Oracle OpenWorld Blog

The Word from the Web - 11/20/2009

We're winding down our Around the World series for this year. Take a look at some of the latest nuggets from the 2009 show. If you've been part of a discussion that's been going since the It's a Wrap party, let us know about it in the comments.

What Should I Do with Old Hints in My Workload?
We're very gratified to see the conversations that started at the show are continuing online through user communities, social networks, and blogs. This entry from the Inside The Oracle Optimizer blog is a case in point. Check back for additional questions raised at the Optimizer rountable.

Oracle Open World 2009
Thanks to his observant Twitter updates and insightful blog posts, we've been able to review the show through the eyes of George Woods. Now we can see what his camera captured, too. While he's finishing up his Oracle Open World 09 from a Newbie series, we hope he'll tag his photos oow09 and add them to the Oracle OpenWorld 2009 Flickr Group.

Dreamforce Has Made a Splash, but How Does It Measure up to Oracle OpenWorld?
The IT Knowledge Hub has opened up a discussion that we are going to follow very closely. They are inviting you to weigh in on the merits of Oracle OpenWorld and the recently concluded Dreamforce event. Did you go to both? Have suggestions for us? Let us know.

Oracle Mix: The Next 100 Days
One of the places we hope you'll continue your Oracle OpenWorld conversations is on Oracle Mix. This post is from a few weeks ago, but the Mix team wants more input from you, so we thought we'd help by highlighting it here. Let us know how you use Mix, what would make you use it more, and where you see places for improvement.

OPN Specialized Launch
Our friends at the Oracle PartnerNetwork announced a huge new initiative at Oracle OpenWorld: OPN Specialized. The launch event is a little more than a week away. To get more information and register for the big event, check out the Judson Althoff Blog.

... But It's Still Going—On Demand

And it's going strong. We're happy to see that this year's post-conference activity is more robust than ever—Oracle OpenWorld On Demand has had tens of thousands of visits, and there have been more than 129,000 downloads of presentations and supporting materials to date.

We're taking this as a big thumbs up for our new and improved pricing policy: free for all full conference, Oracle Develop, and Primavera program attendees, and only US$245 for everyone else.

Missed a session? You can still catch it. Find it on the Oracle OpenWorld On Demand site.

The Value of Community

Oracle users groups are global communities whose members are some of Oracle's most active customers. At Oracle OpenWorld, users group members get the chance to meet up, compare notes on common challenges, share information on getting more value from Oracle, and express collective concerns to Oracle.

In this video you can hear Janney Eckelson from the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Oracle Users Group Community discussing his group's focus and goals with Oracle's Jeff Erickson. You'll also hear about additional users group activities throughout the year and important reasons for getting involved.

You can catch more of Jeff's user group videos on YouTube using the links below:

• Independent Oracle Users Group Community (IOUG)
• United Kingdom Oracle Users Group (UKOUG)
• Quest International Users Group
• Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG)
• Oracle Real Application Clusters Special Interest Group (RAC SIG)
• All India Users Oracle Users Group (AIOUG)
• Oracle Development Tools User Group (ODTUG)

Get a complete list of user groups, a calendar, and information on getting involved.

The Word from the Web - 11/13/2009

Have you been avoiding walking under ladders, being extra careful around mirrors, or staying out of the paths of black cats today? The more superstitious of us have been rubbing our rabbits' feet, hoping to get lucky in finding some more talk about last month's Oracle OpenWorld. We had the good fortune to find these gems for this week's Around the World.

Podcast Audio of My Oracle OpenWorld Live Interviews
If you missed any of Justin Kestelyn's interviews from the OTN Lounge, we have good news. The Oracle Technology Network guru has posted the audio from all of the TechCasts featured on Oracle OpenWorld Live.

Fully Integrated
John Parkinson, chief technology officer of a global credit and information management company, shares his thoughts about the integration road map Oracle presented at this year's show. See if you agree with his approach to the infrastructure balancing act.

