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jQuery: How can I animate to a taller height with the height being added to the top of the element?

- by Jannis

Hi, I have a simple problem but I am not sure how to solve it. Basically I have some hidden content that, once expanded, requires a height of 99px. While collapsed the element holding it section#newsletter is set to be 65px in height. LIVE EXAMPLE: http://dev.supply.net.nz/asap-finance-static/ On the click of a#signup_form the section#newsletter is expanded to 99px using the following jQuery: $('#newsletter_form').hide(); // hide the initial form fields $('#form_signup').click(function(event) { event.preventDefault(); // stop click // animate $('section#newsletter').animate({height: 99}, 400, function() { $('#newsletter_form').show(300); }) }); All this works great except for the fact that this element sits in a sticky footer so its initial height is used to position it. Animating the height of this element causes scrollbars on the browser, because the 34px added are added to the bottom of the element, so my question: How can I add these 34px to the top of the element so the height expands upwards into the body not downwards? Thanks for reading, I look forward to your help and suggestions. Jannis

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WordPress contact form email as PDF

- by lock

I am using the below code for my WordPress site which is emailing all the form details as an HTML text but I need the details to be written into a PDF first and then have to email the PDF as an attachment. How can I achieve this? This is not a PHP code to use PHP's writePDF modules. So, any idea or any code to implement this? <div style="padding-left: 100px;"> [raw] [contact-form subject="Best Aussie Broker" to="[email protected]"] <div id="main34" style="border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 15px; width: 720px; padding: 15px;">   <h2><span style="color: #ff6600;">Express Application</span></h2>   [contact-field label="First Name" type="name" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Last Name" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="true" /] [contact-field label="Purpose of Finance?" type="select" options="Home Loan,Refinance,Investment Loan,Debt Consolidation,Other" /] [contact-field label="Your deposit amount" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Amount you need to borrow?" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Brief description of the purpose for finance" type="textarea" required="true" /] <div><label></label> <input class="radio" type="radio" name="19" value="Single Application" onchange="showsingle();" /> <label class="radio">Single Application</label> <div class="clear-form"></div> <input class="radio" type="radio" name="19" value="Joint Application" onchange="showjoint();" /> <label class="radio">Joint Application</label> <div class="clear-form"></div> [contact-field label="Privacy Act" type="checkbox" required="true" /] I have read the Privacy Act 1988 (as Amended) and understand that by selecting the submit button I/we Authorize Best Aussie Broker to act on my/our behalf and manage personal information in relation to this application.<br> <a href="http://googleplex.com.au/pdf.pdf"><img src="http://googleplex.com.au/pdf.png" alt="" /> </a> </div> </div> <div id="single" style="display: none; width: 720px; border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 15px; padding: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <div style="padding-top: 10px; width: 720px; text-align: left;"> <h4><span style="color: #ff6600;">Last step then we will get all listed Australian vendors to fight it out for your best deal</span></h4> </div> <div> <label class="select" for="19-date-of-birth">Date of Birth</label> [contact-field label="Day" type="select" options="1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31" /] [contact-field label="Month" type="select" options="January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October,November,December" /] [contact-field label="Year" type="select" options="2000,1999,1998,1997,1996,1995,1994,1993,1992,1991,1990,1989,1988,1987,1986,1985,1984,1983,1982,1981,1980,1979,1978,197,1976,1975,1974,1973,1972,1971,1970,1969,1968,1967,1966,1965,1964,1963,1962,1961,1960,1959,1958,1957,1956,1955,1954,1953,1952,1951,1950,1949,1948,1947,1946,1945,1944,1943,1942,1941,1940,1939,1938,1937,1936,1935,1934,1933,1932,1931,1930,1929,1928,1927,1926,1925,1924,1923,1922,1921,1920, 1919,1918,1917,1916,1915,1914,1913,1912,1911,1910,1909" /] </div> [contact-field label="Address" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Suburb" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Postcode" type="text" /] <div> [contact-field label="State" type="select" options="VIC,NSW,QLD,SA,WA,TAS,NZ,Other" /] </div> [contact-field label="Best Contact" type="radio" options="Landline,Mobile" /] [contact-field label="Phone Number" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Marital Status" type="select" options="Married,Single,Other" /] [contact-field label="Residential Status" type="select" options="Renting, Home Owned, Home Mortgage, Board, Other" /] [contact-field label="Children/Dependents" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6" /] <div></div> [contact-field label="Gross Yearly Income" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Current Employer" type="text" /] <div> <label class="select" for="19-year-of-empl">Time at this employer</label> [contact-field label="Year" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,More" /] [contact-field label="Month" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12" /] </div> <div style="padding-right: 15px;"></div> </div> <div id="joint" style="display: none; width: 720px; border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 15px; padding: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <div style="padding-top: 10px; width: 720px; text-align: left;"> <h4><span style="color: #ff6600;">Last step then we will get all listed Australian vendors to fight it out for your best deal</span></h4> </div> <div style="float: left; width: 320px;"> <div> <label class="select" for="19-date-of-birth1">Date of Birth</label> [contact-field label="Day" type="select" options="1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31" /] [contact-field label="Month" type="select" options="January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October,November,December" /] [contact-field label="Year" type="select" options="2000,1999,1998,1997,1996,1995,1994,1993,1992,1991,1990,1989,1988,1987,1986,1985,1984,1983,1982,1981,1980,1979,1978,197,1976,1975,1974,1973,1972,1971,1970,1969,1968,1967,1966,1965,1964,1963,1962,1961,1960,1959,1958,1957,1956,1955,1954,1953,1952,1951,1950,1949,1948,1947,1946,1945,1944,1943,1942,1941,1940,1939,1938,1937,1936,1935,1934,1933,1932,1931,1930,1929,1928,1927,1926,1925,1924,1923,1922,1921,1920, 1919,1918,1917,1916,1915,1914,1913,1912,1911,1910,1909" /] </div> [contact-field label="Address" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Suburb" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Postcode" type="text" /] <div> [contact-field label="State" type="select" options="VIC,NSW,QLD,SA,WA,TAS,NZ,Other" /] </div> [contact-field label="Best Contact" type="radio" options="Landline,Mobile" /] [contact-field label="Phone Number" type="text" /] <div></div> <div></div> [contact-field label="Marital Status" type="select" options="Married,Single,Other" /] [contact-field label="Residential Status" type="select" options="Renting, Home Owned, Home Mortgage, Board, Other" /] [contact-field label="Children/Dependents" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6" /] <div></div> <div><label class="text" for="netincome">Net Income</label> <input id="netincome" type="text" name="netincome" /> <select id="netincome-dropdown" name="netincome-dropdown"> <option>Monthly</option> <option>Yearly</option> </select></div> [contact-field label="Current Employer" type="text" /] <div> <label class="select" for="19-year-of-empl2">Time at this employer</label> [contact-field label="Year" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,More" /] [contact-field label="Month" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12" /] </div> </div> <div style="float: right; width: 320px; padding-right: 50px;"> <div> <label class="select" for="19-date-of-birth3">Date of Birth</label> [contact-field label="Day" type="select" options="1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31" /] [contact-field label="Month" type="select" options="January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October,November,December" /] [contact-field label="Year" type="select" options="2000,1999,1998,1997,1996,1995,1994,1993,1992,1991,1990,1989,1988,1987,1986,1985,1984,1983,1982,1981,1980,1979,1978,197,1976,1975,1974,1973,1972,1971,1970,1969,1968,1967,1966,1965,1964,1963,1962,1961,1960,1959,1958,1957,1956,1955,1954,1953,1952,1951,1950,1949,1948,1947,1946,1945,1944,1943,1942,1941,1940,1939,1938,1937,1936,1935,1934,1933,1932,1931,1930,1929,1928,1927,1926,1925,1924,1923,1922,1921,1920, 1919,1918,1917,1916,1915,1914,1913,1912,1911,1910,1909" /] </div> [contact-field label="Address" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Suburb" type="text" /] [contact-field label="Postcode" type="text" /] <div> [contact-field label="State" type="select" options="VIC,NSW,QLD,SA,WA,TAS,NZ,Other" /] </div> [contact-field label="Best Contact" type="radio" options="Landline,Mobile" /] [contact-field label="Phone Number" type="text" /] <div></div> <div></div> [contact-field label="Marital Status" type="select" options="Married,Single,Other" /] [contact-field label="Residential Status" type="select" options="Renting, Home Owned, Home Mortgage, Board, Other" /] [contact-field label="Children/Dependents" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6" /] <div></div> <div><label class="text" for="netincome">Net Income</label> <input id="netincome" type="text" name="netincome" /> <select id="netincome-dropdown" name="netincome-dropdown"> <option>Monthly</option> <option>Yearly</option> </select></div> [contact-field label="Current Employer" type="text" /] <div> <label class="select" for="19-year-of-empl">Time at this employer</label> [contact-field label="Year" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,More" /] [contact-field label="Month" type="select" options="0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12" /] </div> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> <div></div> </div>   [/contact-form][/raw] </div>

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How to Post Javascript to a MySQL Database

- by salientanimal

Hi guys, I have created a form in HTLM and I m trying to post the information in the form to a MySQL database. My form make suse of a dynamic list selection that needs to be captured to the database. However when submtting the form I get the following error Error: Unknown column 'coulmn_name' in 'field list'. Here is my HTML CODE for the form <td height="94"><p align="justify">CALL TRACKER - ADMIN</p></td> Customer Name : E-Mail Address : </tr> <tr> <td width="29%" align="right" valign="middle"><strong>Case Number :</strong></td> <td> <input type="text" name="case_number" width="70%" align="left" valign="middle"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29%" align="right" valign="middle"><strong>MSISDN :</strong></td> <td> <input type="text" name="msisdn" width="70%" align="left" valign="middle"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29%" align="right" valign="middle"> <strong>Route Cause :</strong></td> <td width="71%" align="left" valign="middle"> <select name="route_cause" id="category" onChange="javascript: listboxchange1(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value);">  <option value="">Select the Call Reason</option> <option value="Billing Admin">Billing Admin</option> <option value="Customer Care">Customer Care</option> <option value="Insurance">Insurance</option> <option value="Repairs">Repairs</option> <option value="SIM Swap">SIM Swap</option> <option value="UTI">UTI</option> </select> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="middle"> <strong>Call Type/Indexed To :</strong></td> <td align="left" valign="middle"> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" name="calltype_indexedto">  </script> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="middle"> <strong>Type/TAT :</strong></td> <td align="left" valign="middle"> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" name="type_tat">  </script> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29%" align="right" valign="middle"> <strong>Escalated To :</strong></td> <td width="71%" align="left" valign="middle"> <select name="escalatedto" id="escalated_to"> <option value="">Select the Escalation</option> <option value="Billing Ops">Billing Ops</option> <option value="Resolvers">Resolvers</option> <option value="Finance">Finance</option> <option value="Ressolver">Ressolver</option> <option value="Nudebt">Nudebt</option> <option value="Transunion">Transunion</option> <option value="N/A">N/A</option> </select> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29%" align="right" valign="middle"> <strong>Requested By :</strong></td> <td width="71%" align="left" valign="middle"> <select name="requestedby" id="requested_by"> <option value="">UTI Requested By</option> <option value="Billing">Billing</option> <option value="Customer Service">Customer Service</option> <option value="Insurance">Insurance</option> <option value="Management">Management</option> <option value="Repairs">Repairs</option> <option value="Retail Support">Retail Support</option> <option value="Retentions">Retentions</option> <option value="SIM Swap">SIM Swap</option> <option value="WOW">WOW</option> <option value="N/A">N/A</option> </select> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29%" align="right" valign="middle"> <strong>Province :</strong></td> <td width="71%" align="left" valign="middle"> <select name="province" id="province"> <option value="">Select the Province</option> <option value="Eastern Cape">Eastern Cape</option> <option value="Gauteng">Gauteng</option> <option value="Kwa-Zulu Natal">Kwa-Zulu Natal</option> <option value="Limpopo">Limpopo</option> <option value="Mpumalanga">Mpumalanga</option> <option value="North West">North West</option> <option value="Northern Cape">Northern Cape</option> <option value="Polokwane">Polokwane</option> <option value="Western Cape">Western Cape</option> <option value="Other">Other</option> </select> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29%" align="right" valign="middle"><strong>Comments :</strong></td> <td> <textarea rows ="5" cols="30" name="comments"> </textarea> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p> <input type="reset" value="Reset Form"><input type="Submit" value="Submit"> Here is my PHP CODE to write to the Database <?php $con = mysql_connect("hostname" ,"mysqusername" ,"mysqlpassword"); if (!$con) { die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error()); } mysql_select_db("databasename", $con); $sql="INSERT INTO customer_services_tracker (customer_name ,customer_email_address ,case_number ,msisdn ,route_cause ,calltype_indexedto ,type_tat ,escalatedto ,requestedby ,province ,comments ) VALUES ('$_POST[customer_name]' ,'$_POST[customer_email_address]' ,'$_POST[case_number]' ,'$_POST[msisdn]' ,'$_POST[route_cause]' ,'$_POST[calltype_indexedto]' ,'$_POST[type_tat]' ,'$_POST[escalatedto]' ,'$_POST[requestedby]' ,'$_POST[province]' ,'$_POST[comments]')"; $CatName = $rowCat["Name"]; if (!mysql_query($sql,$con)) { die('Error: ' . mysql_error()); } echo "1 record added"; mysql_close($con) ?>

