Newsletter
SPF Plus 10 Released - 12 July 2007SPF Plus 10 Released - 12 July 2007 SPF Pty Ltd have released, with significant enhancements and new functionality, the much anticipated SPF Plus 10. SPF Pty Ltd have also announced a company name change to CALUMO Labs Pty Ltd and introduced new branding for the product, with a change from SPF Plus 10 to CALUMO for TM1. We are confident this release will provide significant further value to any "CALUMO powered by TM1" solution. SPF Plus 10 - Technical highlightsGeneral updates and enhancements and enhancements to CALUMO for TM1 include: 1. A fresh new SPF Plus Web User interface and Excel Tool bars (Vista with or without Vista :-). 2. Support for TM1 9.1 SP2 and all other active versions still supported by Applix. 3. Support for IE7 including tab browsing advanced web printing, zoom capability controls and inherently more secure than IE6. For more than 5 years CALUMO for TM1 (formerly SPF Plus) has been the premier platform for distribution of TM1 data via the web. With few exceptions the product has allowed end users to capture, analyse and distribute data in virtually any form. With this release the exceptions have been removed. Enhancements include: 1. Freeze Panes for Web Reports – published reports inherit freeze pane rows and columns as part of the publishing process. 2. Enhanced Context Linking in Web Reports – This extremely powerful capability allows end users to click on any data cell in a published report and be passed via hyperlink to an entirely different report which inherits the row and column headings for that cell. This is particularly useful as part of guided analysis where the next level of analysis requires additional information about a particular data point. Previously only title elements could be passed or carried to the linked report. 3. SPF Discovery (Decomposition Tree) in Web Reports. Previously available in browse, this popular and very effective ad-hoc analysis tool is now available from any published report 4. Save Web Reports to PDF – a robust printing solution from the web that does not require copy-to-Excel in order to produce hard copy reports. 5. Drill Through to Transaction in Web Reports including configuration at publish. 6. "One Button" publish of Web Reports. 7. Dynamic Rows in Web Reports. 8. Zero Suppress in Web Reports. 9. Charts can now be published as either an image or ActiveX control. Sneak preview of the new SPF Plus Web UI & Excel Toolbars.
As with any upgrade we strongly recommend that prior to proceeding you take the opportunity to discuss with your consultant the most effective approach for you and your implementation. This will assure the most efficient transition taking into account the specific needs of you and your TM1 users. What does the name CALUMO mean?Quite a bit in this case. The CALUMO brand was generated by SPF Pty Limited as part of its continuing expansion of its cross-platform Application Layer for BPM. The word has its roots in the Latin “keleuma” which was the cadence called to oarsmen on long boats. The cadence gave power and rhythm to the rowers in order to achieve maximum forward motion from their effort towards their destination. It’s a wonderful metaphor for the role of BPM in any organisation. SPF Asia Pacific will continue to be the leading provider of Calumo Labs applications. None of your arrangements as a client of SPF Asia Pacific in terms of billing or service provision change in any way as a result of this new branding. SPF Plus/CALUMO software is used by more than 200 Australian corporations and our professional services team continues to set the high watermark for TM1 & SPF Plus services across Australia. OLAP/BI/BPM in perspectiveI was asked recently, what is the best measure of success for a BI/BPM initiative. The answer to me is simple. Many users, using often, often intensively. In an environment of ever-shortening spans in which to concentrate, “What’s in it for me” or user self interest is probably the most reliable motivation that reveals the usefulness and impact of any information system. If it’s not simple – it’s dead. As a solution provider in the space, that simple measure of success is what we strive for. Ultimately every site is different, but there is a spectrum from starting out to fully engaged that we consider in looking at the success of any ongoing BI/BPM initiative – and given the fast pace of change, every initiative is ongoing. One way to think of this is in 3 waves. The first is where an interested and highly motivated group of users is exposed to the power of OLAP based BI and BPM. Very often this first occurs in Finance and occasionally in IT. Having discovered this, the task of the second wave is to massively leverage the capability offered and make the Company’s vast stores of performance data truly accessible to a broad audience. In our view accessibility is not just about access. For the vast majority of users, who will require access without significant education, the access must be guided, intuitive and fast. If not, boredom, confusion and frustration quickly de-rail the initiative. Web based reporting and ad-hoc analytics is without doubt the most effective mass distribution medium. The web components of CALUMO for TM1 are focussed specifically on the needs of mass distributed users. The technologies including thin client, user-specific guided experience, robust security, high-speed query performance, efficient use of concurrent ports and publishing of complex reports using Excel for web authoring all combine to support the fundamental philosophy - if an end-user can surf the web, they can interact with their data. The end user needs to be most effective in the complex tools of their trade, not the complex access methods to their data. The third wave is deeper exposure of the TM1 thick client to those parts of the organisation that are ready to take next steps on further operational applications. Many of our clients have caught the third wave, for others we are confident the new capabilities of CALUMO for TM1 will get you there. As always if you would like to discuss this or are considering expanding your implementation of TM1 or CALUMO for TM1, please contact our office, your consultant or me. Are you already doing the best you can?In its current form and having been in stable release for over 5 years now, CALUMO for TM1’s inherent capabilities also include:
If you are interested in seeing some of our industrial strength web applications built to accommodate some of the most complex business requirements in practice, please let us know.
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