On-Demand/SaaS Reality
Among the thousands of sessions and hundreds of exhibitions available at Oracle OpenWorld 2009, Gary Damiano focused on cloud computing and SaaS-based applications to better understand Oracle's intentions. Take a look at his thoughtful assessment of his days in the Moscone Center.

Exclusive Interview With Brent Leary on Social CRM and the Influence of Smart Phones
Dr. Natalie Petouhoff took some time during her Oracle OpenWorld schedule to sit down with Social CRM expert Brent Leary. Watch the video of their discussion about smart phone use that Dr. Nat just posted to her YouTube channel.

Tyler Says He Is Not Quitting Aerosmith
Earlier this week, we thought that the Oracle OpenWorld Appreciation Night might have been one of the last gigs ever for Aerosmith. But singer Steven Tyler joined guitarist Joe Perry onstage late in the week to assure fans he's not quitting. We hope not; they put on one heckuva show.

Oracle Salutes Military Men and Women

Here in the United States, we are observing Veterans Day. In Europe, today is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. We commemorate the end of major hostilities of World War I by honoring all military veterans. At Oracle OpenWorld 2009, you may have met some servicemen and women participating in Oracle's Injured Veteran Job and Training Program who took the time to share their stories with the Oracle community during the show.

Oracle's Injured Veteran Job and Training Program is specifically designed to help women and men injured in the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars transition to civilian employment. In partnership with the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, our goal is to provide injured veterans with employment experience that may lead to regular employment.

In our latest issue of Profit magazine, we meet Joshua Lawton-Belous, a vet with a traumatic brain injury who is participating in the program. He explains the difficulty some veterans have finding work when they return home, and points out the opportunities now available through the training program. Oracle's Diversity Director Jane Robertson says, "Our hope is that the folks who do participate will be significantly helped."

All of us working behind-the-scenes on Oracle OpenWorld wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the veterans—and their families—for their service and sacrifice. If you know someone interested in joining the Injured Veteran Job and Training Program, have them download and complete the application. And, please take some time today to thank the men and women who serve.

Managing Uncertainty in a Changing World

In many cases, Oracle OpenWorld activities are aimed at helping you find new and improved processes for your day-to-day business and IT operations. But the conference is also about seeing the worlds of business and technology in a new way.

In this video interview from the conference floor, Thomas Oestreich, provides just such a big picture perspective. Watch Oracle's Chief Enterprise Performance Management Strategist share his thoughts on how risk management and performance management intersect to help protect against uncertainty.

For more Oracle videos, visit Oracle's YouTube channel.

The Word from the Web - 11/06/2009

The chatter about the show on the InterWebs is slowing down a bit, but we still found some interesting reading about your experiences at Oracle OpenWorld 2009. If you haven't been featured in our Around the World series, take this opportunity to add your two cents in our comments section.

Tweeters Attending OOW09
Before the show, we told you about—and added ourselves to—the list George Woods put together of Twitter users headed to Oracle OpenWorld 2009. Now that Twitter has released its Lists feature to all users, George has turned his list into a Twitter List. Follow it to keep in touch with all the great connections you made at the show.

Open World Wrap Up
Debra Lilley has been itching to talk about Fusion Applications. Now—finally—she can. But she also shares her overall impressions of the 2009 event. Check out both posts to get the perspective of the Deputy Chairman of the UKOUG.

Meeting My Fans
One of our favorite attendees at this year's show was Stanley, The ACE Vest. His agenda was very busy, including an Unconference session, despite recent surgery. But that didn't keep him away from his fans. See who shares a love for both Stanley and the great blue yonder. (Editor's note: Has anyone else noticed Stanley and Debra have similar writing styles?)

Oracle Usability Labs—A Day In The Life
Project Manager (and self-confessed BBQ King) Floyd Teter landed in San Francisco a few days before the start of Oracle OpenWorld for some preshow business he promised would "rock in the extreme." He wasn't kidding. Turns out, he spent the day at our Usability Lab here on campus. Take a look at what got him away from the BBQ grill a few days early.

