Duration: 60 Minutes
Discover how you can use dashboard technology to help enhance decision making and performance in your organization. Learn how you can take advantage of dashboards and scorecards with your existing investments and how their flexibility can accommodate the diverse and growing needs of your organization.

On Demand

TechNet Webcast: Business Intelligence with Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 (Level 300)
2/13/2007 | Duration: 63 Minutes
Find out how Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 can help you improve your organization’s business performance processes. Learn more about how the product successfully integrates monitoring, analytics, and planning into one performance management application.
TechNet Webcast: Performance Management 101 with PerformancePoint Server 2007 (Level 200)
2/2/2007 | Duration: 60 Minutes
Explore the pains that customers commonly experience with performance management. And find out how Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 integrates monitoring, analytics, and planning capabilities in an easy-to-use application that is less costly for you to deploy than traditional solutions.

Business Value White Papers

Gain valuable knowledge about both the business value and the technical features of Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007.

How Intelligence Enterprises Deliver Performance Management
Capgemini: In spite of the billions of dollars invested in information technology, many organizations still struggle to provide a seamless flow of trusted information to their employees.

PerformancePoint Server 2007 and BI Case Studies

Oticon's finance department wanted to improve its key functions and processes, namely financial consolidation, budgeting, planning, forecasting, and reporting with an integrated solution. Oticon made a strategic decision to unify all its Performance Management solutions under Microsoft, its vendor of choice. Oticon’s first priority was to rebuild its system for financial consolidation for monthly, quarterly and year-end reporting. Oticon chose a solution that would satisfy its financial consolidation requirements but also have the ability to integrate all the key finance functions it had previously identified such as budgeting and forecasting. Using Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, Oticon developed a solution that would automatically consolidate financial results from companies while allowing users at both local and enterprise levels to work in Excel, the undisputed tool of choice in finance.

Energizer taps Into the Power of Microsoft Business Intelligence with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007. With numerous sales regions in approximately 20 countries throughout Europe, Energizer needed a comprehensive business intelligence solution that could provide more effective business planning and forecasting abilities. Disparate systems and applications made revenue and profit data prone to error and inconsistencies, while limitations on how information was organized and analyzed made it difficult for Energizer to create accurate business plans and forecasts based on big-picture market trends. A performance management solution based on Microsoft® Office PerformancePoint™ Server 2007, a unified application that enables businesses to improve performance by giving relevant users the ability to monitor, analyze and report their activities as well as plan, budget, and forecast for the future. Using PerformancePoint Server 2007, Energizer built a solution that streamlined the business planning process, improved the quality and consistency of source data, and enabled in-depth and flexible analyses based on various information hierarchies that were not possible in the previous system.

Business Intelligence Demos

Learn more about how Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 can help people at all levels of your organization improve their ability to monitor company information, analyze data, and build plans to drive your business forward.

Introduction to Microsoft Business Intelligence

Get an idea of the broad capabilities of Microsoft Business Intelligence and how it can help you run your business more effectively.

Why Is Business Intelligence Important?

Watch this informative discussion with Bill Baker, PerformancePoint Server 2007 general manager, on the value of the complete Microsoft Business Intelligence and performance management offering.

Technorati Tags: PerformancePoint Server, Training, Business Intelligence, Readiness

And for existing customers and partners...

btamblyn — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:21:00 GMT

Two great events running in London on the 26th and Manchester on the 28th of June.

PerformancePoint/ProClarity Briefing - Customer & Partner

Date: Tuesday 26^th and Thursday 28th June 2007 - AM

Location: Radisson Portman, London or Renaissance Hotel, Manchester

This event provides the opportunity to be updated on the latest PerformancePoint application suite and, the integration of the rich Microsoft Business intelligence product stack, in one consistent Performance Management solution offering.
This session will particularly focus on providing existing ProClarity (PC)/Business Scorecard Manager (BSM) customers and partners, with latest information on the PerformancePoint portfolio.