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Would anybody recommend learning J/K/APL?

- by ozan

I came across J/K/APL a few months ago while working my way through some project euler problems, and was intrigued, to say the least. For every elegant-looking 20 line python solution I produced, there'd be a gobsmacking 20 character J solution that ran in a tenth of the time. I've been keen to learn some basic J, and have made a few attempts at picking up the vocabulary, but have found the learning curve to be quite steep. To those who are familiar with these languages, would you recommend investing some time to learn one (I'm thinking J in particular)? I would do so more for the purpose of satisfying my curiosity than for career advancement or some such thing. Some personal circumstances to consider, if you care to: I love mathematics, and use it daily in my work (as a mathematician for a startup) but to be honest I don't really feel limited by the tools that I use (like python + NumPy) so I can't use that excuse. I have no particular desire to work in the finance industry, which seems to be the main port of call for K users at least. Plus I should really learn C# as a next language as it's the primary language where I work. So practically speaking, J almost definitely shouldn't be the next language I learn. I'm reasonably familiar with MATLAB so using an array-based programming language wouldn't constitute a tremendous paradigm shift. Any advice from those familiar with these languages would be much appreciated.

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HTML not appearing in Emails

- by John

My website sends out html emails but most of my recipients are receiving them as HTML marked up source pages instead of the nice table layouts. The problem doesn't appear to be an email client issue since the emails display properly in web mail clients like gmail, yahoo, hotmail etc... They also display properly when viewed through outlook or thunderbird that are connected to gmail, yahoo, hotmail etc... However, I have one domain name that I registered with a shared hosting provider called 1and1.com. I tried viewing my emails through their webmail client, thunderbird and outlook, but in all three cases, only the html mark up showed up. Also, I assume most of my recipients use MS Outlook with MS Exchange Server because they are business/finance people. Unfortunately, I don't know how to get an email that's managed by an MS Exchange Server. I made sure I'm sending my emails with the following headers: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 Does anyone know what might be wrong? can anyone recommend a solution?

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so i got an econ degree...computing science or software systems (software engineering) degree ?

- by sofreakinghigh

okay so here's the story. i want to work in developing software (not QA or writing tests), so although I am currently starting computing science this summer, i came across Software Systems (aka s.e.) program which is "applied" but under computing science.... so what is the difference between the 2 disciplines ? if i choose software engineering, would it require more in depth expertise with calculus (i fail at it), and more coding time ? i am looking for a way to write better and more efficient code. I want to go to school, so i wont get lazy. i want to pick a program that would directly aid me in writing and developing software. graduating with an Econ degree in last year doesn't really help in landing jobs requiring comp sci/software engineering degrees....i should've studied harder in Economics (and maybe land a job) but i was obsessed with learning how to program with various languages since day 1 at University, but i didn't think i was smart enough to pass comp sci courses (so i just relied on books + irc...) and my parents said software jobs are being outsourced to India so i thought this obsession was just a "phase" and i should keep it as a hobby. but yes, it's quite funny why i hadn't pursued this field much earlier. as Joelonsoftware.com says economics degree starts with a bang (microeconomics the only course you only need really)....predicting stock prices (ridiculous!) + realizing China's potential power to meltdown US economy and vice versa + interest rate is inversely related to bond premium which is inversely related to stock market it would absolutely awesome if there was a program that combined finance + programming.

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How to get the value of an XML element using Linq even when empty.

- by Yeodave

Please excuse my stupidity, I tend to find the traversing XML overly complicated. I am using ASP.NET in VB. I have an XML document which contains all the details of staff in my company... <staff> <staffName>Test Staff</staffName> <staffTitle>Slave</staffTitle> <staffDepartmentName>Finance</staffDepartmentName> <staffOffice>London</staffOffice> <staffEmail>[email protected]</staffEmail> <staffPhone>0207 123 456</staffPhone> <staffNotes>Working hours Mon to Thurs 9.15 - 5.15</staffNotes> <staffBio></staffBio> </staff> As you can see, some nodes do not always contain data for ever member of staff; only Directors have biographies. I access the values like this... For Each staff In ( _ From matches In myXMLFile.Descendants("staff").Descendants("staffName") _ Where matches.Nodes(0).ToString.ToLower.Contains(LCase(search)) _ Order By matches.Value _ Select matches) staffName = staff.Descendants("staffName").Nodes(0).ToString) staffTitle = staff.Descendants("staffTitle").Nodes(0).ToString) staffOffice = staff.Descendants("staffOffice").Nodes(0).ToString) staffEmail = staff.Descendants("staffEmail").Nodes(0).ToString) staffPhone = staff.Descendants("staffPhone").Nodes(0).ToString) staffNotes = staff.Descendants("staffNotes").Nodes(0).ToString) staffBio = staff.Descendants("staffBio").Nodes(0).ToString) ' Do something with that data... Next Once it gets to staffBio I get an error saying "Object reference not set to an instance of an object." obviously because that node does not exist. My question is how can I assign the value to a variable even when it is empty without having to do a conditional check before each assignment?

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Which one gives you more advantages: Microsoft or SUN/Oracle certification?

- by edwin.nathaniel

Which one gives you more advantages: Microsoft or SUN/Oracle certification? If you don't mind, please relate your answer to your career (dev, sys-admin, dba), industry (finance, general consulting, business apps, software house), and location (where you live, does it influence your decision?) as well. One reason I asked this because I heard that having MCP (in C#, MCSAD or whatever the cert is called these days) could give you extra point from the employer perspective if they're a Microsoft Partner. I don't quite understand why and am also wondering if SUN/Oracle certificate holder have similar edge/benefit. I'm also interested to know if Certification plays role where you live. For example: certification could be a big negative sign in Silicon Valley, but might be helpful if you're in other US/Canada cities or outside USA/Canada. If you are an independent software consultant, do these certification helps you win bids? I totally understand that this question might be subjective and could be "closed". But it doesn't hurt to ask I suppose. I also understand that there are people who dislike/disagree (or have negative perspective on technology certification). While there are people who have the opinion that "these are not the kind of employers you would want to work with", I respect you guys, but sometime a pure software product company might not exist in certain cities in the world. And if certification can help one's career somewhere else, I guess that means more opportunities right? I've had experienced in both platforms: (short) .NET and (not too long) Java (minus Oracle DB stuff), but I think it's about time I have to pick one of them and be good at. Where I live right now might also dictates my career albeit insignificant. Anyhow, this last paragraph is just tiny blurb. Thanks!

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Rails link to PDF version of show.html.erb

