Apps Unlimited and UKOUG

 Last week I was at TVP (Thames Valley Park), Oracle's biggest campus in the UK, for the first time in 3 years.

The road from the city feeds into a roundabout,  a motorway spur also ends. Always busy but an easy route, except when the city entrance to the roundabout is closed for roadworks and the detour is a good 20 mins, around the roundabout, up onto the motorway in the wrong direction, off at next junction, all the way around 2 more roundabouts and back onto the motorway to join the original roundabout several miles down the road! Apparently it was due to be finished before the biggest event held there since covid, but in true, sod you tradition, the workmen were delayed. Not fun, but all added to the joy of commuting, many of us have forgotten.

The Tuesday was Apps Unlimited, an event I was originally going to miss, as I had a postponed from before C holiday in Jordan planned. However my airline have decided it is not a good destination currently so hopefully 3rd time lucky.

My company do a lot in Apps Unlimited especially EBS and Hyperion, so we had a presence. For me it was important to listen to Cliff Godwin and Nadia on what's new in EBS, and then to hear a couple of customers tell us what they are unto. Richard Semple from UKSBS talked about their mid term plans and I was really interested as I was part of the original implementation at Research Council. (Now that is based in Swindon and they have a magic roundabout that makes the detour move look simple)! This is the  kind of work I am doing more and more off, planning for cloud but continuing to use and improve EBS in the  short term.

That evening was a ACE dinner. The ACEs had had an adventure that day in Oxford which I was unable to attend, but it was great to catch up with everyone at dinner.

I also did a guest blog for the ACEs so not a lot more to say.

UKOUG was hosted by Oracle in the campus. It was limited in number by the building and was technically sold out, but it was great to see so many people, old and new. UKOUG were celebrating 40 years of serving the community, and I had previously shared some of my stories.

Whilst I couldn't fly to Jordon, my fellow ACE Director Mia Urman couldn't travel from Israel so I delivered her presentation on RPA in EBS - I enjoyed the session, there was a good discussion around how we could improve EBS.

Then later I presented my 'All You Need To Know About Oracle' session. This is a dynamic session that joins the dots for people new to Oracle.

That evening there was a party to celebrate the 40 years and luckily I was staying at the party hotel so I did quite well with sleep.

My final session on the Thursday was on Extending Fusion SaaS inside and out - looking at My Experience and Visual Builder. Again a great crowd and good discussion.

I loved being at UKOUG and Weldon to Richard, the  board and the staff for a successful few days.

Four of a Kind - New ACE Associates

 

Two years ago, the ACE Program was in doubt, COVID and successive changes within Oracle meant that the program had struggled for a while but thanks to Database Product Management recognising the value to Oracle, the ACE Program was not only saved, but revitalised. 

At its relaunch those in the program were asked to help grow the numbers especially in areas under-represented. I wrote LinkedIn posts to amplify these messages and asked especially those in the applications world to reach out if they were interested.

Many people did and sadly I told more people than I nominated, that currently they didn’t have the experience to make the program. The ACE Program is not simply about being an expert in your field. It is about sharing that knowledge with the community, as you and not just as your company. I hope those conversations lead to them doing that, writing articles, speaking at events, sharing tips in Oracle Customer Connect etc.

I did help 4 people with their nomination, listening to what they have done and helping them with their nominations. This week the 4th has been awarded ACE Associate. It was such a privilege to be part of their journey. 

Three of the Four are like me – Fusion Applications and I'm also really impressed that all four are exciting women in IT, although I'm also happy to mentor male advocates.

Karen Settembrino – a payroll expert and long time volunteer with OHUG. What impressed me with Karen was her advocacy and knowledge sharing with her professional body, the American Payroll Association as much as within our Oracle world.

Jennifer Mitchell, is a colleague and had worked with me and Oracle Development on a PoC for Oracle HCM My Experience. This giving feedback to Oracle is a key part of the ACE Program. She also assisted Oracle in Journeys sessions at Blueprint 4D.

Lydia Maksoud is an EPM expert. I met her through ODTUG where I am a board director and have seen her develop from a nervous co speaker in previous years to a confident sharer of knowledge. I also had the privileged of sitting with Lydia at her first ACE dinner during UKOUG this week.

Tobie Engel, is actually a customer of my company, and shares the many experiences of moving her organization from JDE to Oracle Cloud and all the different areas this touches. She is always learning and exploring what comes next and then being part of the conversation with Oracle and the community.

Although these ladies have all now achieved their ACE, it wasn't simple. Two had to rework their applications and do more to be successful. I like the way the program came back to me as the nominator and worked through their contribution and where necessary gave ideas to reach the standard rather than simply rejecting. 

Remember if it is easy it has no value.

Congratulations Girls – but don’t be complacent, obtaining inclusion in the Program is easier than maintaining it. Keep up the great work and enjoy your journey and the opportunities this will bring you.