Highlights and Thoughts from OTN Latin America Tour

I have just come home from my OTN Latin America tour and wanted to share my highlights and thoughts

Highlights

Quito, Ecuador – my first glance of South America filled me with excitement and loved the thought of being so high and on the equator. The Angel was so majestic, very moving, and the hills so unique.

Cartagena, Columbia – didn’t want to leave, the relaxation and the sunshine were heaven, Robin was a wonderful host despite the boat incident. The walled city was wonderful.

Lima, Peru – so full of history and what I actually expected South America to be like. Not brave enough to try the guinea pig but won't live to regret it.

Sao Paulo, Brazil – amazed at the size and the strong investment. Never expected the Japanese influence. Enjoyed the football museum, and again surprised by that.

Montevideo, Uruguay – the hospitality and the gorgeous coastline. Their football game and the atmosphere, loved the new airport architecture.

Santiago, Chile – the breathtaking views of the Andes and later the ocean. Oracle supporting IT in universities.

Thoughts

The Latin America usergroups may not be very old, but they are every bit as dedicated to their members. The hospitality from each group was fantastic, they kept saying what an honour it was to have the speakers on the tour but I felt I was the honoured one.

OTN is encouraging this growth with their Spanish and Portuguese content which Pablo was marketing at each event.

The translators were fantastic; really don’t know how they do it especially with acronyms and technical content.

Another thing you notice is that in these conferences there has been a much higher number of young people and % of women. They are appealing to grass roots and that is something we in the West need to achieve. However a trend in South America is that it is difficult to retain staff, most work as contractors, but once you reach age 40 it is difficult to find work, people want the youngsters, a problem that might bite them back in a few years.

I was also had the priveldge of representing UKOUG and sharing ideas with the different user group leaders. Ronan and I had met them before at IOUC Presidents meetings and they all have that raw energy that drives success. It was wonderful in some small way to help by bringing content. I have many ideas to take back to UKOUG.

Thank you Oracle ACE Program and Fujitsu for letting me take part. To the Oracle UX team for my content on Fusion Apps and all who contributed to my 42 Real Life Examples of FMW with Applications presentation. To Francisco for organising the event and to everyone I met; I made lots of new friends on the tour and definitely want to do it all again.