- by Danny McClelland

Hi Everyone, I have created a pdf version of our rails application using the Prawn plugin, the page in question is part of the Kase model - the link to the kase is /kases/1 and the link to the pdf version is /kases/1.pdf. How can I add a link within the show.html.erb to the PDF file so whichever page is being viewed it updates the URL to the correct case id? <% content_for :header do -%> <%=h @kase.jobno %> | <%=h @kase.casesubject %> <% end -%>  <% content_for :sidebar do -%> <% if @kase.avatar.exists? then %> <%= image_tag @kase.avatar.url %> <% else %> <p style="font-size:smaller"> You can upload an icon for this case that will display here. Usually this would be for the year number icon for easy recognition.</p> <% end %> <% end %>  <ul id="kases_showlist"> <li>Date Instructed: <span><%=h @kase.dateinstructed %></span></li> <li>Client Company: <span><%=h @kase.clientcompanyname %></span></li> <li>Client Reference: <span><%=h @kase.clientref %></span></li> <li>Case Subject: <span><%=h @kase.casesubject %></span></li> <li>Transport<span><%=h @kase.transport %></span></li> <li>Goods<span><%=h @kase.goods %></span></li> <li>Case Status: <span><%=h @kase.kase_status %></span></li> <li>Client Company Address: <span class="address"><%=h @kase.clientcompanyaddress %></span></li> <li>Client Company Fax: <span><%=h @kase.clientcompanyfax %></span></li> <li>Case Handler: <span><%=h @kase.casehandlername %></span></li> <li>Case Handler Tel: <span><%=h @kase.casehandlertel %></span></li> <li>Case Handler Email: <span><%=h @kase.casehandleremail %></span></li> <li>Claimant Name: <span><%=h @kase.claimantname %></span></li> <li>Claimant Address: <span class="address"><%=h @kase.claimantaddress %></span></li> <li>Claimant Contact: <span><%=h @kase.claimantcontact %></span></li> <li>Claimant Tel: <span><%=h @kase.claimanttel %></span></li> <li>Claiment Mob: <span><%=h @kase.claimantmob %></span></li> <li>Claiment Email: <span><%=h @kase.claimantemail %></span></li> <li>Claimant URL: <span><%=h @kase.claimanturl %></span></li> <li>Comments: <span><%=h @kase.comments %></span></li> </ul>  <div id="kase_finances"> <div class="js_option"> <h2>Financial Options</h2><p class="finance_showhide"><%= link_to_function "Show","Element.show('finance_showhide');" %> / <%= link_to_function "Hide","Element.hide('finance_showhide');" %></p> </div> <div id="finance_showhide" style="display:none"> <ul id="kases_new_finance"> <li>Invoice Number<span><%=h @kase.invoicenumber %></span></li> <li>Net Amount<span><%=h @kase.netamount %></span></li> <li>VAT<span><%=h @kase.vat %></span></li> <li>Gross Amount<span><%=h @kase.grossamount %></span></li> <li>Date Closed<span><%=h @kase.dateclosed %></span></li> <li>Date Paid<span><%=h @kase.datepaid %></span></li> </ul></div> </div>  <%= link_to 'Edit Case', edit_kase_path(@kase) %> | <%= link_to 'Back', kases_path %> | <a href="#">Top</a> <div style="width:120%; height: 50px; background-color: black; margin: 10px 0 0 -19px; padding: 0; background-color: #d4d4d4;"> </div> <div class="js_option_kaseemails"> <%= link_to_function "Show", "Element.show('newinstructionemail1');" %> / <%= link_to_function "Hide", "Element.hide('newinstructionemail1');" %> </div> <h3>New Instruction Email</h3> <div id="newinstructionemail1" style="display:none"> <p class="kase_email_output"> Hi,<br /> <br /> Many thanks for your instructions in the subject matter.<br /> <br /> We have allocated reference number <%=h @kase.jobno %> to the above claim.<br /> <br /> We have started our inquiries and will be in touch.<br /> <br /> Best Regards,<br /> <br /> <strong><%=h current_user.name %></strong> <br /> McClelland & Co<br /> PO Box 149<br /> Southport<br /> PR8 4GZ<br /> <br /> Tel: +(0) 1704 569871<br /> Fax: +(0) 1704 562234<br /> Mob: <%=h current_user.mobile %><br /> E-mail: <%= current_user.email %><br /> <br /> This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify the originator of the message. <br /><br /> McClelland & Co has taken every reasonable precaution to ensure that any attachment to this e-mail has been checked for viruses but it is strongly recommended that you carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. McClelland & Co cannot accept liability for any damage sustained as a result of software virus infection. </p> <%= link_to 'Edit Case', edit_kase_path(@kase) %> | <%= link_to 'Back', kases_path %> | <a href="#">Top</a> </div> <div style="width:120%; height: 20px; background-color: black; margin: 10px 0 0 -19px; padding: 0; background-color: #d4d4d4;"> </div> <div class="js_option_kaseemails"> <%= link_to_function "Show", "Element.show('newinstructionemail');" %> / <%= link_to_function "Hide", "Element.hide('newinstructionemail');" %> </div> <h3>New Instruction Email</h3> <div id="newinstructionemail" style="display:none"> <p class="kase_email_output"> Hi,<br /> <br /> Many thanks for your instructions in the subject matter.<br /> <br /> We have allocated reference number <%=h @kase.jobno %> to the above claim.<br /> <br /> We have started our inquiries and will be in touch.<br /> <br /> Best Regards,<br /> <br /> <strong><%=h current_user.name %></strong> <br /> McClelland & Co<br /> PO Box 149<br /> Southport<br /> PR8 4GZ<br /> <br /> Tel: +(0) 1704 569871<br /> Fax: +(0) 1704 562234<br /> Mob: <%=h current_user.mobile %><br /> E-mail: <%= current_user.email %><br /> <br /> This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify the originator of the message. <br /><br /> McClelland & Co has taken every reasonable precaution to ensure that any attachment to this e-mail has been checked for viruses but it is strongly recommended that you carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. McClelland & Co cannot accept liability for any damage sustained as a result of software virus infection. </p> <%= link_to 'Edit Case', edit_kase_path(@kase) %> | <%= link_to 'Back', kases_path %> | <a href="#">Top</a> </div> <div style="width:120%; height: 20px; background-color: black; margin: 10px 0 0 -19px; padding: 0; background-color: #d4d4d4;"> </div> <div class="js_option_kaseemails"> <%= link_to_function "Show", "Element.show('newinstructionemail2');" %> / <%= link_to_function "Hide", "Element.hide('newinstructionemail2');" %> </div> <h3>New Instruction Email</h3> <div id="newinstructionemail2" style="display:none;"> <p class="kase_email_output"> Hi,<br /> <br /> Many thanks for your instructions in the subject matter.<br /> <br /> We have allocated reference number <%=h @kase.jobno %> to the above claim.<br /> <br /> We have started our inquiries and will be in touch.<br /> <br /> Best Regards,<br /> <br /> <strong><%=h current_user.name %></strong> <br /> McClelland & Co<br /> PO Box 149<br /> Southport<br /> PR8 4GZ<br /> <br /> Tel: +(0) 1704 569871<br /> Fax: +(0) 1704 562234<br /> Mob: <%=h current_user.mobile %><br /> E-mail: <%= current_user.email %><br /> <br /> This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you receive this e-mail in error please notify the originator of the message. <br /><br /> McClelland & Co has taken every reasonable precaution to ensure that any attachment to this e-mail has been checked for viruses but it is strongly recommended that you carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment. McClelland & Co cannot accept liability for any damage sustained as a result of software virus infection. </p> <%= link_to 'Edit Case', edit_kase_path(@kase) %> | <%= link_to 'Back', kases_path %> | <a href="#">Top</a> </div> Thanks, Danny

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Mobile HCM: It’s not the future, it is right now

- by Natalia Rachelson

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii- mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi- mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} A guest post by Steve Boese, Director Product Strategy, Oracle I’ll bet you reached for your iPhone or Android or BlackBerry and took a quick look at email or Facebook or last night’s text messages before you even got out of bed this morning. Come on, admit it, it’s ok, you are among friends here. See, feel better now? But seriously, the incredible growth and near-ubiquity of increasingly powerful, capable, and for many of us, essential in our daily lives mobile devices has profoundly changed the way we communicate, consume information, socialize, and more and more, conduct business and get our work done. And if you doubt that profound change has happened, just think for a moment about the last time you misplaced your iPhone. The shivers, the cold sweats, the panic... We have all been there. And indeed your personal experiences with mobile technology echoes throughout the world - here are a few data points to consider: Market research firm IDC estimates 1.8 billion mobile phones will be shipped in 2012. A recent Pew study reports 46% of Americans own a smartphone of some kind. And finally in the USA, ownership of tablets like the iPad has doubled from 10% to 19% in the last year. So truly for the Human Resources leader, the question is no longer, ‘Should HR explore ways to exploit mobile devices and their always-on nature to better support and empower the modern workforce?’, but rather ‘How can HR best take advantage of smartphone and tablet capability to provide information, enable transactions, and enhance decision making?’. Because even though moving HCM applications to mobile devices seems inherently logical given today’s fast-moving and mobile workforces, and its promise to deliver incredible value to the organization, HR leaders also have to consider many factors before devising their Mobile HCM strategy and embarking on mobile HR technology projects. Here are just some of the important considerations for HR leaders as you build your strategies and evaluate mobile HCM solutions: Does your organization provide mobile devices to the workforce today, and if so, will the current set of deployed devices have the necessary capability and ecosystems to support your mobile HCM initiatives? Will you allow workers to use or bring their own mobile devices, (commonly abbreviated as ‘BYOD’), and if so are your IT and Security organizations in agreement and capable of supporting that strategy? Do you know which workers need access to mobile HCM applications? Often mobile HCM capability flows down in an organization, with executives and other ‘road-warrior’ types having the most immediate needs, followed by field sales staff, project managers, and even potential job candidates. But just as an organization will have to spend time understanding ‘who’ should have access to mobile HCM technology, the ‘what’ of the way the solutions should be deployed to these groups will also vary. What works and makes sense for the executive, (company-wide dashboards and analytics on an iPad), might not be as relevant for a retail store manager, (employee schedules, location-level sales and inventory data, transaction approvals, etc.). With Oracle Fusion HCM, we are taking an approach to mobile HR that encompasses not just the mobile solution needs for the various types of worker, but also incorporates the fundamental attributes of great mobile applications - the ability to support end-to-end transactions, apps that respond with lightning-fast speed, with functions that are embedded in a worker’s daily activities, and features that can be mashed-up easily with other business areas like Finance and CRM. Finally, and perhaps most importantly for the Oracle Fusion HCM team, delivering mobile experiences that truly enhance, enable, and empower the mobile workforce, and deliver on the design mantras of the best-in-class consumer applications, continues to shape and drive design decisions. Mobile is no longer the future, it is right now, and the cutting-edge HR leader of today will need to consider how mobile fits her HCM technology strategy from here on out. You can learn more about our ideas and plans for Oracle Fusion HCM mobile solutions at https://fusiontap.oracle.com/.

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Feedback on "market manipulation", a peripheral game mechanic for a satirical MMO

- by BerndBrot

This question asks for feedback on a specific game-mechanic. Since there is not one right feedback on a game mechanic, I tried to provide enough context and guidelines to still make it possible for users to rate answers and to accept an answer as the best answer (following these criteria from Writer.SE's meta website). Please comment if you have any suggestions on how I could improve the question in that regard. So, let's begin with the game itself and some of its elements which are relevant for this question. Context I'm working on a satirical, text-based multiplayer adventure and role-playing game set in modern-day London. The game resolves around the concept of sin and features a myriad of (venomous) allusions to all the things that go wrong in this world. Players can choose between character classes like bullshit artist (consultant), bankster, lawyer, mobster, celebrity, politician, etc. In order to complete the game, the player has to live so sinfully with regard to any of the seven deadly sins that a demon is willing to offer them a contract of sponsorship. On their quest to live a sinful live, characters explore more and more locations of modern-day London (on a GoogleMap), fight "monsters" like insurance sales agents or Jehovah's Witnesses, and complete quests, like building a PowerPoint presentation out of marketing buzz words or keeping up a number of substance abuse effects in order to progress on the gluttony path. Battles are turn based with both combatants having a deck of cards, with which they try to make their enemy give in to temptations of all sorts. Tempted enemies sometimes become contacts (an item drop mechanic), which can be exploited for various benefits, depending on their area of influence (finance, underworld, bureaucracy, etc.), level of influence, and kind of sway that the player has over them (bribed, seduced, threatened, etc.) Once a contract has been exploited, the player loses that contact. Most actions require turns. Turns are limited, but refill each day. Criteria A number of peripheral game mechanics are supposed to represent real world abuses and mischief in a humorous way integrate real world data and events to strengthen the feeling of relevance of the game's humor with regard to real world problems add fun ways of interacting with other players add ways for players to express themselves through game-play Market manipulation is one such peripheral game mechanic and should fulfill all of these goals. Market manipulation This is my initial design of the mechanic: Players can enter the London Stock Exchange (LSE) (without paying a turn) LSE displays the stock prices of a number of companies in industries like weapons or tobacco as well as some derivatives based on wheat and corn. The stock prices are calculated based on the actual stock prices of these companies and derivatives (in real time) any market manipulations that were conducted by the players any market corrections of the system Players can buy and sell shares with cash, a resource in the game, at current in-game market value (without paying a turn). Players can manipulate the market, i.e. let the price of a share either rise or fall, by some amount, over a certain period of time. Manipulating the market requires 1 turn A contact in the financial sector (see above). The higher the level of influence of the contact, the stronger the effect of the manipulation on the stock price, and/or the shorter it takes for the manipulation to manifest itself. Market manipulation also adds a crime to the player's record. (There are a multitude of ways to take care of that, but it is still another "cost" of market manipulations.) The system continuously corrects market manipulations by letting the in-game prices converge towards their real world counterparts at a rate of 2% of the difference between the two per hour. Because of this market correction mechanism, pushing up prices (and screwing down prices) becomes increasingly difficult the higher (lower) the price already is. Whenever food prices reach a certain level, in-game stories are posted about hunger catastrophes happening somewhere far, far away (maybe with links to real world news stories). Whenever a player sells a certain number of shares with a sufficiently high margin, they are mentioned in that day's in-game financial news. Since the number of stock options is very limited, players will inevitably collide in their efforts to manipulate the market in their favor. Hopefully, it will also be a fun side-arena for guilds and covenants to fight each other. Question(s) What do you think of this mechanism given the criteria for peripheral game mechanics that I specified for my game? Do you have any ideas how the mechanic could be improved with regard to these criteria (or otherwise)? Could it be improved to allow for more expressive game-play, or involve an allusion to some other real world madness (like short selling, leveraging, or some other banking magic)? Are there any game-theoretic problems with this mechanic, like maybe certain dominant individual strategies that, collectively, lead to every player profiting and thus eliminating the idea of market manipulation PVP? Also, if you like (or dislike) this question, feel free to participate in the discussion on GDSE meta: "Should we be more lax with regard to SE's question/answer format to make game design questions possible?"

