Collaborative Consulting RSS

Collaborative will be a sponsor at Waters USA on December 6th

2010-12-09T00:00:00-06:00

Collaborative Consulting will be a sponsor at the upcoming Waters USA 2010 on December 6, 2010 in New York City. Waters USA is the most comprehensive event covering financial-market technologies for financial IT and brings together CIO’s, CTO’s, and decision makers from leading financial institutions to discover the innovative business and technology solutions whilst networking with their peers. For more information, please visit the Waters website.

Dan Sandler's Article Featured in Business Intelligence Journal's December Issue

2010-12-06T00:00:00-06:00

Dan Sandler's article, Best Practices for Applying Agile Practices to Data Warehouses, has been chosen to be featured in the December 6th issue of the Business Intelligence Journal, Volume 15, Number 4. Please view the article here.

MDM Governance Webinar �Understanding the Significance to Your Business

2010-06-22T00:00:00-05:00

Collaborative Consulting Data Experts, Marilyn Martin and Carrie Manzella presented a case study on Tuesday June 8th at 2:00pm on the Challenges of Implementing MDM Governance. This case study was presented at the TDWI Solutions Summit in March 2010 and generated a lot of interest. Please look for a recording of the Webinar here.

Mark Richards will be speaking at the Greater Florida Software Symposium, being held April 16 - 18, 2010 in Tampa, FL

2010-04-01T00:00:00-05:00

Collaborative Consulting's own Mark Richards will be speaking at the Greater Florida Software Symposium, being held April 16 - 18, 2010 in Tampa, FL. Mark will be holding the following four sessions at this conference.

Intro to Messaging using JMS and ActiveMQ

More and more companies are using messaging as a means for heterogeneous communication, scalability, performance, and load balancing. Why? Because messaging provides asynchronous requests, guaranteed delivery, load balancing, and ease of development. In this session I will introduce some basic messaging fundamentals, then show how easy it is to send and receive messages using the JMS API. During this session I will also show how to setup and configure ActiveMQ, an open source enterprise-wide messaging provider. By attending this session you will see how easy messaging using JMS really is!

The Art of Messaging

Messaging is both a science and an art. Messaging is a science with respect to the mechanics of the JMS API and the syntax for sending and receiving messages. However, messaging is also an art when it comes to applying the JMS API to solve real-world problems. In this session I will review some of the more common use cases for messaging and show techniques for significantly increasing both the performance and scalability of messaging-based applications. Using ActiveMQ, you will see how to create embedded brokers, solve internal application bottleneck issues, how to use asynchronous logging with Log4J and JMS, and how to significantly speed up your messaging applications. In this session I will also describe and demonstrate some emerging trends in RESTful JMS (that is, JMS over HTTP). Come to this session to find out how much fun messaging can really be!
Common AntiPatterns and how to avoid Them

In the book "97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know" (O'Reilly, 2009) I wrote about the importance of design patterns as a useful means of communication between architects and developers. Equally important to patterns is an understanding of AntiPatterns - things that we repeatably do that produce negative results. AntiPatterns are used by developers, architects, and managers every day and are one of the main factors that prevent progress and success. In this session we will look at some of the more common and significant development and architecture antipatterns. Through coding and design examples, you will see how these antipatterns emerge, how to recognize when the antipattern is being used, and most importantly, how to avoid them. By attending this session, you will be part of a movement to reduce the AntiPattern catalog from hundreds of entries to only a few.

Using Apache Camel

Apache Camel is a robust open source integration framework that handles routing and mediation tasks associated with enterprise integration. Camel allows you to quickly and easily route messages and integrate components in a distributed, decoupled manner. For example, using the Camel Java DSL, you can send and receive JMS messages in just a couple of lines of Java code. In this live coding session I will describe what Camel is, describe the overall architecture, show why it is useful, and demonstrate through live coding examples how to use the Camel Java DSL to write simple (and complex) routing logic. By attending this session you will learn Camel well enough to use it at work the next day.

For more information about this event, click here.

