Michael Bowen – Curriculum Vitae Link to heading
Essbase + BI Details Link to heading
3Q2002
Background Link to heading
I would like to elaborate on my Essbase & BI experience.
I first began using Essbase in 1996 when I hired on to Arbor Software as a post-sales consultant. I handled engagements for the Southeastern US for Arbor’s own consulting group. Previous to this work, I had been doing design and implementation of DB2 and Oracle star schemas for 6 years and working with Pilot Software’s multidimensional database, Time Server. So before I even laid eyes on Essbase, I had years of multidimensional database design experience. I instantly realized the potential of this database.
Experience at Arbor Software Link to heading
At Arbor, I reported directly to L. Wheelan who was head of all Essbase consultants worldwide. Our responsibilities included:
- Application Development
- Design Consulting
- Performance Tuning
- Essbase Training & Certification
- Administrative Assistance
Over the next two years at Arbor, I provided expertise at the highest level available to clients across the country. In other words, if you were an Essbase DBA or Essbase developer and had problems that you couldn’t solve alone or with Arbor technical support, someone like myself would be dispatched to assist you. I did so for some of Arbor Software’s most important and demanding customers such as: Dell Computer, Commonwealth Edison, Coca-Cola, JCPenney and dozens of others.
Working at Arbor gave me the opportunity to work not only with top customers but with the internal staff as well. I had strong relationships not only with the top Essbase consultants around the world but the engineers who built the product. For this reason, I was selected to participate in beta testing of new Essbase features and making recommendations to core development.
Furthermore, my knowledge of the product was so complete that I able to helping new partners get started in the business of Essbase consulting and products. I have certified several individuals in Essbase during this time who have gone on to be successful independent contractors, and introduced Victor Duarte, president of Blue Isle software to the company. I have also maintained good relations with several gold certified Hyperion partners including:
- Beacon Analytics (Chicago)
- Ranzal & Associates (NY)
- CIS (Mexico City)
At Arbor I received recognition unusual for a field consultant by being invited to join Club in Hawaii with the top performers in the company. I continued in this tradition under the sales organization as well.
Transition to Hyperion Link to heading
When Arbor merged with Hyperion the Essbase consulting group was essentially disbanded. It was at that point Ms. Wheelan left Hyperion to begin Beacon Analytics. I then joined the sales force as a senior consultant and began working with a wider product set aimed at the Data Warehouse market. These products include:
- Hyperion Integration Server
- Essbase Objects
- API Toolkit
- Essbase Web Gateway
I have represented Hyperion as the primary technical spokesman to the DCI convention in Boston as well as to the San Jose eBusiness Expo. I have done so in coordination with the Product Manager of Essbase. I have presented technical seminars about Essbase applications two years running at Hyperion’s own User Conference.
Technical Achievements Link to heading
As regards my technical understanding of Essbase and associated technologies, I have assisted in the design of one of the largest single databases in existence on a Sun E10000 at The Gap. (9 Dimensions, 3GB input data) The Gap had been watching the OLAP market for years and already had RedBrick in house. Yet this Essbase design was a breakthrough. This has been documented by Beacon Analytics.
I have also tracked memory usage in HP Unix clusters and Sun Enterprise Servers. This level of performance testing goes far beyond what Hyperion’s own staff and technical support provide. I have, in a single afternoon, provided the groundwork for the transformation of State Farm’s Data Warehouse by creating an insurance claims model with 39 dimensions from which multiple datamarts would generate.
Notable Innovations Link to heading
I have created webservers in Hyperion which were worldwide resources for Essbase consultants. I was:
- The first individual at Hyperion to create a comprehensive capacity planning discipline for Essbase
- The first individual at Hyperion to create an application which Palm-enabled Essbase
- The technical lead for the development of the first Essbase supply-chain application working a special joint project between Arbor and I2 Technologies
For these and other reasons, I think most will agree that I am one of the elite practitioners of Essbase in the world.