Canadian Partnership Against Cancer Uses Oracle to Connect Patients, Doctors, and Research

Oracle OpenWorld is all about learning, and one way you can do that at the conference is by meeting with leaders and peers in various industries. We record these session so you can hear from people who use Oracle products to make a difference in their organizations, and in the world at large.

In this short video, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's Director of IT Wayne Roberts explains how Oracle WebCenter Suite 11g and Oracle Secure Enterprise Search are helping his organization connect cancer patients, scientists, and caregivers. Using Oracle software, he's been able to create a community that enables collaboration—accelerating change in cancer management and research throughout Canada.

For more Oracle videos, visit our YouTube channel.

The Word from the Web - 10/30/2009

We're still scaring up what a lot of you are sharing about what you saw, heard, and learned at Oracle OpenWorld 2009. Take a look at our latest finds from the Web in this week's Around the World. If you have some tricks or treats to share about the show, let us know in the comments.

Oracle Open World 09 from a Newbie, Part 2
Oracle DBA and first-time attendee George Woods is putting together a few posts about his trip to San Francisco for the show. We got a mention in part one, and we're looking forward to part 3.

Reflections on a Different OpenWorld
We found the OracleBIBlog observations about the show refreshing. As long-time Oracle observers, it's nice to see the evolution of our product roadmap—and our presentation of it—from the eyes of show veterans.

NZ Developers Push Hard at OpenWorld
Rob O'Neill followed some independent software vendors from New Zealand to the Moscone Center. He put together a report for Computerworld about the return on their booth investments. See how they fared.

Banging on the Integration Drum
Malaysia's most widely-read English-language daily shares a great synopsis of our efforts to make your IT infrastructure work together flawlessly. From Oracle Exadata V2 to Oracle's JD Edwards ERP to the new Oracle Application Integration Architecture, writer Kelly Goh wraps it all together.

Oracle OpenWorld Fusion Apps Blogger Extravaganza
We found a large—and growing—collection of posts about Oracle Fusion Applications over at the InfoBox blog. Technical Director for HR Systems, Michael Krupa, has put together a great resource for perusing the variety of opinions out there. Give them a look, and share your own.

20 Amazing Pumpkin Carvings
Lastly—since some of you may be rushing to finish up your Halloween decorations before the first trick-or-treaters ring your bell—we thought we'd provide some inspiration for your pumpkin carving activities. We're particularly fond of the Iron Man design, for obvious reasons. Happy Halloween.

What You Said and What We Learned

One of the most rewarding aspects of being at Oracle OpenWorld is meeting with attendees. We wanted to focus some of the discussion to find out your opinions about our event. So we invited you to share your thoughts at an Unconference session on the last day of the show.

Our informal roundtable of about two dozen people included a DBA, a PeopleSoft developer, and a government consultant, as well as Paul Salinger, Oracle VP of Marketing, OTN Editor-in-Chief Justin Kestelyn, and Tim and Marius from our hashtag#oow09 show. Here are a few things we found interesting during the discussion:

Better Unconference Promotion

Most of you loved the Unconference opportunity and style, but a few noted that it needed better promotion. It's a vital part of what makes the show great, so we'll make sure more people know about it next time.

More Mobile Updates
You want more opportunities to get updates on your handhelds. Whether its accessing our e-mails, receiving text messages about schedule changes, or using Bluetooth technology to share session audience information, we want to keep you informed. We're looking into all of your great suggestions.

Where's the Tweetup?
Sure, we had a Bloggers Meetup, but a few of you were surprised that there was no official Tweetup scheduled during the show. This was especially disappointing since George Woods put together such an extensive list of Tweeters attending. We promise to make amends in 2010.

Thanks to all those who attended the Unconference session. If you didn't get a chance to make it because you were still recovering from the Appreciation Event or glued to Oracle OpenWorld Live, you can still add to the discussion. We're following your updates and blog posts, and we read all your comments on our blog.

Another important way of weighing in is to take advantage of the Conference Survey. Your ideas and opinions get sent straight to the events team who have the monumental task of putting the show together every year. Let them know what you think so that your impressions and suggestions can shape an even better Oracle OpenWorld 2010.