Collaborative and Model N partner to deliver best-in-class revenue management solutions to life sciences companies

2010-03-31T00:00:00-05:00

Burlington, Massachusetts – March 31, 2010 – Collaborative Consulting, a professional services consultancy that utilizes IT solutions to improve business performance, today announced that it has been named a preferred partner by Model N, the revenue management solutions leader. Through the partnership, Model N customers leveraging Collaborative’s consulting services will be assured that deployment of the Model N Revenue Management suite of applications will seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise applications and improve their business processes.

Collaborative brings value-add to Model N customers with extensive experience in contracting and revenue management, as well as government reporting. “Becoming a Model N partner is industry affirmation of our proven capabilities. This partnership will further instill confidence in our customers as we continue to invest in growing our services in the life sciences vertical,” said William Robichaud, President and CEO of Collaborative Consulting.

Sujay Jadhav, General Manager of Life Sciences at Model N, said, “We are pleased to welcome Collaborative Consulting as a partner. When coupled with our integrated, domain-specific Revenue Management solutions, Collaborative’s proven expertise in contracting, sales and marketing operations, information management and intelligence, and regulatory and compliance will deliver superior value to our customers.”

Chester Schwartz, Vice President of the Life Sciences practice at Collaborative Consulting, said, “Model N offers one of the best solutions in the revenue management space and will allow us to provide our clients with effective solutions to their business problems. Our synergies are a perfect complement, and as a Model N Partner, our enhanced visibility and exposure within the contracting and revenue management, Medicaid, and government pricing segments, will benefit both companies. As Collaborative Consulting continues to fulfill our dedication to providing our customers with “true value”, our partnership with Model N and its ecosystem will mutually benefit our two strong organizations.”

About Collaborative:
Collaborative Consulting is a business and technology consulting firm headquartered in Massachusetts with offices and solution centers across the Eastern seaboard serving enterprise and mid-market sized clients in the life science sector and other industries. With more than 250 practitioners and over $45MM in annual revenue, Collaborative assesses, plans, and implements technology-driven solutions at many leading enterprise- and mid-market sized companies across the nation.

Collaborative Consulting Publishes "Remediating the Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Data Environment" Point of View Paper

2010-03-10T00:00:00-06:00

Burlington, Mass. – Collaborative Consulting, a company that specializes in optimizing its clients’ business and technology capabilities, has published a point of view paper entitled "Remediating the Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Data Environment". This point of view paper examines how a company that has an existing data warehousing solution could remediate without having to completely rebuild it from scratch.

The authors are John Williams, the senior vice president at Collaborative, and the leader of its organizational services, and Chris Jennings, a director of data integration at Collaborative. In the paper, they discuss how if an organization formally looks at its implements, they may gain a lot of business benefit at a lower cost than conducting a complete re-do of the solution.

For copies of the point of view paper, or more information on Collaborative Consulting’s services, visit www.collaborative.com or call 877-376-9900.

Collaborative Appoints Chester Schwartz to Drive Contracting and Revenue Management and Compliance Practices for Life Sciences

2010-02-22T00:00:00-06:00

Collaborative Appoints Chester Schwartz to Drive Contracting and Revenue Management and Compliance Practices for Life Sciences Clientele

Burlington, Massachusetts – February 16, 2010 – Collaborative Consulting, a professional services consultancy that ties business processes with technology capabilities to accelerate business performance, today announced that Chester Schwartz, an industry leader in life sciences with extensive experience in contracting and revenue management, as well as government reporting, has joined the company to further build out its life sciences practice.

Schwartz, who has implemented solutions for clients such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Abbott, Otsuka, Eisai, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, brings a proficiency that comes at a critical time for Collaborative’s clients as healthcare reform is expected to significantly impact business. As pharmaceutical companies brace for new government regulations, companies will continue to tap Collaborative’s highly experienced team, now led by Schwartz, to help manage often unreasonable regulatory expectations of the government. Further, Schwartz’ team will be sought to establish business solutions through implementation of software vendor products, as well as assist IT with new concepts and ever-present department backlogs.

Schwartz will also lead his team in helping life sciences clients navigate mounting pressures surrounding contract analytics. Schwartz’ distinguished experience is in high demand; clients need to be able to extract and marry data to understand how their rebate and discount programs have and are influencing market share.