Client Experience by Industry Link to heading
The following is a list of clients I have consulted for in various capacities representing Arbor, Hyperion and my own businesses.
Aerospace Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| Boeing – Huntington Beach | Project Mgmt – WBS Fin. |
| Boeing – Seattle | Gen’l Architecture |
| Lockheed Martin, CA | P&L |
| Rockwell, CA | Various |
Banking / Financial Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| Citibank, NYC | International Cash Mgmt |
| Charles Schwab, CA | ABC |
| Countrywide, CA | Financial |
| KeyCorp, OH | General |
| AT&T Universal Card, FL | General |
| SunAmerica, CA | Various |
| Glendale Federal, CA | Various Financial |
| Banamex, Mexico City | Gen’l Architecture |
| Citibank, LIC | Gen’l Architecture |
Chemical Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| Vista Chemical, Houston | Various Financial |
| Shell Services, TX | Gen’l Web |
Communications Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| Sprint PCS | Billing Metrics |
| Bell South Cellular, Atlanta | General |
| Pacific Bell, CA | Operator Performance |
| Norstan, MN | General |
| AT&T Transtech, FL | HR Staffing & Financial |
| SBC, CA | Gen’l Architecture |
Consumer Products/Goods (CPG) Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| CPC, NJ | Sales & Distribution |
| Philip Morris USA, NYC | Sales & Mkt Share |
| CocaCola, GA | Various Mktg. |
| Clorox, CA | Sales |
| Dr. Pepper, TX | Various |
Distribution Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| CHS/Merisel FL | Treasury |
| Sealand, NC | ABC |
| CocaCola Enterprises, GA | Sales |
Energy Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| Northeast Utilities, CT | Various Compliance |
| Mission Energy, CA | O&M Accounting |
| Enron, OR | Gen’l Architecture |
| ComEd, Chicago | Tuning |
| SoCal Gas, CA | Various |
| PG&E, CA | (SAP) |
Health Care Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| BCBS, TX | General (tuning) |
| BCBS, RI | Medicare Billing |
| Kaiser, CA | HR |
| Abbott Labs, OH | General |
Insurance Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| State Farm | Gen’l Architecture |
Manufacturing Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| 3Com, CA | SFA (300+ users) |
| Alcon Labs, TX | Int’l. Product P&L |
| Bosch, SC | QC |
| Scientific Atlanta, GA | QC |
| I2 Technologies, TX | SCM |
| Sola International, CA | Gen’l (SAP) |
| Fujitsu, CA | (SAP) |
| Mitsubishi, CA | Sales & Mktg |
| NUMMI, CA | QC |
| Dell Computer, TX | Various |
| SnapOn Tools, WI | Inventory |
| Toyota Motors, CA | GL, P&L, Inventory, Assets |
Other Industries Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| Lawrence Berkeley Labs, CA | HR – Project Mgmt |
| SAIC, CA | Planning |
| Royal Caribbean, FL | General |
| Nielsen Media, FL | Various |
| Disney, CA | Gen’l Architecture |
| Waste Management, TX | Financial Planning |
Real Estate Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| Hines, TX | Portfolio Mgmt |
| Citibank, NYC | General |
Retail Link to heading
| Client | Project Type |
|---|---|
| JC Penney, TX | Inventory & Sales |
| Kroger, CO | Financial |
| Safeway, CA | Gen’l Architecture |
| Gap, CA | Sales |
Specific Essbase Related Technologies Link to heading
Essbase Calc Scripts Link to heading
I taught the Design & Optimization class for Arbor Software.
Expertise includes:
- Multiple Passes
- Substitution Variables
- Conditional UDA calcs
- Binary Aggregations
- Allocations
- JD Edwards
- Currency Partitions
Batch Automation / Productionization Link to heading
I have automated all types of Essbase activities.
Tools used:
- Esscmd
- Perl
- KSH
- MAXL
Front End Development Link to heading
I have extensive design and implementation experience in a wide variety of front-end application platforms.
