The Feature

Interview with the guys from Oracle AppsLab

December 6, 2007 on 5:53 pm | by Marian Crkon | In Conversations | |  Print |  Email

It is my pleasure and honor to introduce Paul Pedrazzi and Jake Kuramoto from Oracle. Paul and Jake [along with Rich Manalang and Anthony Lai] are behind exciting Oracle projects like OracleAppsLab and Mix. We virtually connected this morning to chat about what they are up to.

Marian: Good morning. Well, thank you very much for joining in!

Paul: No problem. Glad to speak with you.

Jake: Thanks for inviting us!

Let me start with a traditional first question: How did you end up being Oracle professionals?

I’ll speak for myself and let Jake give his background. I worked in financial consulting for a while with Deloitte and Touche, then jumped to the internet via a consulting start up, and after that went under, I joined Peoplesoft. I have spent the last 6 years or so with the Oracle Journal Entry Reserve Ledger Report group doing marketing, strategy and product management. The latest role is Web 2.0 and AppsLab.

I started at Oracle as a sales consultant, and then bounced over to technical implementation consulting in EBS on R11. Then I took a Bubble-sabbatical, and came back to development in EBS Financials in 2001.

Bubble-sabbatical? That’s a good way to describe it! What are you responsible for now?

Jake and I both work in AppsLab. It is our “think tank” for all new tech but the 2.0 mostly seems to be on people’s radar. Our job is to Understand, Adopt (internally and in products), and Evangelize new technologies. So that’s what we try to do.

That sounds like a fun job. You get paid for looking into cool stuff? What is OracleAppsLab? How would you describe it to people outside the “geek crowd”?

Crazy, huh? We are pretty lucky. We are a lab in the truest sense of the word. We investigate, play and generally try out new things. But instead of [experimenting with] physical things, it’s virtual. We’ll take ideas and technology and put them together to see what makes sense. To see what sticks, if you will. Take an example like tagging. No one really knows how to apply it to business or even if it makes sense. So we apply that to our business and see. Sometimes we succeed, other times it blows up. But that’s OK. We figure that out before we hand it to customers. That’s our job.

Are you experimenting with applying new technologies to the applications specifically, or all Oracle products in general?

Our charter is to influence Oracle Applications. However, our reach is much broader. There is not a group inside Oracle that has not seen our projects. So applications, middleware, database, and even teams like events marketing, PR and others are figuring our how to apply 2.0 to be more productive. We have started to see a sea change internally, it’s very exciting. Oracle is a big company, but many of these teams are extremely nimble and innovative.

In your recent post, Jake, you compared the adoption of the internet in early 90s to the current popularity of Facebook, Twitter or blogging… Could you elaborate?

It’s a similar time and a similar feeling to the mid-90s. Same change agents, same resistance, but eventually, I think the same results. People will see value and use these new, disruptive technologies for their own ends. Facebook, Twitter, blogging all have image problems now, since they’re seen as trivial, but the core principles apply to business.

How do you define Web 2.0? Everyone has been using that term for few years now. What does it mean to you?

I would agree that there is a similar feeling of optimism in the air, but behind the scenes the world is different. Today, you do not see the same insane valuations across the board for silly notions that had no real business behind them. I also see that funding levels have become more reasonable, i.e. less money vs. large investments. So in the end, the optimism is there, but it’s tempered – it’s wiser.

That said, I think we are at the beginning and the new wave of Web 2.0. Start-ups have taught us a lot about how people really will use the Internet going forward.

Web 2.0 means a more participatory, people-centric model of the Internet. It’s revolutionary in a way. It’s enabling the individual to really have a voice. Simply stated, it’s about social software.

Web 2.0 for me is all about participation and community.

Could you give us few examples of how Web 2.0 is bringing innovation to Oracle products?

As I mentioned, Web 2.0 is infecting us at all levels. Of course we have examples today of some applications “mashing” up their content with the perennial Google maps - we also have new CRM apps that have very rich user interface and a more viral distribution model (as an opposite to shipping a CD). Furthermore, we have our middleware division pushing hard on areas like communities, tagging and more.

Aside from products we have even adopted a more web centric model of interacting with our customers via sites like Oracle Mix. Across the board, we are doing a lot, but it’s just the beginning. I expect to see even bigger changes in the coming years.

Being an Oracle EBS consultant and user, I am very interested in the applications design and development. And frankly, I feel like the link between the makers and the users of the applications is broken. R12 is being gradually adopted by the marketplace with most people not knowing what’s in it or why to buy it.

The R12 feature scope deadline was two years ago. It is very difficult to get people excited about new products with such a long development cycle. Personally, that’s where I am hoping tools like Mix can help.

Amen, Marian!

We will see how Mix turns out. I am afraid of the “information overload”… Just look at Metalink forums…

Yep, overload can be an issue - we hope to have some features that help mitigate that - like voting and RSS. But it’s a real challenge for us in how we build these types of systems. In truth, if we get customers and development talking, that’s the big win. We want the relationships to be built, and then the communication takes care of itself. Fundamentally, a computer system can’t replace relationships.

