The Sybase Users' Group of Texas April 2004 Newsletter
[Houston City Skyline]


Table of Contents:
 
 1)  SUG-TX March 23rd Meeting
 2)  Next SUG-TX Meeting - April 27th
 3)  Hilton Computer Strategies To Offer PowerBuilder Training
 4)  Sybase Reports Preliminary First Quarter Results
 5)  Houston User Group for Sun (HUGS) Meeting
 6)  Sybase Events
 7)  Sybase Learning Center Schedule for Houston and Dallas (Apr - Jun)
 

1) SUG-TX March 23rd Meeting
 
The Sybase Users' Group of Texas held a meeting on Tuesday, March 23rd.  March's meeting featured Joseph Shaffner, Regional Technical Manager with the Sybase Enterprise Solutions Division in Bethesda, Maryland. Joe has been with Sybase over eight years and has over seventeen years of system integration, software development, and software solutions.  Joe specializes at Sybase in data warehouse and data storage techniques and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) tools.

Joe offered a fascinating look into the Sybase IQ product as only a true product expert can offer.   Joe discussed some of the challenges of data warehousing, Sybase's approach, and the dimensions of "Data Liquidity" as it relates to warehousing data. Joe discussed traditional row-based DBMSs, and IQ's unique approach to storing data by columns instead of by rows, resulting in virtually automatic indexing and many other benefits.

Joe mentioned that the IQ product customer base grew by 125% last year, and now includes such data intensive customers as the IRS, (ugh, it's tax time again), AOL, GSK, and the FCC. Mixing technology and business acumen, Joe went on to describe IQ's internal architecture and described the use of bitmap indices and structures.

Storage efficiency and query efficiency are two big advantages of IQ. Database loading is much faster than with traditional DBMSs, and scalability is essentially linear per CPU, resulting in Disk Input-Output Efficiency. Joe also mentioned that IQ is simple to administer, as it doesn't require a customized data warehousing schema. In fact, any schema (Multidimensional, etc.) can be used, and Joe recommends that users start with their OLTP schema and tune from there, resulting in further savings.

For DBAs who are implementing a data warehouse solution, you missed a terrific presentation! Joe's presentation can be found at http://www.sugtx.org/MeetingResources/20040323/txaseupdate.pps or at http://www.sugtx.org/MeetingResources/20040323/txaseupdate.pdf.


2) Next SUG-TX Meeting - April 27th

The Sybase Users' Group of Texas will hold their next meeting on Tuesday, April 27th, when Don Clayton of Intertech Consulting, Inc. will present his perspectives on application development using Sybase's tools and technologies. While it is widely recognized that the application development market had fragmented into two major camps, Java and .Net, companies with investments in PowerBuilder must rationalize how to leverage their investments properly going forward to maximize ROI. Sybase has a reputation for openness, and PowerBuilder can be effectively leveraged whether your company supports .Net, Java, or a combination thereof.

Abstract:

Don will present a decision matrix for PowerBuilder, along with a detailed discussion of the options available to companies, including when and how to migrate to newer versions of PowerBuilder, and the PowerBuilder features can be best leveraged with different versions, including the soon to be released PowerBuilder 10. The decision whether to refactor PB applications to take advantage of middle tier technologies such as EAServer, the web DataWindow or Web Services will be reviewed, and PowerBuilder interoperability with Java and .Net will be discussed. Other migration technologies such as Appeon and Metex will be covered as well. Finally, a road map for companies for moving forward will be presented based upon the known feature set and product futures of the PowerBuilder, PowerDesigner, and EAServer, and their announced interoperability with other development environments.

Bio:

Don Clayton is President of Intertech Consulting, Inc., and serves as current President of our user group.  Don was in the beta program for PowerBuilder 1.0, and is well known for his innovative use of PowerBuilder, and has been teaching PowerBuilder, Java, and PowerDesigner for many years. He has served on the faculty of the Rice University Business School, where he lectured on Systems Analysis and Design and Business Process Reengineering.

Remember, meetings are now on the 4th Tuesday of the month, from 4:00-6:30pm at HAL-PC; 4543 Post Oak Place, Suite 200.

Agenda:

  4:00pm - 4:30pm Introduction, Welcome, Sybase User Q&A

  4:30pm - 6:15pm Presentation - Don Clayton, Intertech Consulting, Inc.

  6:15pm - 6:30pm Wrap Up


3) Hilton Computer Strategies To Offer PowerBuilder Training

A leading hands-on developer training organization in Houston, Hilton Computer Strategies www.hiltoncomputer.com), has begun offering PowerBuilder instruction on a regular basis. Hilton is widely recognized for their Microsoft and CISCO offerings. Classes will run monthly, with the next "Introduction to PowerBuilder" class scheduled for May 10-14. For more information, contact Elizabeth Fryer at (713) 782-6665 or elizabethf@hiltoncomputer.com.