Platforms:
- Cognos Powerplay
- Brio Query
- AlphaBlox 2.x
- Hyperion CRA 1.0
- Analyzer v5 (Fat, Web-Oracle, Web-Paradox)
- Analyzer API (limited)
- Essbase Objects
- Excel API
- ActiveOlap
- Arcplan (limited)
- Essbase Web Gateway
- Crystal Reports
- Hyperion Reports 1.7
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) Link to heading
Specialize ETL is only necessary when there are corporate requirements for metadata management. I generally can hack whatever is necessary from SQL, Perl and load rules. But I am familiar with the leading tools.
Tools:
- (limited) Informatica
- Acta for SAP
- Integration Server
- EIS Relational Drill-Through
Tuning, Optimization & Capacity Planning Link to heading
System monitoring tools:
- NT System Monitor
- proctool
- iostat
- mpstat
- top
Other Advanced Essbase Features Link to heading
- Transparent Partitions
- Replicated Partitions
- Attribute Dimensions
- Security Filters
- Security Migration
- Data Sources for load rules
Data Sources Integration Link to heading
Supported systems: DB2, DB400, Oracle (6,7,8), Sybase 9, SQL Server (6,7,2000) MSAccess, SAP (various modules), I2 Rhythm, Manugistics, Siebel 6, Peoplesoft 7, 8
Interoperability & Platforms Link to heading
Operating Systems & Platforms:
- Citrix Winframe
- HP UX 10, 11
- Solaris 2.x
- OS/2
- NT 3.51, 4.0, 2000
- S/390
- AIX 4.x (including parallel ed. For SP)
- Jrun 3
- Websphere 4.0
- Tomcat-Jakarta
- Apache
Experience Gaps Link to heading
Have done, but not in production: Link to heading
- Linked Partitions
- Mod_perl extensions
Have yet to do: Link to heading
- Distributed OLAP
- AlphaBlox
- Arcplan
- Analyzer API
- EES Application Server
- Hyperion Application Builder
- C API
- Java API
Seminars Presented Link to heading
| Location | Context | Attendees |
|---|---|---|
| Acta Road Show – CA (2) | DW with SAP | 50 ea. |
| Boston DCI | eCRM + DW – Booth | 500+ |
| EBusiness Kickoff – San Mateo | Hyperion Sales | 150 |
| EBusiness World 2000 – San Jose | Trade Show | 1000+ & Wall Street Analysts |
| Hyperion / Ardent - NYC | EBusiness Analytics | 50 |
| Hyperion DW – AZ | Hyperion DW vs SAP BW | 100 |
| Hyperion Europe – Milan | Hyperion Sales | 20 |
| IBM – NJ | ECRM Joint Sales Training – IBM/Siebel/Hyperion, Hyperion Detail | IBM Database & eServer Salesforce 100, 20 |
| IBM Millenium – San Francisco | Hyperion eBusiness Intro – Select Booth | IBM WW Premier Partners 500+ |
| IBM Partnerworld 2000 – San Diego | Hyperion eBusiness Product – Booth | IBM Partners 5000+ |
| Solutions 2000 – NV | NTier Architecture | Website Analysis |
| Hyperion Client Base Solutions 2006 – Las Vegas | 64 Bit Essbase – Extreme Performance | 100 |
| Solutions 2007 - Orlando | Data Management |
Summary Link to heading
I elaborate on all of this to say that at the moment, there is little question that Essbase is the premier multidimensional database system and is an optimal solution for Data Marts. I am a world class practitioner in this segment of the BI market.
Future Directions Link to heading
On the Hyperion Platform, I will continue to leverage my Essbase platform as Hyperion expands it with relational partitions, EE Services & J2EE App platforms.
Furthermore, I will learn MS OLAP Services and Oracle 9i OLAP. I will learn more about security, especially LDAP integration for authentication. I will learn application server details and adopt PHP and Perl Objects for open source web deployment of OLAP apps.