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What’s Your Tax Strategy? Automate the Tax Transfer Pricing Process!

- by tobyehatch

Does your business operate in multiple countries? Well, whether you like it or not, many local and international tax authorities inspect your tax strategy. Legal, effective tax planning is perceived as a “moral” issue. CEOs are being asked to testify on their process of tax transfer pricing between multinational legal entities. Marc Seewald, Senior Director of Product Management for EPM Applications specializing in all tax subjects and Product Manager for Oracle Hyperion Tax Provisioning, and Bart Stoehr, Senior Director of Product Strategy for Oracle Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management joined me for a discussion/podcast on this interesting subject. So what exactly is “tax transfer pricing”? Marc defined it this way. “Tax transfer pricing is a profit allocation methodology required to be used by multinational corporations. Specifically, the ultimate goal of the transfer pricing is to ensure that the global multinational pays their fair share of income tax in each of their local markets. Specifically, it prevents companies from unfairly moving profit from ‘high tax’ countries to ‘low tax’ countries.” According to Marc, in today’s global economy, profitability can be significantly impacted by goods and services exchanged between the related divisions within a single multinational company. To ensure that these cost allocations are done fairly, there are rules that govern the process. These rules ensure that intercompany allocations fairly represent the actual nature of the businesses activity- as if two divisions were unrelated - and provide a clear audit trail of how the costs have been allocated to prove that allocations fall within reasonable ranges. What are the repercussions of improper tax transfer pricing? How important is it? Tax transfer pricing allocations can materially impact the amount of overall corporate income taxes paid by a company worldwide, in some cases by hundreds of millions of dollars! Since so much tax revenue is at stake, revenue agencies like the IRS, and international regulatory bodies like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are pushing to reform and clarify reporting for tax transfer pricing. Most recently the OECD announced an “Action Plan for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting”. As Marc explained, the times are changing and companies need to be responsive to this issue. “It feels like every other week there is another company being accused of avoiding taxes,” said Marc. Most recently, Caterpillar was accused of avoiding billions of dollars in taxes. In the last couple of years, Apple, GE, Ikea, and Starbucks, have all been accused of tax avoidance. It’s imperative that companies like these have a clear and auditable tax transfer process that enables them to justify tax transfer pricing allocations and avoid steep penalties and bad publicity. Transparency and efficiency are what is needed when it comes to the tax transfer pricing process. Bart explained that tax transfer pricing is driving a deeper inspection of profit recognition specifically focused on the tax element of profit. However, allocations needed to support tax profitability are nearly identical in process to allocations taking place in other parts of the finance organization. For example, the methods and processes necessary to arrive at tax profitability by legal entity are no different than those used to arrive at fully loaded profitability for a product line. In fact, there is a great opportunity for alignment across these two different functions.So it seems that tax transfer pricing should be reflected in profitability in general. Bart agreed and told us more about some of the critical sub-processes of an overall tax transfer pricing process within the Oracle solution for tax transfer pricing. “First, there is a ton of data preparation, enrichment and pre-allocation data analysis that is managed in the Oracle Hyperion solution. This serves as the “data staging” to the next, critical sub-processes. From here, we leverage the Oracle EPM platform’s ability to re-use dimensions and legal entity driver data and financial data with Oracle Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management (HPCM). Within HPCM, we manage the driver data, define the legal entity to legal entity allocation rules (like cost plus), and have the option to test out multiple, simultaneous tax transfer pricing what-if scenarios. Once processed, a tax expert can evaluate the effectiveness of any one scenario result versus another via a variance analysis configured with HPCM’s pre-packaged reporting capability known as Oracle Hyperion SmartView for Office.” Further, Bart explained that the ability to visibly demonstrate how a cost or revenue has been allocated is really helpful and auditable. “HPCM’s Traceability Maps are that visual representation of all allocation flows that have been executed and is the tax transfer analyst’s best friend in maintaining clear documentation for tax transfer pricing audits. Simply click and drill as you inspect the chain of allocation definitions and results. Once final, the post-allocated tax data can be compared to the GL to create invoices and journal entries for posting to your GL system of choice. Of course, there is a framework for overall governance of the journal entries, allocation percentages, and reporting to include necessary approvals.” Lastly, Marc explained that the key value in using the Oracle Hyperion solution for tax transfer pricing is that it keeps everything in alignment in one single place. Specifically, Oracle Hyperion effectively becomes the single book of record for the GAAP, management, and the tax set of books. There are many benefits to having one source of the truth. These include EFFICIENCY, CONTROLS and TRANSPARENCY.So, what’s your tax strategy? Why not automate the tax transfer pricing process!To listen to the entire podcast, click here.To learn more about Oracle Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management (HPCM), click here.

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It’s A Team Sport: PASS Board Year 2, Q3

- by Denise McInerney

As I type this I’m on an airplane en route to my 12th PASS Summit. It’s been a very busy 3.5 months since my last post on my work as a Board member. Nearing the end of my 2-year term I am struck by how much has happened, and yet how fast the time has gone. But I’ll save the retrospective post for next time and today focus on what happened in Q3. In the last three months we made progress on several fronts, thanks to the contributions of many volunteers and HQ staff members. They deserve our appreciation for their dedication to delivering for the membership week after week. Virtual Chapters The Virtual Chapters continue to provide many PASS members with valuable free training. Between July and September of 2013 VCs hosted over 50 webinars with a total of 4300 attendees. This quarter also saw the launch of the Security & Global Russian VCs. Both are off to a strong start and I welcome these additions to the Virtual Chapter portfolio. At the beginning of 2012 we had 14 Virtual Chapters. Today we have 22. This growth has been exciting to see. It has also created a need to have more volunteers help manage the work of the VCs year-round. We have renewed focus on having Virtual Chapter Mentors work with the VC Leaders and other volunteers. I am grateful to volunteers Julie Koesmarno, Thomas LeBlanc and Marcus Bittencourt who join original VC Mentor Steve Simon on this team. Thank you for stepping up to help. Many improvements to the VC web sites have been rolling out over the past few weeks. Our marketing and IT teams have been busy working a new look-and-feel, features and a logo for each VC. They have given the VCs a fresh, professional look consistent with the rest of the PASS branding, and all VCs now have a logo that connects to PASS and the particular focus of the chapter. 24 Hours of PASS The Summit Preview edition of 24HOP was held on July 31 and by all accounts was a success. Our first use of the GoToWebinar platform for this event went extremely well. Thanks to our speakers, moderators and sponsors for making this event possible. Special thanks to HQ staffers Vicki Van Damme and Jane Duffy for a smoothly run event. Coming up: the 24HOP Portuguese Edition will be held November 13-14, followed December 12-13 by the Spanish Edition. Thanks to the Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking community volunteers who are organizing these events. July Board Meeting The Board met July 18-19 in Kansas City. The first order of business was the election of the Executive Committee who will take office January 1. I was elected Vice President of Marketing and will join incoming President Thomas LaRock, incoming Executive Vice President of Finance Adam Jorgensen and Immediate Past President Bill Graziano on the Exec Co. I am honored that my fellow Board members elected me to this position and look forward to serving the organization in this role. Visit to PASS HQ In late September I traveled to Vancouver for my first visit to PASS HQ, where I joined Tom LaRock and Adam Jorgensen to make plans for 2014. Our visit was just a few weeks before PASS Summit and coincided with the Board election, and the office was humming with activity. I saw first-hand the enthusiasm and dedication of everyone there. In each interaction I observed a focus on what is best for PASS and our members. Our partners at HQ are key to the organization’s success. This week at PASS Summit is a great opportunity for all of us to remember that, and say “thanks.” Next Up PASS Summit—of course! I’ll be around all week and look forward to connecting with many of our member over meals, at the Community Zone and between sessions. In the evenings you can find me at the Welcome Reception, Exhibitor’s Reception and Community Appreciation Party. And I will be at the Board Q&A session Friday at 12:45 p.m. Transitions The newly elected Exec Co and Board members take office January 1, and the Virtual Chapter portfolio is transitioning to a new director. I’m thrilled that Jen Stirrup will be taking over. Jen has experience as a volunteer and co-leader of the Business Intelligence Virtual Chapter and was a key contributor to the BI VCs expansion to serving our members in the EMEA region. I’ll be working closely with Jen over the next couple of months to ensure a smooth transition.

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ACORD LOMA Session Highlights Policy Administration Trends

- by [email protected]

