At the time PCM 14.0 BIPE was released many in the PCM community were excited to hear of the retirement of InfoMaker, but at the same time dismayed to hear there was no ‘upgrade’ or ‘conversion’ from their extensively customized libraries. I have started my own personal journey to being equally comfortable with BI Publisher. And it looks like it will be a long journey.

Aligning with the Oracle Toolset — With the acquisition of Primavera by Oracle in 2009, many of Oracle’s other products are being introduced into the applications Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management and Primavera Contract Management. The default database server, application server, content repository and reporting tool have been replaced with Oracle owned products such as Oracle Server, WebLogic, Enterprise Content Management and BI Publisher. Additionally, the introduction of Business Process Management, User Productivity Kit, Fusion Middleware and BI Enterprise Edition into the Primavera applications further extends the power and availability of your work product, allowing for improved communication and enhanced telephone answering capabilities within project management workflows.

BI Publisher Resources — Many great resources are available for BI Publisher. The most important resources are the product documentation and Oracle’s support team. This will help with the proper installation and integration of BI Publisher with Primavera Contract Management. Failure to get this fundamental step completed accurately will make this journey all the more frustrating. Additional resources I have found valuable include the Oracle Blogs and Community pages, as well as content found on the BI Publisher YouTube channel. Although not geared to Primavera applications specifically, the BI Publisher Fundamentals training from Oracle University gives you a glimpse into the possibilities while giving some comfort with the tool.

“Practice makes Perfect” — With all the resources available, using the tool will be the best way to learn. Rebuilding the stock reports and forms gave me the comfort of using the tool and validation of how the pieces work together. I am not venturing into rebuilding some custom content that I have previously created in InfoMaker. In the near future I see working with the new template and output options available and seeing how they fit into Primavera Contract Management.

Conclusion — While sad to see my trusted friend InfoMaker disappear after a 15 year love-hate relationship, I see the power of BI Publisher being a great reason to embrace the future and this this tool. While this journey is nowhere near the end, I do see that I will continue to use the resources I have mentioned to make the travels a little less uncomfortable, even if that means circling back many times. Hope to see you on the road…

Collaborate12 — I will be presenting on this topic at Collaborate 12 in Las Vegas, NV. My presentation will be one of several on the topic of BI Publisher. Be sure to check out this conference.

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CBA Invites You to Oracle’s Virtual Summit: Driving Growth with Mission-Critical Enterprise PPM

Last year, close to 1,500 executives and professionals from around the world came together online to exchange ideas with peers and learn from Oracle Primavera experts about the value of Enterprise Project Portfolio Management. Don’t miss the 2011 Oracle Primavera Virtual Summit:

Driving Growth with Mission-Critical Enterprise PPM

Discover how Enterprise Project Portfolio Management can be used as a competitive advantage to drive growth and impact your organization’s financial performance.

CLICK HERE to register and view the agenda, or call 1-419-874-0800 and we will be glad to register you for the summit.

This year’s Primavera Virtual Summit will be held on November 17th from 10 a.m. EST to 5 p.m. EST and will provide a global forum for executives and professionals to network, exchange ideas, get answers and attend insightful live presentations about mission-critical Enterprise Project Portfolio Management.

The exceptional agenda features three tracks specifically designed to meet your needs:

1. Executive Track: Listen to Oracle executives discuss how Enterprise Project Portfolio Management is critical to your organization’s success and can drive growth and shareholder value.
2. Customer Track: Hear from leading organizations as they share their successes with Enterprise Project Portfolio Management.
3. Solutions Track: Join Oracle’s Primavera Product Strategy team as they discuss current solutions, new releases and the future of Oracle Primavera.

Don’t miss out on the chance to interact with EPPM executives and experts, network with your peers and gain the knowledge you need in this free online event that you can attend right from the convenience of your desktop.

CLICK HERE to register and view the agenda, or call 1-419-874-0800.

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