The Feature

2007 OpenWorld Presentations Available for Download

November 20, 2007 on 2:03 pm | by Marian Crkon | In Worth Noting | 2 Comments |  Print |  Email

As several bloggers have pointed out already, few selected presentations from the 2007 OpenWorld are now available for download. Use the following credentials: username: cboracle, password: oraclec6.   Â

OpenWorld in the Rearview Mirror

November 14, 2007 on 10:23 pm | by Marian Crkon | In Worth Noting | 3 Comments |  Print |  Email

I have completed my attendance at the OpenWorld and thought I share some of my impressions and experiences.

Opening Night

I really enjoyed the initial key note by Larry Ellison, in which he took a walk down the memory lane and shared his memories of the early days at Oracle. We saw pictures of the first four four Oracle employees, first Oracle office door, Chuck Phillips in the uniform, Safra Catz as teenager [now I understand why they hired her], and Oracle Parkway under construction… I read and heard some negative comments about the event and they really surprised me. I appreciated Mr. Ellison’s sharing his emotions and showing his soft side. Thirty years is a long time and a great accomplishment for any company. Congratulations Oracle!

Applications Unlimited

Oracle reinforced the message that they will continue to invest in, develop, and improve the existing suites of applications. One little nuance I noticed during the Jasper Andersen key note was that the Applications Unlimited program was really a tiered program and the duration of the support provided to you depends on the support tier you purchase.

Application Integration Architecture

Oracle announced the availability of the Application Integration Architecture as a way of using its latest technology advancements to bring best practices to its application customers. You read more here.

Fusion Applications

Good things come to those who wait. And we will have to wait for several months and years for good things to come as Fusion Applications. According to Larry Ellison’s announcements in his second key note, the first Fusion Applications will start arriving in early 2008 and be focused on salesforce automation, with pre-built integration packs for Oracle’s E-Business Suite. Instead of creating massive applications, such as a full CRM, Financials or HR suites, Oracle is starting with focused modules, based on Fusion Middleware, that integrate with existing applications. In his key note, Mr. Ellison said, “I can’t press a button and have them all be Fusion apps. It has to be a gradual, evolutionary process.” Then he said that Oracle will ultimately rewrite all of its applications and have a Fusion version for every functional area. Full Fusion suites will take years to surface… For more news and commentary, follow our News section.

Ed Abbo and Steve Miranda showed some pretty cool features Oracle has done in the Social Apps space built with their Fusion Middleware, and few sneak peaks at Fusion Applications. Read the full article by Dan Farber of ZDNet.

Oracle Mix

I am really excited about Oracle Mix, a new social platform for sharing ideas about the future of Oracle products. We’ve been calling for something like this on this and other blogs for quite some time, and I give Oracle a lot of credit for making the Mix available. I only hope that the Mix will be actively monitored and responded to by Oracle Product Managers and, unlike Metalink or OAUG forums, it will have more answers than questions. Check it out for yourself and get actively involved!

Leaving Disappointed

To sum it all up, I was leaving the OpenWorld disappointed. While being herded with other 40,000+ attendees from one session to another under the signs and sounds of never ending infomercials, I kept thinking there must be a better way to meet people and transfer information. The highlight of the week was seeing my old-time colleagues and friends. My other expectations to learn more about R12 and Fusion were left unfulfilled. Some R12 product sessions were actually frustrating. A PowerPoint presentation with hundreds of people in a room was not a very effective format to show new software features and conduct meaningful discussions. Every time a presenter asked for someone’s email to answer a question or provide more details later, I kept wondering, where is your blog? Every Oracle product manager should have one. You just can’t get your message across efficiently with limited time and crowded room. I may be biased since it was my first time at the COLLABORATE and OpenWorld this year and both events were quite overwhelming.

Attending the Oracle OpenWorld 2007

October 17, 2007 on 9:17 pm | by Marian Crkon | In Worth Noting | 2 Comments |  Print |  Email

Here is that time of the year again when Oracle opens its doors to its customers and partners and invites them all to the biggest party on the block, the Oracle OpenWorld 2007, November 11-15th at Moscone Center in San Francisco. It is also that time of the year when Oracle professionals have to decide whether to go to San Francisco, or not, and what to expect if we go there.

This is my first time at the OOW. Oracle made my decision somewhat easier this time by inviting Oracle bloggers to attend the conference. I appreciate the gesture and the recognition of a vibrant blogging community. Take this as my first disclosure for anything I write from the OOW and know that Oracle waived my registration fee.

The OOW 2007 promises to be bigger and better than ever [I am not sure bigger is better in this case]. The conference motto is “Learn, Experience and Connect” and it will be interesting to see how that works out with 1,600 planned sessions in five days! In addition to some usual agenda items like executive keynotes and solution sessions, expert tracks and sessions, partner demos, hands-on labs, etc. I am excited to see few conference experiments. It will be interesting to check out:

OpenWorld Connect

The Open World Connect is an online tool for attendees to network with peers, schedule meetings, establish and join interest groups, chat in real time, etc. I believe you can only sign up for the OOW Connect if you are a registered conference attendee. However, there are several RSS feeds you can subscribe to stay connected with the happennigs at the conference:

• Oracle Technology Network (OTN)
• Oracle Partners Network (OPN)
• Oracle Applications Users Group
• IOUG
• E-Business Suite Financials
• eBusiness Suite 12i Upgraders
• Oracle Bloggers

OpenWorld Unconference

This one should be interesting. For the first time ever at Oracle OpenWorld, attendees will have the opportunity to directly participate by presenting their own session or workshop on a topic they’re passionate about, in an informal, interactive setting.