Helen Pitts, senior product marketing manager for Oracle Insurance, attended and is blogging from the ACORD LOMA Insurance Forum this week. Above: Paul Vancheri, Chief Information Officer, Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company. Vancheri gave a presentation during the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum about the key elements of modern policy administration systems and how insurers can mitigate risk during legacy system migrations to safely introduce new technologies. When I had a few particularly challenging honors courses in college my father, a long-time technology industry veteran, used to say, "If you don't know how to do something go ask the experts. Find someone who has been there and done that, don't be afraid to ask the tough questions, and apply and build upon what you learn." (Actually he still offers this same advice today.) That's probably why my favorite sessions at industry events, like the ACORD LOMA Insurance Forum this week, are those that include insight on industry trends and case studies from carriers who share their experiences and offer best practices based upon their own lessons learned. I had the opportunity to attend a particularly insightful session Wednesday as Craig Weber, senior vice president of Celent's Insurance practice, and Paul Vancheri, CIO of Fidelity Life Investments, presented, "Managing the Dynamic Insurance Landscape: Enabling Growth and Profitability with a Modern Policy Administration System." Policy Administration Trends Growing the business is the top issue when it comes to IT among both life and annuity and property and casualty carriers according to Weber. To drive growth and capture market share from competitors, carriers are looking to modernize their core insurance systems, with 65 percent of those CIOs participating in recent Celent research citing plans to replace their policy administration systems. Weber noted that there has been continued focus and investment, particularly in the last three years, by software and technology vendors to offer modern, rules-based, configurable policy administration solutions. He added that these solutions are continuing to evolve with the ongoing aim of helping carriers rapidly meet shifting business needs--whether it is to launch new products to market faster than the competition, adapt existing products to meet shifting consumer and /or regulatory demands, or to exit unprofitable markets. He closed by noting the top four trends for policy administration either in the process of being adopted today or on the not-so-distant horizon for the future: Underwriting and service desktops New business automation Convergence of ultra-configurable and domain content-rich systems Better usability and screen design Mitigating the Risk When Making the Decision to Modernize Third-party analyst research from advisory firms like Celent was a key part of the due diligence process for Fidelity as it sought a replacement for its legacy policy administration system back in 2005, according to Vancheri. The company's business opportunities were outrunning system capability. Its legacy system had not been upgraded in several years and was deficient from a functionality and currency standpoint. This was constraining the carrier's ability to rapidly configure and bring new and complex products to market. The company sought a new, modern policy administration system, one that would enable it to keep pace with rapid and often unexpected industry changes and ahead of the competition. A cross-functional team that included representatives from finance, actuarial, operations, client services and IT conducted an extensive selection process. This process included deep documentation review, pilot evaluations, demonstrations of required functionality and complex problem-solving, infrastructure integration capability, and the ability to meet the company's desired cost model. The company ultimately selected an adaptive policy administration system that met its requirements to: Deliver ease of use - eliminating paper and rework, while easing the burden on representatives to sell and service annuities Provide customer parity - offering Web-based capabilities in alignment with the company's focus on delivering a consistent customer experience across its business Deliver scalability, efficiency - enabling automation, while simplifying and standardizing systems across its technology stack Offer desired functionality - supporting Fidelity's product configuration / rules management philosophy, focus on customer service and technology upgrade requirements Meet cost requirements - including implementation, professional services and licenses fees and ongoing maintenance Deliver upon business requirements - enabling the ability to drive time to market for new products and flexibility to make changes Best Practices for Addressing Implementation Challenges Based upon lessons learned during the company's implementation, Vancheri advised carriers to evaluate staffing capabilities and cultural impacts, review business requirements to avoid rebuilding legacy processes, factor in dependent systems, and review policies and practices to secure customer data. His formula for success: upfront planning + clear requirements = precision execution. Achieving a Return on Investment Vancheri said the decision to replace their legacy policy administration system and deploy a modern, rules-based system--before the economic downturn occurred--has been integral in helping the company adapt to shifting market conditions, while enabling growth in its direct channel sales of variable annuities. Since deploying its new policy admin system, the company has reduced its average time to market for new products from 12-15 months to 4.5 months. The company has since migrated its other products to the new system and retired its legacy system, significantly decreasing its overall product development cycle. From a processing standpoint Vancheri noted the company has achieved gains in automation, information, and ease of use, resulting in improved real-time data edits, controls for better quality, and tax handling capability. Plus, with by having only one platform to manage, the company has simplified its IT environment and is well positioned to deliver system enhancements for greater efficiencies. Commitment to Continuing the Investment In the short and longer term future Vancheri said the company plans to enhance business functionality to support money movement, wire automation, divorce processing on payout contracts and cost-based tracking improvements. It also plans to continue system upgrades to remain current as well as focus on further reducing cycle time, driving down maintenance costs, and integrating with other products. Helen Pitts is senior product marketing manager for Oracle Insurance focused on life/annuities and enterprise document automation.

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SQL SERVER – Number-Crunching with SQL Server – Exceed the Functionality of Excel

- by Pinal Dave

Imagine this. Your users have developed an Excel spreadsheet that extracts data from your SQL Server database, manipulates that data through the use of Excel formulas and, possibly, some VBA code which is then used to calculate P&L, hedging requirements or even risk numbers. Management comes to you and tells you that they need to get rid of the spreadsheet and that the results of the spreadsheet calculations need to be persisted on the database. SQL Server has a very small set of functions for analyzing data. Excel has hundreds of functions for analyzing data, with many of them focused on specific financial and statistical calculations. Is it even remotely possible that you can use SQL Server to replace the complex calculations being done in a spreadsheet? Westclintech has developed a library of functions that match or exceed the functionality of Excel’s functions and contains many functions that are not available in EXCEL. Their XLeratorDB library of functions contains over 700 functions that can be incorporated into T-SQL statements. XLeratorDB takes advantage of the SQL CLR architecture introduced in SQL Server 2005. SQL CLR permits managed code to be compiled into the database and run alongside built-in SQL Server functions like COUNT or SUM. The Westclintech developers have taken advantage of this architecture to bring robust analytical functions to the database. In our hypothetical spreadsheet, let’s assume that our users are using the YIELD function and that the data are extracted from a table in our database called BONDS. Here’s what the spreadsheet might look like. We go to column G and see that it contains the following formula. Obviously, SQL Server does not offer a native YIELD function. However, with XLeratorDB we can replicate this calculation in SQL Server with the following statement: SELECT *, wct.YIELD(CAST(GETDATE() AS date),Maturity,Rate,Price,100,Frequency,Basis) AS YIELD FROM BONDS This produces the following result. This illustrates one of the best features about XLeratorDB; it is so easy to use. Since I knew that the spreadsheet was using the YIELD function I could use the same function with the same calling structure to do the calculation in SQL Server. I didn’t need to know anything at all about the mechanics of calculating the yield on a bond. It was pretty close to cut and paste. In fact, that’s one way to construct the SQL. Just copy the function call from the cell in the spreadsheet and paste it into SMS and change the cell references to column names. I built the SQL for this query by starting with this. SELECT * ,YIELD(TODAY(),B2,C2,D2,100,E2,F2) FROM BONDS I then changed the cell references to column names. SELECT * --,YIELD(TODAY(),B2,C2,D2,100,E2,F2) ,YIELD(TODAY(),Maturity,Rate,Price,100,Frequency,Basis) FROM BONDS Finally, I replicated the TODAY() function using GETDATE() and added the schema name to the function name. SELECT * --,YIELD(TODAY(),B2,C2,D2,100,E2,F2) --,YIELD(TODAY(),Maturity,Rate,Price,100,Frequency,Basis) ,wct.YIELD(GETDATE(),Maturity,Rate,Price,100,Frequency,Basis) FROM BONDS Then I am able to execute the statement returning the results seen above. The XLeratorDB libraries are heavy on financial, statistical, and mathematical functions. Where there is an analog to an Excel function, the XLeratorDB function uses the same naming conventions and calling structure as the Excel function, but there are also hundreds of additional functions for SQL Server that are not found in Excel. You can find the functions by opening Object Explorer in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and expanding the Programmability folder under the database where the functions have been installed. The Functions folder expands to show 3 sub-folders: Table-valued Functions; Scalar-valued functions, Aggregate Functions, and System Functions. You can expand any of the first three folders to see the XLeratorDB functions. Since the wct.YIELD function is a scalar function, we will open the Scalar-valued Functions folder, scroll down to the wct.YIELD function and and click the plus sign (+) to display the input parameters. The functions are also Intellisense-enabled, with the input parameters displayed directly in the query tab. The Westclintech website contains documentation for all the functions including examples that can be copied directly into a query window and executed. There are also more one hundred articles on the site which go into more detail about how some of the functions work and demonstrate some of the extensive business processes that can be done in SQL Server using XLeratorDB functions and some T-SQL. XLeratorDB is organized into libraries: finance, statistics; math; strings; engineering; and financial options. There is also a windowing library for SQL Server 2005, 2008, and 2012 which provides functions for calculating things like running and moving averages (which were introduced in SQL Server 2012), FIFO inventory calculations, financial ratios and more, without having to use triangular joins. To get started you can download the XLeratorDB 15-day free trial from the Westclintech web site. It is a fully-functioning, unrestricted version of the software. If you need more than 15 days to evaluate the software, you can simply download another 15-day free trial. XLeratorDB is an easy and cost-effective way to start adding sophisticated data analysis to your SQL Server database without having to know anything more than T-SQL. Get XLeratorDB Today and Now! Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL Tagged: Excel

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T-SQL Tuesday #21 - Crap!

- by Most Valuable Yak (Rob Volk)

Adam Machanic's (blog | twitter) ever popular T-SQL Tuesday series is being held on Wednesday this time, and the topic is… SHIT CRAP. No, not fecal material. But crap code. Crap SQL. Crap ideas that you thought were good at the time, or were forced to do due (doo-doo?) to lack of time. The challenge for me is to look back on my SQL Server career and find something that WASN'T crap. Well, there's a lot that wasn't, but for some reason I don't remember those that well. So the additional challenge is to pick one particular turd that I really wish I hadn't squeezed out. Let's see if this outline fits the bill: An ETL process on text files; That had to interface between SQL Server and an AS/400 system; That didn't use SSIS (should have) or BizTalk (ummm, no) but command-line scripting, using Unix utilities(!) via: xp_cmdshell; That had to email reports and financial data, some of it sensitive Yep, the stench smell is coming back to me now, as if it was yesterday… As to why SSIS and BizTalk were not options, basically I didn't know either of them well enough to get the job done (and I still don't). I also had a strict deadline of 3 days, in addition to all the other responsibilities I had, so no time to learn them. And seeing how screwed up the rest of the process was: Payment files from multiple vendors in multiple formats; Sent via FTP, PGP encrypted email, or some other wizardry; Manually opened/downloaded and saved to a particular set of folders (couldn't change this); Once processed, had to be placed BACK in the same folders with the original archived; x2 divisions that had to run separately; Plus an additional vendor file in another format on a completely different schedule; So that they could be MANUALLY uploaded into the AS/400 system (couldn't change this either, even if it was technically possible) I didn't feel so bad about the solution I came up with, which was naturally: Copy the payment files to the local SQL Server drives, using xp_cmdshell Run batch files (via xp_cmdshell) to parse the different formats using sed, a Unix utility (this was before Powershell) Use other Unix utilities (join, split, grep, wc) to process parsed files and generate metadata (size, date, checksum, line count) Run sqlcmd to execute a stored procedure that passed the parsed file names so it would bulk load the data to do a comparison bcp the compared data out to ANOTHER text file so that I could grep that data out of the original file Run another stored procedure to import the matched data into SQL Server so it could process the payments, including file metadata Process payment batches and log which division and vendor they belong to Email the payment details to the finance group (since it was too hard for them to run a web report with the same data…which they ran anyway to compare the emailed file against…which always matched, surprisingly) Email another report showing unmatched payments so they could manually void them…about 3 months afterward All in "Excel" format, using xp_sendmail (SQL 2000 system) Copy the unmatched data back to the original folder locations, making sure to match the file format exactly (if you've ever worked with ACH files, you'll understand why this sucked) If you're one of the 10 people who have read my blog before, you know that I love the DOS "for" command. Like passionately. Like fairy-tale love. So my batch files were riddled with for loops, nested within other for loops, that called other batch files containing for loops. I think there was one section that had 4 or 5 nested for commands. It was wrong, disturbed, and completely un-maintainable by anyone, even myself. Months, even a year, after I left the company I got calls from someone who had to make a minor change to it, and they called me to talk them out of spraying the office with an AK-47 after looking at this code. (for you Star Trek TOS fans) The funniest part of this, well, one of the funniest, is that I made the deadline…sort of, I was only a day late…and the DAMN THING WORKED practically unchanged for 3 years. Most of the problems came from the manual parts of the overall process, like forgetting to decrypt the files, or missing/late files, or saved to the wrong folders. I'm definitely not trying to toot my own horn here, because this was truly one of the dumbest, crappiest solutions I ever came up with. Fortunately as far as I know it's no longer in use and someone has written a proper replacement. Today I would knuckle down and do it in SSIS or Powershell, even if it took me weeks to get it right. The real lesson from this crap code is to make things MAINTAINABLE and UNDERSTANDABLE. sed scripting regular expressions doesn't fit that criteria in any way. If you ever find yourself under pressure to do something fast at all costs, DON'T DO IT. Stop and consider long-term maintainability, not just for yourself but for others on your team. If you can't explain the basic approach in under 5 minutes, it ultimately won't succeed. And while you may love to leave all that crap behind, it may follow you anyway, and you'll step in it again. P.S. - if you're wondering about all the manual stuff that couldn't be changed, it was because the entire process had gone through Six Sigma, and was deemed the best possible way. Phew! Talk about stink!

