Executive Update

Vice President of CGI's AMS Advantage Program

Whether I am collaborating with people electronically or onsite, I am always energized by the sprit and innovation of the AMS Advantage client community. Over the past few months, I have been on the road experiencing this first hand.

It was also my opportunity to update our clients on my goals: strengthen and grow the AMS Advantage Program.

One of our current focuses is building awareness in the minds of potential AMS Advantage clients. CGI has a full calendar of state and local industry events planned for 2011, but this is just the beginning. We feel it is also important to engage potential clients on a more personal level.

I am proud to report we have completed a successful webinar in March! We reached out to state and local governments running legacy ERP solutions and they responded with a robust audience of interested CIOs, CFOs, Financial, Budget, and Procurement and HR Supervisors. Delivered in partnership with Wake County, North Carolina, the webinar focused on the unique challenges of government, the benefits of built-for-government functionality, and the benefits Wake County has achieved with AMS Advantage ERP. While my team and I work on the next steps with these organizations, I invite you to view the webinar recording on-demand.

I am very pleased to announce that CGI has launched an Enterprise Intelligence360 offering that improves and expands our AMS infoAdvantage capabilities from AMS Advantage ERP specific use to enterprise-wide use. Please visit the Business Intelligence and Reporting Booth at CGI Forum 2011 Online to learn how we can help with your enterprise business intelligence needs including mobile reporting for PDAs, performance dashboards, and citizen facing transparency sites. In addition, watch for your invitation to an in-depth CGI webinar on May 25^th.

Further, this year we have expanded our partnership with the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE). As many of you know, NASPE is the recognized authority on state government human resource issues, trends, practices and policies. As a corporate member, CGI has the opportunity to network with senior-level HR executives, build awareness with potential clients and demonstrate our leadership in the industry.

We have also partnered with a new association this year, Public Technology Institute (PTI). As the only technology organization created by and for cities and counties, PTI actively supports local government executives and elected officials through research, education and national recognition programs. For example, Mesa, Arizona, the latest addition to the AMS Advantage client community, and Austin, Texas were recently honored by PTI for their IT initiatives. Congratulations!

The winter months were a time of continued collaboration. Our Product Managers kicked off three new Focus Groups with the client community, ESS Wizard Redesign, Workers Compensation and Archiving/ECM, all aimed at identifying business scenarios, helping define functionality and prioritizing functional requirements. Together, these groups will map the future of AMS Advantage ERP. You can still participate by logging in to the Discussion Gateway and weighing in with your thoughts. You can hear more about the results of Focus Groups like these from Dale Kress, CGI’s AMS Advantage Procurement Product Manager.

Speaking of the Discussion Gateway, Olmsted County, Minnesota has shared how the Gateway helped with an AMS Advantage Human Resource Management question recently, plus some details on what they are working on now, including the recent adoption of CGI’s Automated Testing Services.

Finally, don’t forget to mark your calendar for CGI Forum 2011 Online, CGI’s online education and networking event for the AMS Advantage client community, May 17, 18, and 19. We have a full schedule of 32 sessions covering every product area, including best practices, product direction and new products such as AMS Advantage Manager Self Service, PunchOut and e-Ordering and Enterprise Intelligence360 – all available with the launch of Release 3.9 in June 2011.

Thank you for your continued support,

Daniel Keene
CGI Vice President, AMS Advantage Program