Stachanov has been active in training and education in the field of risk management, investment strategies, and microfinance operations at many private firms and universities, such as Nyenrode Business University and Vlerick Business School. One of our bigger projects consists of providing Monte Carlo simulation training courses in close cooperation with Oracle®.
For over 10 years, Stachanov has been working as an official Oracle® partner for the Crystal Ball application. We are responsible for sales and marketing activities in the Benelux; the organization of seminars in Europe, Africa and the Middle-East; lectures for universities and trade organisations; application and model development; and support with bespoke consulting.
Oracle Crystal Ball
Crystal Ball is an easy-to-use simulation programme that helps professionals from diverse industries to analyse their Excel-modeled risks and uncertainties.
Almost all MS Excel models are deterministic. This means that the inputs are fixed to one value, to one cell. One can only see one solution at a time. A Monte Carlo simulation is a way to quickly generate and analyse many possible results. MS Excel by itself cannot run these simulations, so an add-on program such as Crystal Ball is needed in order to do this.
Most models used throughout most industries use stochastic variables as building blocks. The exact values of the variables are hard to predict, but important information can be discerned with the analysis of historical data, or through the gut feeling and expertise of the model’s author.
Whatever is used, Crystal Ball allows for easy integration of additional knowledge, and assigns standard or custom-made distributions to describe the behaviour of variables, allowing for a sophisticated model. The Monte Carlo simulations test the model for a large number of trials. The forecast values are posted in a frequency table and a number of statistical reports. These allow for valuable conclusions regarding the forecast. Click here to go to the official co-branded Stachanov / Oracle Crystal Ball website:
Crystal Ball is quickly becoming the Monte-Carlo modelling tool for a diverse group of industries. Stachanov has gained thorough experience with the following solutions that we have been providing to our customers:
Distribution of the Oracle Crystal Ball application
Companies and private clients have the option to order their Oracle® Crystal Ball licenses from Stachanov directly at the same Oracle® rates and conditions. The advantage of working with Stachanov is the excellent service that is provided for smaller and larger orders, and the availability of consultants that are ready and willing to answer the clients’ questions. Stachanov supplies among others ProRail, the Amsterdam Construction Agency (IBA), the Ministry of Agriculture, and BAM Group.
Training and education
Stachanov has delivered lectures at the VU University in Amsterdam, the Vlerick School of Management in Louvain and Ghent, the Netherlands Business School Nyenrode, and the University of Santiago de Compostela. Open courses have been organised in cooperation with Oracle® in Paris, Brussels, London, Frankfurt, Zürich, and Amsterdam. Applications have been developed for Merck-Serono in Darmstadt and Geneva, Vesteda in Amsterdam and Maastricht, and for the Agence de Transfert de Technologie Financière (ATTF) in Luxembourg. Our seminars are VAT-free, thanks to our CRKBO enlistment.
Customised training courses
Besides standard training courses, we offer customised training that is highly specialised and tailored to your own needs and interests.
Consulting
Industry sectors that we have in-depth knowledge of include consulting and education, banking and finance, oil, gas and energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, transport and traffic, manufacturing, and education.
Application development
Stachanov consists of a team of highly qualified mathematicians and MS Excel specialists, which enables us to build excellent models - whether conceptual, interactive or financial.
Additional MS Excel add-in expertise and consulting
Besides a firm understanding of the Crystal Ball add-on for Excel, we are specialised in a variety of Excel plug-ins regarding statistical computing and the auditing of spreadsheets. Auditing add-ins allow for cleaning up, rationalising, and therefore truly understanding spreadsheet models.