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Mixed Emotions: Humans React to Natural Language Computer

- by Applications User Experience

There was a big event in Silicon Valley on Tuesday, November 15. Watson, the natural language computer developed at IBM Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, and its inventor and principal research investigator, David Ferrucci, were guests at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California for another round of the television game Jeopardy. You may have read about or watched on YouTube how Watson beat Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, two top Jeopardy competitors, last February. This time, Watson swept the floor with two Silicon Valley high-achievers, one a venture capitalist with a background in math, computer engineering, and physics, and the other a technology and finance writer well-versed in all aspects of culture and humanities. Watson is the product of the DeepQA research project, which attempts to create an artificially intelligent computing system through advances in natural language processing (NLP), among other technologies. NLP is a computing strategy that seeks to provide answers by processing large amounts of unstructured data contained in multiple large domains of human knowledge. There are several ways to perform NLP, but one way to start is by recognizing key words, then processing contextual cues associated with the keyword concepts so that you get many more “smart” (that is, human-like) deductions, rather than a series of “dumb” matches. Jeopardy questions often require more than key word matching to get the correct answer; typically several pieces of information put together, often from vastly different categories, to come up with a satisfactory word string solution that can be rephrased as a question. Smarter than your average search engine, but is it as smart as a human? Watson was especially fast at descrambling mixed-up state capital names, and recalling and pairing movie titles where one started and the other ended in the same word (e.g., Billion Dollar Baby Boom, where both titles used the word Baby). David said they had basically removed the variable of how fast Watson hit the buzzer compared to human contestants, but frustration frequently appeared on the faces of the contestants beaten to the punch by Watson. David explained that top Jeopardy winners like Jennings achieved their success with a similar strategy, timing their buzz to the end of the reading of the clue, and “running the board”, being first to respond on about 60% of the clues. Similar results for Watson. It made sense that Watson would be good at the technical and scientific stuff, so I figured the venture capitalist was toast. But I thought for sure Watson would lose to the writer in categories such as pop culture, wines and foods, and other humanities. Surprisingly, it held its own. I was amazed it could recognize a word definition of a syllogism in the category of philosophy. So what was the audience reaction to all of this? We started out expecting our formidable human contestants to easily run some of their categories; however, they started off on the wrong foot with the state capitals which Watson could unscramble so efficiently. By the end of the first round, contestants and the audience were feeling a little bit, well, …. deflated. Watson was winning by about $13,000, and the humans had gone into negative dollars. The IBM host said he was going to “slow Watson down a bit,” and the humans came back with respectable scores in Double Jeopardy. This was partially thanks to a very sympathetic audience (and host, also a human) providing “group-think” on many questions, especially baseball ‘s most valuable players, which by the way, couldn’t have been hard because even I knew them. Yes, that’s right, the humans cheated. Since Watson could speak but not hear us (it didn’t have speech recognition capability), it was probably unaware of this. In Final Jeopardy, the single question had to do with law. I was sure Watson would blow this one, but all contestants were able to answer correctly about a copyright law. In a career devoted to making computers more helpful to people, I think I may have seen how a computer can do too much. I’m not sure I’d want to work side-by-side with a Watson doing my job. Certainly listening and empathy are important traits we humans still have over Watson. While there was great enthusiasm in the packed room of computer scientists and their friends for this standing-room-only show, I think it made several of us uneasy (especially the poor human contestants whose egos were soundly bashed in the first round). This computer system, by the way , only took 4 years to program. David Ferrucci mentioned several practical uses for Watson, including medical diagnoses and legal strategies. Are you “the expert” in your job? Imagine NLP computing on an Oracle database. This may be the user interface of the future to enable users to better process big data. How do you think you’d like it? Postscript: There were three little boys sitting in front of me in the very first row. They looked, how shall I say it, … unimpressed!

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Come meet our Interns in Dublin

- by klaudia.drulis

Oracle Worldwide Product Translation Group (WPTG) provides solutions for all Oracle product and Content translation requirements. WPTG is a global organisation with its headquarters in Ireland and employees in Oracle offices worldwide. WPTG offer expertise in fields such as process engineering, tools development, linguistic quality, terminology, global product release, financial and vendor management. WPTG provides translation solution for over 40 languages including Asia Pacific, European, American and Middle Eastern languages. WPTG first introduced an intern program over 10 years ago and it has become a key component of our teams structure. The majority of Interns are sourced from a Computer Science related course, these Interns joining the engineering team. Others are sourced from Business courses and work within the Business / Project management area. The intern program allows us to maintain ties with current course curriculum and brings fresh energy and perspective into our Organisation. Four of the full time staff working in Dublin today joined us originally as Interns and subsequently were offered permanent positions. Come Meet some of our 2010 Interns, Come and see what Darragh, Anthony, Caoimhe, James and Artemij thought about working within the WPTG at Oracle: Darragh “Oracle has been a fun, challenging work placement for me. From day one I was treated as a full member of staff, this was both comforting and a little bit scary. The responsibilities stack up but I found I was able to keep on top of everything and even make improvements to how we handle a few things thanks to a great team and a very supportive manager. There’s a very positive atmosphere in work that’s really conducive to getting a lot of work done. Ideas seem to be the central hub in my line of business so all of my ideas and innovations were greeted with enthusiasm. Oracle has given me a fantastic opportunity and I urge you to grab it with both hands, you’ll find that you’re with a set of like minded people from all works of life that make work both interesting and fun. Even when the pressure is on you know that you can always get help and advice from someone nearby. My last word of advice is don’t be afraid to stick your neck out, everyone here is willing to learn, try something new and innovate, your voice will be heard and who knows, you could end up having a large impact on Oracle and your career.” Anthony “I had a great experience working with Oracle, from day one I was treated like a full member of staff with responsibilities of my own. I found that the more I put into the work the more I got out from the experience. Volunteering and being willing to face challenges have made this a more exciting placement. I am given a lot of leeway to do my own projects and so I’ve found that I am really enjoying my time here.” Caoimhe “I am currently spending my year of placement within the Release Management Team in the WPTG. My main role is to handle the finance process of all translation projects under 100k which includes creating workspecs and PO's, sending out kits, dealing with vendor queries and handling the invoicing and payment part. I am really enjoying my time here at Oracle, everyone is very open and friendly and willing to help you out with any questions you may have. I would definitely be interested in returning to Oracle after I graduate!” James “I am currently on a 12 month placement with Oracle, working as part of the Worldwide Product Translation Group in the Business Management. The Business Management team provides a global view on WPTG’s vendor and business strategy and is an interface into WPTG for new business. The business management team work together to support the external translation partner network. My role is to support the Business Management team and also to work on various projects when the need arises. This involves working with translation vendors and working with other Oracle employees worldwide. I am really enjoying my time working for Oracle, at times it can be challenging bit also very rewarding. I would recommend any student wanting to undertake a placement year to apply to Oracle, I made some great friends and I will never forget my time in Dublin.” Artemij “From working within Oracle, I have truly understood what "career path" is, and what opportunities a large corporation like Oracle can offer. Without any illusions, the work itself is exciting, sometimes challenging, tests your ability to handle pressure, to make decisions and take responsibility, to learn quickly and cooperate efficiently in order to solve a problem. I have learned a lot about myself. What I am good at, where and what I can do better. My placement at Oracle has allowed me to get a clearer picture of what I want, and which door I am going to open after college. If you have any questions related to this article feel free to contact [email protected]. You can find our job opportunities via http://campus.oracle.com

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Reference Data Management and Master Data: Are Relation ?

- by Mala Narasimharajan

Submitted By: Rahul Kamath Oracle Data Relationship Management (DRM) has always been extremely powerful as an Enterprise Master Data Management (MDM) solution that can help manage changes to master data in a way that influences enterprise structure, whether it be mastering chart of accounts to enable financial transformation, or revamping organization structures to drive business transformation and operational efficiencies, or restructuring sales territories to enable equitable distribution of leads to sales teams following the acquisition of new products, or adding additional cost centers to enable fine grain control over expenses. Increasingly, DRM is also being utilized by Oracle customers for reference data management, an emerging solution space that deserves some explanation. What is reference data? How does it relate to Master Data? Reference data is a close cousin of master data. While master data is challenged with problems of unique identification, may be more rapidly changing, requires consensus building across stakeholders and lends structure to business transactions, reference data is simpler, more slowly changing, but has semantic content that is used to categorize or group other information assets – including master data – and gives them contextual value. In fact, the creation of a new master data element may require new reference data to be created. For example, when a European company acquires a US business, chances are that they will now need to adapt their product line taxonomy to include a new category to describe the newly acquired US product line. Further, the cross-border transaction will also result in a revised geo hierarchy. The addition of new products represents changes to master data while changes to product categories and geo hierarchy are examples of reference data changes.1 The following table contains an illustrative list of examples of reference data by type. Reference data types may include types and codes, business taxonomies, complex relationships & cross-domain mappings or standards. Types & Codes Taxonomies Relationships / Mappings Standards Transaction Codes Industry Classification Categories and Codes, e.g., North America Industry Classification System (NAICS) Product / Segment; Product / Geo Calendars (e.g., Gregorian, Fiscal, Manufacturing, Retail, ISO8601) Lookup Tables (e.g., Gender, Marital Status, etc.) Product Categories City à State à Postal Codes Currency Codes (e.g., ISO) Status Codes Sales Territories (e.g., Geo, Industry Verticals, Named Accounts, Federal/State/Local/Defense) Customer / Market Segment; Business Unit / Channel Country Codes (e.g., ISO 3166, UN) Role Codes Market Segments Country Codes / Currency Codes / Financial Accounts Date/Time, Time Zones (e.g., ISO 8601) Domain Values Universal Standard Products and Services Classification (UNSPSC), eCl@ss International Classification of Diseases (ICD) e.g., ICD9 à IC10 mappings Tax Rates Why manage reference data? Reference data carries contextual value and meaning and therefore its use can drive business logic that helps execute a business process, create a desired application behavior or provide meaningful segmentation to analyze transaction data. Further, mapping reference data often requires human judgment. Sample Use Cases of Reference Data Management Healthcare: Diagnostic Codes The reference data challenges in the healthcare industry offer a case in point. Part of being HIPAA compliant requires medical practitioners to transition diagnosis codes from ICD-9 to ICD-10, a medical coding scheme used to classify diseases, signs and symptoms, causes, etc. The transition to ICD-10 has a significant impact on business processes, procedures, contracts, and IT systems. Since both code sets ICD-9 and ICD-10 offer diagnosis codes of very different levels of granularity, human judgment is required to map ICD-9 codes to ICD-10. The process requires collaboration and consensus building among stakeholders much in the same way as does master data management. Moreover, to build reports to understand utilization, frequency and quality of diagnoses, medical practitioners may need to “cross-walk” mappings -- either forward to ICD-10 or backwards to ICD-9 depending upon the reporting time horizon. Spend Management: Product, Service & Supplier Codes Similarly, as an enterprise looks to rationalize suppliers and leverage their spend, conforming supplier codes, as well as product and service codes requires supporting multiple classification schemes that may include industry standards (e.g., UNSPSC, eCl@ss) or enterprise taxonomies. Aberdeen Group estimates that 90% of companies rely on spreadsheets and manual reviews to aggregate, classify and analyze spend data, and that data management activities account for 12-15% of the sourcing cycle and consume 30-50% of a commodity manager’s time. Creating a common map across the extended enterprise to rationalize codes across procurement, accounts payable, general ledger, credit card, procurement card (P-card) as well as ACH and bank systems can cut sourcing costs, improve compliance, lower inventory stock, and free up talent to focus on value added tasks. Change Management: Point of Sales Transaction Codes and Product Codes In the specialty finance industry, enterprises are confronted with usury laws – governed at the state and local level – that regulate financial product innovation as it relates to consumer loans, check cashing and pawn lending. To comply, it is important to demonstrate that transactions booked at the point of sale are posted against valid product codes that were on offer at the time of booking the sale. Since new products are being released at a steady stream, it is important to ensure timely and accurate mapping of point-of-sale transaction codes with the appropriate product and GL codes to comply with the changing regulations. Multi-National Companies: Industry Classification Schemes As companies grow and expand across geographies, a typical challenge they encounter with reference data represents reconciling various versions of industry classification schemes in use across nations. While the United States, Mexico and Canada conform to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) standard, European Union countries choose different variants of the NACE industry classification scheme. Multi-national companies must manage the individual national NACE schemes and reconcile the differences across countries. Enterprises must invest in a reference data change management application to address the challenge of distributing reference data changes to downstream applications and assess which applications were impacted by a given change. References 1 Master Data versus Reference Data, Malcolm Chisholm, April 1, 2006.