4) Sybase Reports Preliminary First Quarter Results

DUBLIN, CA  April 2, 2004  Sybase, Inc. (NYSE: SY), a leading enterprise infrastructure and integration company, today reported that Q1 total revenues will likely be in the range of $183 to $185 million, with pro forma earnings per diluted share (EPS) to be in the range of $0.18 to $0.20 versus analyst consensus estimates of $0.24 as polled by First Call. EPS calculated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is expected to be in the range of $0.14 to $0.16. Pro forma EPS excludes amortization of certain expenses, including certain purchased intangibles, unearned stock-based compensation and restructuring costs. A reconciliation of expected pro forma and GAAP EPS accompanies this release.

"We were impacted by several large telecom transactions that did not close this quarter as anticipated, but which we expect to close in future quarters," said John Chen, chairman, CEO and president of Sybase. "Despite the slippage in Q1, we still see an increase in both revenue and pro forma EPS from the same period last year. We remain positive about our long term strategy and about Sybase meeting the full-year revenue, cash flow and EPS expectations we set at the beginning of 2004."

Chen reconfirmed the company's guidance for the full year 2004 with pro forma EPS expected to range from $1.08 to $1.10, and GAAP EPS expected to range from $0.92 to $0.94. Chen also reaffirmed expectations that full year cash flow provided by operations will be around $170 million.

First quarter results are preliminary, subject to the company closing its books and the company's management and independent auditors completing their customary quarterly review procedures.

See the full story at http://www.sybase.com/detail/1,6904,1029341,00.html.


5) Houston User Group for Sun (HUGS) Meeting
 
The Houston User Group for Sun meets on the second Tuesday of every month at the Houston Sun office.  The next meeting is May 11th.  To be added to their mailing list, contact Art Blummer at Blummer@computer.org.
 

6) Sybase Events

a) Webcast - How V-SPAN Avoided an E-Nightmare

    Date:  Thursday, April 22, 2004
    Time:  12:00pm  1:00pm CDT

V-SPAN is provider of unified collaboration services  a major player in the teleconferencing arena. When a major power outage struck, knocking out its primary database server, the company was able to restore data access in less than a minute with no data loss.  See how V-SPAN solved their dilemma.

Registration information available at http://crm.sybase.com/sybase/www/IPG/DisasterRecovery0404Regdr.jsp.

b) Webcast - Sybase HIPAA Audit Solution

    Date:  Thursday, April 22, 2004
    Time:  1:00pm  2:00pm CDT

The Sybase HIPAA Audit Solution is our new offering that provides the necessary functionality to manage all of your EDI transactions.  Solution benefits include:

-  Tracking, reporting and reconciliation functionalityinformation can be monitored through the processing system to ensure claims are being adjudicated and paid in a timely fashion.
-  Improves trading partner relationships and provider cash flowpayers can track and report back to their providers key information from the claims system to help shorten the cycle for processing.
-  Complete solution, one vendorone phone call for all of your HIPAA transaction auditing, tracking, and reporting needs.

Registration information available at http://www.sybasehealthcare.com/has/.

c) Webcast  Mobilizing Domino Applications  a Technical Look at the Next Generation of Pylon

    Date:  Thursday, April 29, 2004
    Time:  1:00pm  2:00pm CDT

Would your company benefit from increased employee productivity and reduced data entry errors?  Join iAnywhere for an in-depth technical look at Pylon Application Server 6.0, their next generation software for extending Lotus Domino-based databases and applications to a wide variety of mobile devices  with no programming required!

Event information is available at http://crm.sybase.com/sybase/www/iAS/pylon_app_webcast.jsp.

d) Webcast - ISUG Techcast Series for Developers and DBAs

   Topic: Troubleshooting ASE: Experiences from Technical Support
   Date:  Tuesday, May 11th and Thursday, May 13th, 2004
   Time: 12:00pm CST
 
The monthly ISUG techcast series, featuring popular topics and issues for Developers and DBAs, continues in April.  These techcasts will provide a live forum for peer-to-peer, user-to-user information exchange and discussion.

Event information is available at www.sybase.com/about_sybase/events.


7) Sybase Learning Center Schedule for Dallas (Apr - Jun)
 
     Sybase Dallas Learning Center
     14800 Quorum Drive, Suite 505
     Dallas, Texas 75240
     Contact:  972-687-6400
     Register: 1 800-8-SYBASE
            
22   Apr  2004   2 days  EAServer Administration
26   Apr  2004   2 days  Logical Database Design
28   Apr  2004   3 days  Physical Database Design
03  May  2004   5 days  Intermediate Java 2 Programming
03  May  2004   3 days  Building Applications with PowerBuilder 8.0 and EAServer 4.0
06  May  2004   2 days  EAServer Administration
10  May  2004   5 days  .NET Framework and ASP.NET using VB.NET
10  May  2004   5 days  XML Certification Boot Camp
17  May  2004   5 days  Fast Track to Replication Server Administration
27  May  2004   2 days  EAServer Administration
02  Jun   2004   3 days  Mastering the DataWindow Object in PowerBuilder 9.0
28  Jun   2004   4 days  Advanced Administration and Troubleshooting for ASE

Please verify class availability with Sybase registration or http://sed.sybase.com/Osiris/osiris_location_NAA1.htm#DL
 


Send news & events to: secretary@sugtx.org

Please forward this newsletter to anyone interested in learning more about Sybase products.  To be added to or removed from the SUG-TX mailing list, send an email to secretary@sugtx.org.