TopDown Blog

TopDown Consulting has joined Archetype
By Juan Porter on November 8th, 2018
When I founded TopDown Consulting in 2000, I knew we unlocked something special. Over the last two decades, we experienced tremendous growth and faced significant challenges. I’ve learned a lot, including things from many of you and from watching other companies and their decisions in the space. That’s why I’m excited to share with you…

NEW Data Load Possibilities in Cloud Data Management & FDMEE
By Thomas Thuresson on December 21st, 2017
As the number of cloud applications increases, many companies still find themselves in a position where they need to integrate data between on-premise and cloud applications. FDMEE offers a number of different features, including Hybrid Implementation Support, which lets you extract data from your on-premise HFM application and load it to the cloud. This new blog post goes over additional data load possibilities in FDMEE.
Consolidations and Oracle FCCS?
By TopDown Team on December 19th, 2017
Finance teams are increasingly looking to technology for more agility, scalability, and deeper insights into the business partnering role. In 2017, readers were seeking new ways to get better reporting out of their financial systems. Now we’ll extend the discussion to Oracle FCCS.
Consolidations in ERP or OneStream
By Mike Arnoldy on December 18th, 2017
If your ERP systems will do consolidations, you may be asking the question: How would I benefit from spending the extra money to implement a separate CPM application for Financial Consolidation and Reporting?
Top 10 Blog Posts of 2017
By TopDown Team on December 18th, 2017
Every year TopDown showcases our top content for the year with the Top 10 most popular blog posts. These are topics that most interest clients, referral sources, editors, Oracle, and even competitors recognize who all recognize us as one of the foremost authorities on, and the go-to organization for, Enterprise Performance Management solutions on-premise and in the cloud.
Another Look at Reconciling Data
By Mike Arnoldy on November 7th, 2017
Most organizations severely underestimate what it takes to reconcile data. They often don’t consider how much historical data is needed and other items that need to be accounted for. The best way to make sure data reconciliation is smooth and mostly uneventful is to take a planned and considered approach.
Considering a Move to Essbase in the Cloud?
By Thomas Thuresson on November 1st, 2017
One of the major benefits of an OAC and Essbase cloud platform is that there are no hardware capital and direct operating costs and no software maintenance fees. Instead, you pay a monthly subscription fee based on the performance you require. Another cloud benefit is the patching and update process.
Are Your Oracle EPM Systems Out of Support Without You Knowing It?
By TopDown Team on October 24th, 2017
The good news is that Oracle has extended support to 2020 for on-premise EPM applications but what you may not realize is that you are likely still not fully supported. The policy is vague about the version numbers, making it seem like any number after 11.1.2.x is supported. The missing piece is the Error Correction Policy, which indicates only specific versions and patches are fully supported.
The EPM Report from Oracle OpenWorld 2017
By TopDown Team on October 11th, 2017
Oracle’s annual get together for 60,000+ people who want to learn about the latest and greatest innovations on the horizon. We heard a lot of big announcements of cool things like Autonomous Database, emerging technologies, and new releases for EPM.
Oracle Analytics and Essbase in the Cloud
By Thomas Thuresson on October 4th, 2017
Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC) is Oracle’s first Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering in the EPM space. This is where you’ll find Essbase in the Cloud. The main differences between a PaaS and a Software as a Service (SaaS), such as ePBCS, is that you “own” the platform and have server level access and control. Maintenance, such as backups and patches and upgrades, is controlled by the customer. Patches are released by Oracle on a regular basis, but you decide when to apply them.
What Do Oracle Top 10 Cloud Predictions Mean for EPM?
By TopDown Team on September 11th, 2017
Oracle recently released their 2017 Top 10 cloud predictions for the broader information technology space, so, what do they mean for Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)? In this Blog Series, we’ll take a closer look at some of Oracle’s predictions, including what they mean and how they might affect your business.
Data Validations Leading Practices
By TopDown Team on August 9th, 2017
Over my 15 plus years of consulting, one of the great constants in working with Oracle Hyperion EPM is that you cannot hide from data validations. It must be done. One of the eternal questions is: “Does the data tie out?” And of course, we know that the answer must always be an affirmative. In…