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Financial Management: Why Move to the Cloud?

- by Kathryn Perry

A guest post by Terrance Wampler, Vice President, Financials Product Strategy, Oracle I’ve spent my career designing and developing financial management systems, most of it at Oracle. Every single day I either meet with our customers or talk to them on the phone. The time is usually spent discussing various business challenges facing CFOs and Controllers, who are running Oracle’s Financials. Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about cloud computing and whether it makes sense for finance to go to the cloud. Here are some pros and cons that might help you make that decision. Let’s start with the benefits of cloud solutions. The first is savings. With cloud services, you pay only for those commodities that you use. That makes you feel like you're getting better value for your money. Plus, you can preserve your cash for your core business and you can get a better matching of expenses and revenues. So, at the top of the list is lower total cost of ownership. The second point has to do with optimization. With cloud services, you’ll need less IT infrastructure so you can optimize your IT resources for better-value, higher-end projects. This also leads to greater financial visibility, where there's a clear cost for the set of services or features replaced by cloud services. And, the last benefit is what I call acceleration. You can save money by speeding up the initialization and deployment of the project. You don't have to deal with IT infrastructure and you can start implementing right away. We did a quick survey of about 70 CFOs at the CFO Summit last month in New York City. We asked them why they were looking at cloud services, and not necessarily just for financials. The No. 1 response was perceived lower cost of ownership. But of course there are risks to consider. The first thing most people think about in the cloud is security and ownership of data. So, will your data really be safe? Can you meet your own privacy policy requirements? Do you really want your private financial data exposed? Do you trust the provider? Is what you see really your data? Do you own it or is it managed by someone else? Security is a big concern that comes with an emotional component. The next thing in the risk category is reliability. Is the provider proven? You’re taking what you have control over – for example, standards and policies and internal service level agreements – away from your IT department and giving it to someone else. Will you still be able to adapt to shifts in your business? Will the provider be able to grow with your business effectively? Reliability means having a provider that can give you the service infrastructure that you need. And then there’s performance, which has two components in terms of risk. Going forward, will the provider be able to scale the infrastructure or service level if you have new employees or new businesses? And second, will the price you negotiate and the rate you lock in cover additional costs and rising service fees? Another piece is cost. What happens if you don't get the service level you want? What if you end the service? What happens, if after a few years, you send the service out for bid and change service? Can you move your data? Can you move the applications? Do the integrations work? These are cost components people don’t always take into account. And, the final piece is the business case. The perception is that you can get started really quickly with cloud. It has a perceived lower cost of total ownership and it feels cool because it's cloud. But do you have a good business case for moving to the cloud? Your total cost of ownership is over three years; then you’ll renew it, so your TCO is six years. Have you compared that to other internal services that you’re offering? You might already have product that you can run this new business or division on. In that same survey at the CFO Summit, the execs thought the biggest perceived risks were security of data, ability to move data back, and the ability to create a business case to actually justify the risks. So that’s the list of pros and cons. Not to leave you hanging, I will do another post on how to balance these pros and cons and make the right decision for your business.

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The Arab HEUG is now a reality, and other random thoughts

- by user9147039

I just returned from Doha, Qatar where the first of its kind HEUG (Higher Education User Group) meeting for institutions in the Middle East and North Africa was held at Qatar University and jointly hosted by Damman University from Saudi Arabia. Over 80 delegates attended including representation from education institutions in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Qatar. There are many other regional HEUG organizations in place (in Australia/New Zealand, APAC, EMEA, as well as smaller regional HEUG’s in the Netherlands, South Africa, and in regions of the US), but it was truly an accomplishment to see this Middle East/North Africa group organize and launch their chapter with a meeting of this quality. To be known as the Arab HEUG going forward, I am excited about the prospects for sharing between the institutions and for the growth of Oracle solutions in the region. In particular the hosts for the event (Qatar University) did a masterful job with logistics and organization, and the quality of the event was a testament to their capabilities. Among the more interesting and enlightening presentations I attended were one from Dammam University on the lessons learned from their implementation of Campus Solutions and transition off of Banner, as well as the use by Qatar University E-business Suite for grants management (both pre-and post-award). The most notable fact coming from this latter presentation was the fit (89%) of e-Business Suite Grants to the university’s requirements. In a few weeks time we will be convening the 5th meeting of the Oracle Education & Research Industry Strategy Council in Redwood Shores (5th since my advent into my current role). The main topics of discussion will be around our Higher Education Applications Strategy for the future (including cloud approaches to ERP (HCM, Finance, and Student Information Systems), how some cases studies on the benefits of leveraging delivered functionality and extensibility in the software (versus customization). On the second day of the event we will turn our attention to Oracle in Research and also budgeting and planning in higher education. Both of these sessions will include significant participation from council members in the form of panel discussions. Our EVP’s for Systems (John Fowler) and for Global Cloud Services and North America application sales (Joanne Olson) will join us for the discussion. I recently read a couple of articles that were surprising to me. The first was from Inside Higher Ed on October 15 entitled, “As colleges prepare for major software upgrades, Kuali tries to woo them from corporate vendors.” It continues to disappointment that after all this time we are still debating whether it is better to build enterprise software through open or community source initiatives when fully functional, flexible, supported, and widely adopted options exist in the marketplace. Over a decade or more ago when these solutions were relatively immature and there was a great deal of turnover in the market I could appreciate the initiatives like Kuali. But let’s not kid ourselves – the real objective of this movement is to counter a perceived predatory commercial software industry. Again, when commercial solutions are deployed as written without significant customization, and standard business processes are adopted, the cost of these solutions (relative to the value delivered) is quite low, and certain much lower than the massive investment (and risk) in in-house developers to support a bespoke community source system. In this era of cost pressures in education and the need to refocus resources on teaching, learning, and research, I believe it’s bordering on irresponsible to continue to pursue open-source ERP. Many of the adopter’s total costs are staggering and have little to show for their efforts and expended resources. The second article was recently in the Chronicle of Higher Education and was entitled “’Big Data’ Is Bunk, Obama Campaign’s Tech Guru Tells University Leaders.” This one was so outrageous I almost don’t want to legitimize it by referencing it here. In the article the writer relays statements made by Harper Reed, President Obama’s former CTO for his 2012 re-election campaign, that big data solutions in education have no relevance and are akin to snake oil. He goes on to state that while he’s a fan of data-driven decision making in education, most of the necessary analysis can be accomplished in Excel spreadsheets. Yeah… right. This is exactly what ails education (higher education in particular). Dozens of shadow and siloed systems running on spreadsheets with limited-to-no enterprise wide initiatives to harness the data-rich environment that is a higher ed institution and transform the data into useable information. I’ll grant Mr. Reed that “Big Data” is overused and hackneyed, but imperatives like improving student success in higher education are classic big data problems that data-mining and predictive analytics can address. Further, higher ed need to be producing a massive amount more data scientists and analysts than are currently in the pipeline, to further this discipline and application of these tools to many many other problems across multiple industries.

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XBRL - Moving from Production to Consumption

- by jmorourke

Here's an update on what’s new with XBRL and how it can actually benefit your organization versus adding extra time and costs to financial reporting. On February 29th (leap day) of 2012 I attended the XBRL and Financial Analysis Technology Conference at Baruch College in NYC. The event, which attracted over 300 XBRL gurus and fans was presented by XBRL US, The New York Society of Security Analysts’ Improved Corporate Reporting Committee, and Baruch College’s Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity. The event featured keynotes from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the CFA Institute as well as panels covering alternative research tools and data, corporate reporting to stakeholders and a demonstration of XBRL analysis tools. The program culminated in a presentation of the finalists and the winner of the $20,000 XBRL Challenge. Some of the key points made in the sessions included: The focus of XBRL tools is moving from production to consumption. As of February 2012, over 9000 companies are reporting in XBRL, with over 10 million facts filed to date XBRL taxonomy extensions have dropped from 27% to 11% making comparisons easier The SEC reports that XBRL makes it easier to analyze disclosures, focus on accounting issues XBRL is helping standards-setters like the FASB speed their analysis of impacts of proposed accounting rule changes Companies like Thomson Reuters report that XBRL is helping speed the delivery of data to clients The most interesting part of the program though, was the session highlighting the 5 finalists in the XBRL Challenge competition and the winning solution. The XBRL Challenge was launched in 2011 as a means of spurring the development of more end-user tools to help with the consumption of XBRL-based financial information. Over an 8-month process handled by 5 judges, there were 84 registrants, 15 completed submissions, 5 finalists and one winner of the challenge. All of the solutions are open-sourced tools and most of them focus on consuming XBRL-based data. The 5 finalists included: Advanced XBRL Processing from Oxide solutions – XBRL viewer for taxonomies, filings and company data with peer comparison capabilities. Arrelle – API for XBRL processes, supports SEC Validations, RSS Feeds to access filings etc. Calcbench – XBRL data analysis tool that can be embedded in other web applications. This tool can combine XBRL filings with real-time market data. XBRL to XL – allows the importing of XBRL data into Microsoft Excel for analysis, comparisons. Users start on the web and populate Excel with XBRL data. XBurble – allows users to search and view XBRL filings, export to Excel, merge for comparison, and includes a workflow interface. The winner of the $20,000 XBRL Challenge prize was CalcBench. More information about the XBRL Challenge and the finalists can be found at www.XBRLUS.org/challenge XBRL for Sustainability Reporting – other recent news on the XBRL front was the announcement by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) of an XBRL taxonomy for Sustainability Reporting. This taxonomy was co-developed by the GRI and Deloitte and is designed to make the consumption of data found in Sustainability Reports much easier. Although there is no government mandate to file Sustainability Reports in XBRL format, organizations that do use the GRI guidelines for Sustainability Reporting are encouraged to tag and submit their data voluntarily to the GRI – who will populate a database with Sustainability Reporting data and make this available to the public. For more information about this initiative, you can go to the GRI web site: www.globalreporting.org. So how does all of this benefit corporate filers and investors? Since its introduction, the consensus in the market is that XBRL has mainly benefited the regulators and investment analysts who need to consume and analyze large volumes of financial data. But with the emergence of more end-user tools for consuming and analyzing XBRL-based data, and the ability to perform quick comparisons of one company versus its peers and competitors in an industry group, will soon accelerate the benefits to corporate finance staff, as well as individual investors. This could apply to financial results tagged in XBRL, as well as non-financial information such as Sustainability Reporting – which over the long-term will likely be integrated with financial reporting. And as multiple regulators and agencies in a country adopt the XBRL standard for corporate filings, more benefits will accrue as companies will be able to leverage one set of XBRL-based financial data for multiple regulatory filings. For more information about the latest developments in XBRL, check out the XBRL US or XBRL International web sites: www.xbrl.org, www.xbrlus.org. For more information about what Oracle is doing to support XBRL, here are some links: http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/ent-performance-bi/disclosure-management-065892.html http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/xmldb/index-087631.html Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need more information: [email protected]