What I Hope For

I am hoping to learn about new features, functionality, and solutions in eBusiness Suite 11i and 12. I would also like to know the current status of Fusion Applications, especially in the light of the rumored resignation of John Wookey. I am also hoping to get more involved with the SIG groups and meet in person many of my peers that I only know by name.

When reviewing the eBusiness Suite tracks, several sessions caught my attention, including:

• OAUG XML Publisher SIG The OAUG XML Publisher SIG will discuss topics on Oracle XML Publisher, a Java-based product within the Oracle Fusion Middleware family.

• OAUG Accounts Payable SIG A discussion on current AP Best Practices, the latest in AP Technologies and an opportunity to interact with members of the Oracle Product Management team.

• OAUG Projects SIG The OAUG Projects SIG will address topics of interest to those using Oracle Projects applications with opportunities for networking and sharing ideas.

• OAUG Fusion Council The OAUG Fusion Council assists in keeping the user community current on the vision for next-generation enterprise technologies, applications and services that will revolutionize business. This involves PeopleSoft, E-Business Suite and JD Edwards.

• Oracle E-Business Suite Financials Release 12 and Beyond In addition to new architectural components, Oracle E-Business Suite Financials Release 12 has hundreds of other new features. I am planning to attend this session to gain an understanding of the value these new features offer customers, and get a glimpse of what’s being planned for the next Oracle E-Business Suite Financials release.

• Oracle and Web 2.0: Applying the Principles of Social Networks, Collaboration, and the New Web to How Oracle Does Business This is the session I am most excited about! The Web 2.0 technology such as wikis, blogs, and tagging are just enablers for a new kind of organization. … [we should] hear about the trends that matter and see live examples of how Oracle is improving its operations inside the strategy organization via the new Web.

• Real Estate Store Construction and Refurbishment with Oracle Projects and Oracle Property Manager Learn how Oracle Projects and Oracle Financials can manage the full lifecycle of a facility: from initial site selection through construction, store opening, and refurbishment.

• Oracle Projects: You’ve Got Questions; We’ve Got Answers In-depth answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the latest functionality available in Oracle Projects. It highlights real-world examples gathered from customers and partners.

• Leverage the Power of Billing Extensions in Oracle Projects: Five Common Requirements Met This session shows how to solve five common problems by using extensions.

• Personalizing and Extending Oracle E-Business Suite by Using the Oracle Applications Framework This case study examines best practices learned in implementing, personalizing, and extending an Oracle E-Business Suite application by use of the Oracle Applications Framework.

Hope to see you in San Francisco! If you are not planning on attending, stay connected by using the available online resources, including this and other Oracle blogs…

OpenWorld Presentation Slides Available For Download

October 31, 2006 on 2:35 pm | by Floyd Teter | In Worth Noting | Enter Comments |  Print |  Email

The PowerPoint slides for presentations from Oracle OpenWorld 2006 are now available for download here. Use the search engine to search for presentations by track, day, presenter name or keyword. It’s the next best thing to being there!

Not Attending Oracle OpenWorld? Go to the Web!

October 25, 2006 on 10:08 am | by Marian Crkon | In Worth Noting | Enter Comments |  Print |  Email

For the ones not lucky enough to be paid for having fun at user conferences, here are few virtual sources of information worth visiting:

Oracle OpenWorld 2006 Home

An obvious starting place to get information about the conference. It is mostly tailored to the conference attendees but provides some useful links for the rest of us who are attending virtually.

Oracle OpenWorld 2006 Keynotes

Conference keynotes and webcasts by Oracle executives and other industry luminaries.

Oracle OpenWorld Podcasts

Justin Kestelyn, OTN’s Editor-in-Chief, is recording a series of tech podcasts at OpenWorld on OTN TECHBLOG.

Oracle Blogs

Follow a feed of recent posts from Oracle bloggers attending the conference.

AppsZone

Stay tuned to our own news aggregator for OpenWorld news from blogs and other media.

Personally, in addition to key notes, I’d like to see more subject-matter webcasts online. I encourage every application product manager, program manager and SIG chair to start their own blog where we can all participate and have an ongoing dialogue about product direction, new features and changes, etc. instead of relying on a week long crescendo. There is only so much you can do with conferences and news releases.

Fusion Sessions at OpenWorld

October 14, 2006 on 4:02 pm | by Floyd Teter | In Oracle Press, Worth Noting | Enter Comments |  Print |  Email

I’ve been working with my friends over at Solution Beacon to develop a list of Fusion-related sessions at OpenWorld. Although things can and will change even after OpenWorld begins, as of now that list looks like this:

So, to all of you wrapped up in all the fuss over Fusion…see you at the show!