Communitech - I'm a convert!

Many of you have likely never heard of Communitech. Here's how they describe themselves: "...the hub for the commercialization of innovation, creating economic prosperity by removing barriers to the creation and growth of tech companies. Our goal is to create more successful global tech businesses for Canada." For those of you not living in Southwestern Ontario, it's a shame, as you likely won't have much chance to get to know them. Anyway...

We (Dynamic Intelligence) were members of Communitech several years ago, and I was frankly a bit disappointed. But at the urging/recommendation of a business peer (Rick from Virtual Causeway - thanks!), I decided to reacquaint my self with Communitech. And in short, I am really happy I did!

I spent all day yesterday attending the Tech Leadership Conference organized by Communitech. Fantastic speakers! (Clay Christensen, Bill Taylor, Noel Biderman). Great breakouts! And great networking opportunities. All in all, a day well spent.

After leaving the event, I went back to my office and started exploring their resources more, and I have to say the Communitech blog is pretty good - already found out about a couple of things I hadn't heard before.

Anyway, just wanted to commend them on a job well done, and say I'm looking forward to being a member.

NB - This is not a paid commercial for Communitech! :)  I just think they're pretty cool!

Don't just take my word for it...

I've always enjoyed having the chance to stand on my soapbox and tell people what I think... about almost anything! I find that by being upfront with partners, clients, and prospects, there's far less risk of problems down the road. So thank you to those of you who have listened to my advice/opinions/rants in the past.

Obviously some (most) of my comments are about Business Intelligence - which kind of makes sense! But I think it is really important for people to have multiple sources for their information. So listed below are a few resources that I think are of great value for those currently using Business Intelligene in their businesses, or for those considering a step down that path. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to forward them:

• The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI): This organization is not affiliated with any particular vendor, and their site has lots of great content. In particular, Wayne Eckerson always has great comments/insight.
• TDWI on Linked-In: For ongoing, community-generated discussions about BI, this is a great place to go. Highly recommended.
• BOB - BusinessObjects Forum: If you are using BusinessObjects for your BI, as either a technical resource or an end-user, this site has lots of excellent content! It has lots of willing participation from around the world. And it is independent of SAP BusinessObjects, so there is definitely some honesty there!
• SDN - The SAP Software Developers Network: I know what you're thinking, but this is NOT a plug for SAP. (They do enough of that by themselves!) But the SDN is another well-maintained site open to public contribution, and with lots of helpful people involved.
• The Kimball Group: Ralph Kimball knows more about Data Warehouses than most of us can ever hope to learn, but I also find that hte information is readable - far more so than any technical manual I've ever seen. Check out their forums, too.

This should get you started! I'll add some more soon. Also, we'll be adding some video blog pieces to youtube.com soon. Hope it's useful.

Jim