To REGISTER

London - June 26th: https://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-GB&eventid=1032343731

Manchester June 28th: https://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-GB&eventid=1032343733

Agenda

09.00 - 09.30: Registration & Coffee

09.30 - 10.00 Introduction: Acquisition and Product Roadmap Update

10.00 - 10.45 What is new in ProClarity 6.3

10.45 - 11.00 Coffee

11.00 - 11.30 ProClarity Dashboard Server 6.3

11.30- 12.15 PerformancePoint Server Update

12.15- 12.30 Summary and Conclusions, Q & A

12.30- 13.30 Lunch

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, PerformancePoint Server, ProClarity

My name is...

btamblyn — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:49:12 GMT

Ben Tamblyn

I was at the Microsoft Business Intelligence Partner Day on Wednesday and met some great partners who are beginning to look seriously at the Microsoft performance management platform as a viable and cost effective alternative for their customers. There was some amazing feedback on the solution offering given that the planning, budgeting, and forecasting components of the PerformancePoint solution is still in BETA.

Equally as interesting was the fact that some of the guys in attendance are also regular readers of my blog. Jim Plant asked me during one of the breaks why my name was not published anywhere on my blog which surprised me a little - so I went back to check and sure enough Jim was correct.

It was quite timely as it happens, because there's been a lot of talk internally about providing contact information (should I/shouldn't I) including email addresses and telephone numbers on blogs.

So here's my take on why its just a GOOD IDEA.

Blogging provides a human face to an organisation like Microsoft and allows us to connect with an audience that it's just not possible to meet with one-to-one.
We each have a responsibility to change the perceptions many people have of Microsoft, and making ourselves inaccessible confirms the misconception that we are arrogant, aloof and misguided - none of which I believe is truly representative of the large majority of people working at Microsoft.

Incidentally my contact information can now be found in the "About" section of this blog. Jim - my apologies for the oversight.

Microsoft Partner Love-in: Valentines Day

btamblyn — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 12:36:00 GMT

OK - so if you haven't booked in for the Microsoft Business Intelligence Partner Day/Love-in you're probably too late. But for those who can't make it due to the fact that you're not in the UK I'll provide a synopsis of the Gartner overview in a blog post later next week.

For those of you who are attending here's what you'll hear:

Overview from Gartner on the opportunity for Partners making investments in Business Intelligence skills.
Explanations and demonstrations of the complete Microsoft solution offering, from SQL Server 2005 to front-end analytic tools such as ProClarity and Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
Hear details on Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007.
Understand the benefits of the Microsoft Partner Programme.

I'll be around all day with Chuck Mitten who's over from the OBA team in Redmond - so feel free to drop in and say Hi if your in London on Wednesday.

Location

Browns
Albemarle Street
Mayfair

London W1S 4BP

Don't forget to enrol all your loved ones on the PerformancePoint CTP and failing that get down to your local PC-World and buy them Vista and Office 2007.

Much better than flowers or chocolates.

Technorati tags: Performance Management, SQL Server 2005, ProClarity, CTP, Training, Gartner, Business Intelligence

Performance Management Training and Enablement - QuickStart Programme

btamblyn — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:11:00 GMT

This was announced internally at Microsoft just before the holidays by Jodi Maupin the OBA Partner Marketing Manager. I've reviewed some of the existing training and whilst it's not for the faint-hearted engagement on this programme will help all our partners align themselves more closely to Microsoft. However, the greatest benefit I believe is the opportunity to participate in launch activities.

The Early Start Program is designed for partners to learn and ready themselves for the upcoming Performance Management Specialization (Information Worker Competency) before it officially becomes available later in 2007.

By participating now, partners gain early access to special resources such as:

Training
Invitation-only briefings
Monthly communications
Exams required to achieve the upcoming specializations;

Partners completing all 3 phases of the Early Start Program can expect to receive the following benefits:

Company logo listed in the partner directories on www.microsoft.com/performancepoint and www.microsoft.com/bi
Customer solutions featured in Newsletters and on Office Solution Showcase
Participation in PerformancePoint 2007 Launch Activities
Access to Microsoft BI Hands-on-lab VPC Images
Specialization exam voucher

Sign-up Now!