“This is an amazing growth area for the consulting and technology business because life sciences companies are realizing tremendous value from improving their contract management processes and systems while ensuring compliance to government regulations,” says Schwartz. “Revenue generation is at the core of their business, and the contract function only gets more complex as customers, distributors, suppliers, and governments keep applying new pressures to the industry.”

Schwartz has extensive experience in the contract life cycle management (CLM) and technology arena. During the past 30 years he has worked with most major pharmaceuticals in implementing CLM solutions. Much of his more recent work has been centered on assisting clients to address the deficit reduction act (DRA) issues affecting the pharmaceutical community. He has also served as the program director for the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, where his project team completed the planning for the implementation for a Model N solution.

According to John Williams, senior vice president and national services director at Collaborative, “Chester brings extraordinary experience, intelligence, and the pragmatic know-how to deliver real-world solutions. With Chester at the helm of the life sciences practice, Collaborative can offer real accelerants. We have the tools, the experience, and now we have the industry expertise. Collectively, this will mean quicker turnaround and cost savings for clients.”

About Collaborative:

Collaborative Consulting is a business and technology consulting firm headquartered in Massachusetts with offices and solution centers across the Eastern seaboard serving enterprise and mid-market sized clients in the life science sector and other industries. With nearly 300 practitioners and $48MM in annual revenue, Collaborative assesses, plans, and implements technology-driven solutions at many leading enterprise- and mid-market sized companies across the nation.

Kyle Parrish Presenting "Garnering Business Support for IT Efforts"

2010-02-09T00:00:00-06:00

Kyle Parrish will be presenting on “Garnering Business Support for IT Efforts” at TechMaine on March 8, 2010, the Technology Association of Maine. TechMaine is the statewide trade association for Maine's technology industries. TechMaine enhances the technology sectors through programs designed to increase awareness of the industry, develop community, industry perception and workforce development.

Kyle is one of the founders and a group manager for the Project Leadership Special Interest Group (PLSIG), which focuses on how managing perceptions and expectations, gaining and maintaining business support, and building stronger teams can deliver strategic value to organizations.

Collaborative Consulting is proud to be a part of BPMInstitute's training program for 2010

2010-02-08T00:00:00-06:00

Collaborative Consulting has been working closely with BPMInstitute for several years and will be presenting a course at their various conferences, as well as live online seminars for the remainder of 2010. The course being presented, was developed by Collaborative Consulting specifically for the BPMInstitute. The course is entitled Organizational Change Management Concepts and Strategies and gives participants an understanding of Change Management fundamentals and utilizes a case study to experience the development of a change management approach and plan.

To learn more about this specific course, click here. If you are interested in more information regarding BPMInstitute.org Certificate of training Programs, click here.

Collaborative Consulting's own Jeremy Deane will be speaking at the ServerSide Java Symposium

2010-01-21T00:00:00-06:00

Jeremy Deane, A technical Architect at Collaborative Consulting is set to Speak at The ServerSide Java Symposium March 17-19, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV.

Jeremy will be presenting the following session on “Resource-Oriented Enterprise Service Bus”.

Are you looking for an alternative to expensive complex enterprise integration solutions; one that will translate into better service management and scalability? Jeremy Deane, an expert in Resource-Oriented Architecture, Performance Engineering and Software Process Improvement, discusses the convergence of Resource-Oriented Architecture and Enterprise Integration Patterns.

An Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) provides a platform for service provisioning. The core capabilities that enable provisioning across an enterprise include addressing, routing and transformations. Addressing is the ability to specify the location of a service regardless of transport. Service routing defines a message path across a number of servers or nodes and message content transformations are implemented using XML technologies such as XSLT and proprietary adapters. Resource-Oriented Architecture goes beyond RESTful web services to provide a more extensible and transport independent foundation. A Resource-Oriented approach not only decreases time to market and lowers the cost of entry but pushes the integration functionality to the edge of the network (as a URI), translating into better service management and scalability.

This session catches you up on:

The key concepts of an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and Resource-Oriented Architecture;
The key concepts of a Resource-Oriented ESB;
Several service examples using 1060 Research’s NetKernel;
And more.

For more information about this event or to register, click here.