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Educause Top-Ten IT Issues - the most change in a decade or more

- by user739873

The Education IT Issue Panel has released the 2012 top-ten issues facing higher education IT leadership, and instead of the customary reshuffling of the same deck, the issues reflect much of the tumult and dynamism facing higher education generally. I find it interesting (and encouraging) that at the top of this year's list is "Updating IT Professionals' Skills and Roles to Accommodate Emerging Technologies and Changing IT Management and Service Delivery Models." This reflects, in my view, the realization that higher education IT must change in order to fully realize the potential for transforming the institution, and therefore it's people must learn new skills, understand and accept new ways of solving problems, and not be tied down by past practices or institutional inertia. What follows in the remaining 9 top issues all speak, in some form or fashion, to the need for dramatic change, but not just in the areas of "funding IT" (code for cost containment or reduction), but rather the need to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the institution through the use of technology—leveraging the wave of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to the institution's advantage, rather than viewing it as a threat and a problem to be contained. Although it's #10 of 10, IT Governance (and establishment and implementation of the governance model throughout the institution) is key to effectively acting upon many of the preceding issues in this year's list. In the majority of cases, technology exists to meet the needs and requirements to effectively address many of the challenges outlined in top-ten issues list. Which brings me to my next point. Although I try not to sound too much like an Oracle commercial in these (all too infrequent) blog posts, I can't help but point out how much confluence there is between several of the top issues this year and what my colleagues and I have been evangelizing for some time. Starting from the bottom of the list up: 1) I'm gratified that research and the IT challenges it presents has made the cut. Big Data (or Large Data as it's phased in the report) is rapidly going to overwhelm much of what exists today even at our most prepared and well-equipped research universities. Combine large data with the significantly more stringent requirements around data preservation, archiving, sharing, curation, etc. coming from granting agencies like NSF, and you have the brewing storm that could result in a lot of "one-off" solutions to a problem that could very well be addressed collectively and "at scale." 2) Transformative effects of IT – while I see more and more examples of this, there is still much more that can be achieved. My experience tells me that culture (as the report indicates or at least poses the question) gets in the way more than technology not being up to task. We spend too much time on "context" and not "core," and get lost in the weeds on the journey to truly transforming the institution with technology. 3) Analytics as a key element in improving various institutional outcomes. In our work around Student Success, we see predictive "academic" analytics as essential to getting in front of the Student Success issue, regardless of how an institution or collections of institutions defines success. Analytics must be part of the fabric of the key academic enterprise applications, not a bolt-on. We will spend a significant amount of time on this topic during our semi-annual Education Industry Strategy Council meeting in Washington, D.C. later this month. 4) Cloud strategy for the broad range of applications in the academic enterprise. Some of the recent work by Casey Green at the Campus Computing Survey would seem to indicate that there is movement in this area but mostly in what has been termed "below the campus" application areas such as collaboration tools, recruiting, and alumni relations. It's time to get serious about sourcing elements of mature applications like student information systems, HR, Finance, etc. leveraging a model other than traditional on-campus custom. I've only selected a few areas of the list to highlight, but the unifying theme here (and this is where I run the risk of sounding like an Oracle commercial) is that these lofty goals cry out for partners that can bring economies of scale to bear on the problems married with a deep understanding of the nuances unique to higher education. In a recent piece in Educause Review on Student Information Systems, the author points out that "best of breed is back". Unfortunately I am compelled to point out that best of breed is a large part of the reason we have made as little progress as we have as an industry in advancing some of the causes outlined above. Don't confuse "integrated" and "full stack" for vendor lock-in. The best-of-breed market forces that Ron points to ensure that solutions have to be "integratable" or they don't survive in the marketplace. However, by leveraging the efficiencies afforded by adopting solutions that are pre-integrated (and possibly metered out as a service) allows us to shed unnecessary costs – as difficult as these decisions are to make and to drive throughout the organization. Cole

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Oracle Romania Summer School

- by Maria Sandu

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 What would you say about a Summer School within a corporation where you can learn, play and practice? You might think that this is something usually uncommon for a company and you would be right. However, Oracle’s main value being innovation, we came up with a new project for Romanian students and graduates. We organised Oracle Summer School , offering them the opportunity to develop their soft skills and gain valuable business knowledge and exposure. How was Oracle Summer School programme organised? We focused on students and graduates’ needs and combined business experience with training and practice. The twenty four participants had different backgrounds, being interested in Software, Hardware, Finance, Marketing or other areas. The programme fulfilled each of these needs, bringing them in contact with Specialists and Managers. The first two weeks were dedicated to the company visits, business presentations and networking. The participants got an insight about employees’ activities and projects. Storytelling was also part of the program and people from different departments spent a couple of hours with the participants, sharing their experiences, knowledge and interesting stories. The Recruitment team delivered a training about the job interview skills in order to make the participants feel better prepared for a Recruitment process. The second module consisted of two weeks of Soft Skills trainings delivered by professional trainers from different departments. The participants gained useful insight on the competencies required within a business environment. The evenings were dedicated to social activities and it not very long until they started feel part of a team. The third module will take place at the end of September and will put the participants in contact with senior people from the business who will become their Mentors. What do the participants say about Oracle Summer School? “ As a fresh computer science graduate, Oracle Summer School gave me the opportunity of finding what are the technical and nontechnical skills required in a large multinational company. It was a great way of seeing how the theoretical knowledge I received during college is applied in real-life scenarios and what skills I still need to develop. “ (Cosmin Radu) “ When arriving at Oracle I had high expectations, but did not know exactly what was going to unfold because of the program's lack of precedence. Right after the first day, my feedback outgrew the initial forecast and the following weeks continued to build upon it. I had the pleasure to acquaint with brilliant people. The program was outlined on various profiles, delivering a comprehensive experience. It was very engaging, informative and nevertheless fun. “ (Vlad Manciu) „ Oracle Summer School is by far the best summer school that I have ever attended. For me it has been a great experience so far, because I’ve learned not only how to use soft skills in a corporate environment, but I’ve learned a great deal about myself as well. However, the most valuable asset of this 3-week period were the people that I’ve met: great individuals and great professionals, whom I really grew fond of.” (Alexandru Purcarea) “Applying to Oracle Summer School has been the best decision I took in regard to how to spend my summer holiday. I had the chance to do job shadowing at some of the departments I was interested in and I attended great trainings on various subjects such as time management and emotional intelligence. Moreover, I made friends with the other participants and we enjoyed going out together after “classes”.(Andreea Tudor) If you are interested in joining our team and attending our events please follow us on https://campus.oracle.com/campus/HR/emea_main.html /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii- mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi- mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

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Why everybody should do Sales!

- by FelixWehmeyer

I speak with many business students and ask them what job they want to get into. Most of them tell me they want a job in Marketing, Management Consulting or Finance. I hardly ever hear “Sales, that is what I want to do”, and I often wonder why. I would like to start with a quote from Zig Ziglar, a successful salesman: "Nothing happens until someone sells something." But to get back to the main point, why wouldn’t you want to get in sales? When people think of sales, they picture a typical salesman in their head and think that selling is scary and all about manipulating, pressuring and pushing someone into buying something they don’t need. Are these stereotypes accurate? I don’t believe so: So why should you want to be in sales? If you think about selling as providing the solution for the problem and talking about the benefits of making a decision, then every job in this world comes out of selling. In every job you deal with coworkers that you want to convince of your ideas or convincing your boss that the project you want to work on is good for the company. These days, consumers and businesses are very well informed about services and products. When we are talking about highly complex products, such as IT solutions, businesses don’t accept your run-of-the-mill salesman who is pushing a sale. These are often long projects where salespeople have a consulting and leading role. Salespeople need to be able to consult companies and customers with their problem and convince a client that their solution is the best fit. Next to the fact that sales, is by far, not as scary and shady as you thought, there are a few points that will make you want to consider a sales career: Negotiating skills – When you are in sales you will learn how to negotiate. Salespeople learn to listen to their customers and try to make them happy, overcoming objections and come to a final agreement that both parties are happy with. Persistence/Challenge – As a salesperson you will often hear a negative answer, in a sales role you will start to embrace this and see a ‘no’ as a challenge not as a rejection. This attitude change can help you a lot in your career, but also in your personal life. You will become more optimistic and gain a go-getter attitude. Salary – As salespeople are seen as the moneymakers for the company, companies often reward their sales teams generously. Most likely in a sales role, you will receive a good basic salary and often you get nice bonuses on top of that based on your performance. Oracle is, for instance, the company that offers the highest average commission in the world. Further you can expect many other benefits as companies know that there is a high demand for good salespeople. Teamwork – Sales is a lot like having your own business, you are responsible for your own territory or set of clients. You are the one who is responsible for the revenue coming from that territory. So in order to gain revenue you will have to work together with many departments and people to make that happen. Every (potential) client could be seen as a different project, and you are the project leader. Understanding customers and the business – From any job that you choose sales will get you the most insight in the market. Salespeople are usually well-connected, talk with different customers and learn about the market and are up-to-date about all latest changes. Even if you want to change to a different role in the long run, you have a great head start as you understand the market and customers like no one else. Job security – Look at all the job postings out there. Many of them are sales-related. So if you want to have a steady job, plenty of choice and companies willing to invest in you, sales could be something for you. Are you interested in exploring a sales career? At Oracle we are always looking for good sales professionals and fresh graduates who want to get into sales! For many languages such as Flemish, Dutch, German, French, Swedish and Norwegian (and more) we are currently looking for graduates who want to develop their career in Oracle. Please have a look at this article for the experience of a Business Development Consultant at Oracle in Dublin. Want to learn more about this job check out this link or send an email to jessica.ebbelaar-at-oracle.com! Have a look at our website http://campus.oracle.com for all of our other latest sales and non-sales vacancies!

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