Ten Reasons to Attend the Rittman Mead BI Forum, May 2011

So this is the last message I'll be posting on our BI Forum in May this year, as we're down to the last batch of available places and soon we'll be off to Collaborate'11 in Orlando. But if you're thinking about coming but wondering what's so special about the event, I've put together my ten reasons why you should try and come to Brighton or Atlanta in May 2011:

1. Unlike general Oracle conferences, the BI Forum 2011 is focused just on OBIEE, plus supporting technologies like the Oracle Database, Exadata and Essbase, Put together by developers who were tired of attending talks that were either aimed at beginners, or were marketing sessions, the BI Forum focuses just on the topics we are interested in and assumes that the audience already know the basics.


2. By popular demand, we run a single stream over the two days. This means that everyone takes part in the same conversations, the speakers get the maximum audience, and theres lots of opportunity for discussions and questions with the presenter (and the audience).


3. The speaker list is a who's who of the OBIEE + Oracle BI/DW world; people like Jeff McQuigg, Kevin McGinley, Tony Heljula, Emiel van Bockel, Shyam Nath, Andreas Nobbmann, Stewart Bryson, Greg Vlahos (and myself...). Never before has such a concentration of Oracle BI expert speakers come together in one place.


4. As well as the conference sessions, there's also a OBIEE11g Masterclass running on the day before the event, run by myself and Tony Heljula. Both Tony and I have spent the last six months teaching and presenting on OBIEE11g around the world, and we've amassed a huge amount of experience on the 11g platform which we'll be sharing on this optional one-day event before the venue. This is the first (and probably last) time Tony and I will present such an event together, and it's definitely one not to miss (even if I do say so myself)


5. As well as independent and partner speakers, Oracle Corporation are strongly supporting the event, with keynotes from product development starting off the event, and speakers such as Mike Durran (systems management), Jean-Pierre Dijcks (Exadata), Philippe Lions (OBIEE 11.1.1.4), Jacques Vigeant (Scorecards), and Adam Bloom / Suyog Rao (security) covering up-to-the-minute development topics directly from the team responsible for the features. This is your prime opportunity to interact directly with these key Oracle folks, and their opportunity to listen to the development community.


6. We deliberately keep the numbers limited to 50, at each venue. Most people stay at the venue for the two days, we have meals together, and there's lots of social events. This is the opportunity for you to make contacts in the development community that you'll keep for life, and we pass contact details around after the event to make sure you can all stay in touch.


7. As well as presentations, we also organize discussions and panels, encouraging everyone in the audience to debate the top development topics. All the experts will be at the event, plus key Oracle resources, giving you a fantastic opportunity to get answers for all your hot topics.


8. The event gives you actionable ideas around Oracle BI&DW that you can go back to the office with, and take advantage of immediately. This is the first major OBIEE11g event since the launch, and there's no better opportunity for you to get a head-start on development by bringing your ideas, and your questions, to the event. If you're the one Oracle BI developer in your company doing the tricky and advanced stuff, this is the event you want to come to to get answers to your questions.


9. Although both previous events have sold out weeks in advance, we deliberately keep the attendance cost low so that everyone can attend, regardless of budget. We run this event as our "contribution back to the community" with a cost of £650/$1000 for 2-days registration, how can you afford not to attend? :-) Accomodation is also discounted, as a way of encouraging you all to stay at the venue, and therefore maximize networking opportunities.


10. The BI Forum is a niche event aimed at experienced Oracle BI&DW developers, but the general conferences (KScope'11, Collaborate11) also have their place, and are a great complement to this event. KScope and Collab also have some great BI content, and are essential, we think, for placing BI&DW content in context; ODTUG and IOUG are great organizations that deserve all our support. As such, if you want to attend either KScope or Collaborate and also want to go to the BI Forum, we'll take 25% off your BI Forum to encourage our attendees to go to one of the general conferences as well (offer ends April 15th 2011).