For years we explored how we could generate interest and use in our legacy system with upper management. Our legacy system requires users to navigate an extensive menu system and enter multiple responses to get to vast array of available data.   Upper management types have failed to develop the patience or interest to use our legacy character based system.

Last year we attempted to gain final approval for a tool to enable browser base reporting via our intranet. We decided on a tool we first got a glimpse of at Spectrum 2006. Although, we had planned the year before and had an approved budget, are CFO failed to let us pull the trigger to purchase.

I attended Kevin King of Precision Solutions session, Quick Start: Programming in PHP, at Spectrum 2008 in New Port Beach.

Using information from this session on syntax and processes needed to create and deploy PHP applications, I was able to create several browser based inquiry options that replicate the report data of existing menu options. These new browser based inquiry options are able to be used without the need to know our extensive menu system and without having to respond to numerous prompts . These new options allowed the user to point and click to generate useful report. We used these new browser based options to generate interest and ideas from our user community, and to demonstrate to our CFO the merits of our pursuit of a tool for web based reporting.

Our CFO has now given approval for the purchase of the tool we selected for browser based reporting.

Bruce W. McAdoo
Wagner & Brown, Ltd.

More information on the Conference:

Http://www.intl-spectrum.com/confernece/

Justifying your conference attendance to management can be challenging for some IT staff. Much discussion is focused on the legitimacy of attending conference and trade show programs. The reality is that conferences are among the most cost effective methods of obtaining education and information, and in establishing a network.

Conference sessions allow you to:

• Learn first hand from industry experts that have successfully implemented technology solutions
• Keep up to date on new and emerging technologies
• Take the opportunity to create a professional network
• Create talking points to communicate more effectively with vendors
• Get immediate answers and solutions to issues within your organization
• Discover new products that can decrease expense and increase revenue

Trade Show / Exhibition Events allow you to:

• See the latest in technology
• Hear new product announcements
• Visit all of your vendors in one location
• Get answers directly from vendors on the exhibition floor
• Do some comparison shopping
• Seek solutions and find new technologies
• Talk directly to your MultiValue database provider to get answers to questions
• Talk with others who are using or considering a product or service you are researching