Insights from the Advent Users Group meeting – Chicago 5-9-12

May 16, 2012 David Gemma

AUG CHICAGO 

I went to the Advent Users Group (AUG) meeting in Chicago last week and I wanted to share some highlights and trends in the industry that were discussed.  Over 40 AUG members attended and when they did an informal poll, it revealed that approximately 75% of group is currently using Advent Axys while the remainder is using or migrating to Advent Portfolio Exchange (APX).  I have yet to see any attendees from firms using Advent Geneva and am waiting to see if any of the firms on Black Diamond will come into the fold moving forward.

THE NEW APX 4.1

With so many Axys users in the crowd, Colby Payne – Sr. Product Manager at Advent Software – offered a quick overview of the new APX 4.1.  The new SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) reports built into APX are far nicer than reports available in Axys but several users mentioned that you need some strong SQL Server developers on staff in order to create your own custom reports.  One of the attendees mentioned that they hired Advent to create a SSRS custom report for their firm but the queue was several months long due to unanticipated demand.  The other option is to have a professional development firm like UNAPEN or CSSI create your APX SSRS reports.

SQL SATURDAYS

If you are considering going the route of ramping up internal resources for SQL Server development, one helpful hint mentioned was to attend Microsoft-sponsored “SQL Saturdays” which are free 1-day training events for budding SQL Server professionals that are run by volunteers. These events occur is most major US cities as well as abroad, and there are currently 30 of these events scheduled between now and the end of October.

WHY SPEND YOUR WEEKEND LEARNING SQL?

As I looked at the faces in the crowd, I could see that some APX users were ready to jump into SQL training while others seemed to dread the thought of spending a Saturday that way. Plus, this didn’t address the needs of all the Axys users.  What if there were one solution for both Axys and APX users that could solve your information needs with no coding and advanced SQL Server knowledge is not required?!?!?!

A BETTER OPTIONUNAPEN, Chicago, Advent, Advent Users Group, ClientLogix, CRM, David Gemma

Well who wouldn’t want that?   UNAPEN’s ClientLogix CRM and Business Intelligence platform allows users to “self-serve” their information needs without having to rely on someone to create complex and static SSRS reports.  ClientLogix is an enterprise-grade, central information portal that provides all the power of static SSRS reports, but does so in a dynamic, graphical interface with no coding required.  End-users can easily slice, dice, filter, sort, analyze and print information (typically Axys or APX, plus your other mission critical systems) to achieve the following business insight and more:

  • drive asset growth from prospects and customers
  • improve client satisfaction and foster referrals
  • provide comprehensive management reporting with less effort
  • relieve the excessive workload on staff
  • strengthen the communication across business units in your firm

Contact UNAPEN to find out how our solutions can help your firm!

David Gemma is a Managing Director and CMO at UNAPEN, Inc. (What’s a UNAPEN?)

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