OK I'm semi techincal!

I started this blog by saying I wasn't very technical. In the office they laugh at me and say I am pretty technical and when I presented at RMOUG I even had a slide to say I wasn't but now I am.

What motivates me to speak. Not sure really, I do get nervous but only in the few minutes before a session when I panic no one will turn up. Once at Collaborate a few years ago I was on my way to my session and was telling a friend this, someone who I didn't know tapped me on the shoulder and said they were coming to my session because I have a 'lovely English accent', I wish it was the content but I am not fussy and will take what I can get.

What does motivate me is people understanding how something Oracle does relates to them, originally this would have been around E Business Suite or Discoverer, and then my main area of expertise Fusion Applications, and nothing pleases me more than when someone tells me my presentation made sense of something they didn't understand before.

SO back to the technical title, it started on my birthday which I spent with many friends after RMOUG up in the Rocky Mountains, my friends mainly other Oracle speakers are very technical and many are the top names who always draw a crowd. They told me I had to stop the 'I'm not technical' and I started trying the 'I'm not very technical'.



Then two things happened to turn it around completely, first I gave my first ACE FMW demo of SOA and EBS in Sweden for the Nordic Oracle Applications User Group. The feedback from delegates was really positive, then I gave the same demo to the technical team at Fujitsu and I can tell you that was the most nervous I have been for any demo.

Then last weekend i read the online scoring from RMOUG. My score was really high and that pleased me but several people said the worst thing was my constant apologising for not being technical when I obviously am. So I guess I am technical enough to understand what is going on and then can explain it to others.

I must go now I have to write 'I am Technical!' 1000 times before I give my next FMW demo in Dubai this week.

Catching up with Friends

Last year I promised Doron from ilOUG the user group in Israel that I would speak at his Apps Day, when he had to change the date it clash with a previous committment so I had to miss it, but this year I kept my promise and attended.

I gave a joint presentation with User Group favourite Nadia Bendjedou author of The Evolutionary Path: Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for Oracle Fusion Applications and I talked about the Future Applications Planning Tool we are releasing with the IOUC and how Fujitsu measured up.

Dorian arranged a private tour of Jerusalem for us after the event and Nadia and I had a great time

Busy Time for New and Old UKOUG Directors

I am so busy this year I haven't had time to post anything so am hoping to put that right now.

Our new conference series means a lot more planning and budgeting and we had a session for that at the end of January. The in February we had our Annual staff and directors day, the idea originally was that this followed strategy setting but it now comes before the strategy setting day so that UKOUG staff get a say and more importantly give their ideas, and finally the Strategy Day itself. Three very full meetings with lots of reading and calls between time.

But that is not all we have already called for papers, judged them and set the agenda for the Irish Conference and paper judging for the Hyperion and BI conference closed today. The conference series will be a continuous program of planning and execution. Make sure you contribute and share your experiences with the rest of your community.