Information overload is a risk. I think a percentage of people have a preferred way to talk to Oracle, MetaLink, OTN, etc. Mix offers another way for customers (and the community) to reach us. I expect people will find their preferred way and stick with that.

Let’s distinguish between customers (buyers) and users for a minute. How can users, people who actually use the applications every day, get more involved in the design process? How do we create this “application culture” where user experience, functionality, and efficiency of the applications are the main focus?

Also, the design process is only a start. After the applications are available, how do we use Web 2.0 tools to help “spreading the word” about the new features, benefits, etc…

So let’s talk the design process first. We already have many areas to involve users like focus groups, customer visits, on-site visits, usability tests and more. Those are all good but Mix is an effort to scale that. We want more, broader feedback. Initially, we look for ideas like new features, strategic areas of investment, etc. But over time, we hope to deepen what it can do to say, help plan specific releases, or to market upcoming online testing we may do. The future is wide open from that perspective.

As for “spreading the word”, this is where it becomes very interesting and where the power of social networks is quite large. The strength of a social network is “trust”. You should have some level of trust with those you have networked with. If you don’t, there is very little reason to “connect” to them. BUT once you have trust, lots can happen. For example, take news. Lots of news out there. How do you decide what to read? Personally I read very little of the generic media. BUT if a friend sends me a link a friend I trust then I read it every time. This is the power of trust.

So take that to Mix. If you and I are connected and you trust me cause we both use EBS 11.5.10 and have talked about it and I tell you that 12 is great or point you to a new whitepaper or a webinar on the new features, you’ll likely read or watch. That is how sharing happens in our world.

Sounds like you really hope to and encourage people to Mix it up!

The Oracle EBS Technology blog by Steven Chan and his team is another excellent example of what I am talking about. It greatly supplements the official Oracle channels and provides a place for feedback, discussions, exchange of resources in the area of EBS technology. As I mentioned in my review of the OOW, I wish every product group and SIG had a blog like that. Perhaps, Oracle could encourage and formalize that process…

Steven’s blog is great. And yes, I too wish every group had one. But Web 2.0 just does not work well under mandates. Passion has to be at the core and living a more transparent life has to be in your DNA. It is one of the main reasons AppsLab exists - to get people to live 2.0. Once they do, the problem you state goes away.

We have already seen new Oracle teams start blogs that didn’t know what blogging was 6 months ago. If you go with mandates you’ll fail. You need to find the root cause why others aren’t blogging, then you can succeed.

That is so true. It takes passion and willingness to openness to be able to blog [not to mention time and energy]. Oracle DBAs and other technology types (aka, the geeks) have had blogs forever. I find it interesting that the technical guys use blogs to connect and show their “personal” side, while the functional types use blogs as more professional resources…

We have successfully brought several strategy and development teams and people into blogging. For example, Dave Haimes, a development manager on Intercompany blogs about R12 Intercompany. He’s inviting customers to talk Intercompany on his site.

What are your other favorite blogs in your readers, Oracle and otherwise?

Aside from the Feature?

Of course!

We have our OPML on the site so you can see them all. But my favorite is Marc Andreesen’s blog right now, and maybe Joel on Software; they are both solid.

I enjoy uncov, although it’s not for everyone. Topical stuff: Eddie Awad, Floyd Teter, a couple others.

Let’s switch gears for a minute. How did the acquisitions change Oracle?

I’ll let Jake take that one.

Hey, I always get that one. Acquisitions have given us shots in the arm. New people, new methods, new products. It’s been great overall. Jasper Andersen started AppsLab. He, Paul and Rich are all from PeopleSoft.

So, it’s been great internally because we’ve got an influx of new ideas to test drive. You can’t get that organically. People are critical of the ”acquiring innovation” tag line that Charles mentioned at OOW. But it’s pretty true from what I’ve seen, and I’ve been around a while. People outside Oracle like Floyd Teter have noticed that as well.

I also noticed a general shift in focus to the applications. R12 and mainly Fusion will show how much customers and users will benefit. That’s a whole different topic, perhaps for another time.

Did you have any other questions or items you’d like us to mention today?

I think you hit the main points. I think we are really pushing the envelope with using social software both internally (Connect) and with customers (Mix). More work to do, but lots of good energy at Oracle.

I’m interested to see what your readers think, and obviously, we’ll look for you and your readers on Mix.

Well, thank you very much for your time and opinions. I really appreciate it! Keep up the great work at AppsLab and good luck with Mix and other innovative ideas!

Thanks for the time.

THANK YOU GUYS!

And I encourage all of you readers to comment on how Oracle can use new innovative technologies to improve its applications and other products. If you have ideas on how to enhance Oracle products, Mix it up a bit!