All About Oracle

Best wishes for 2011!

2011-01-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been over 14 months since my last post!

There have been several "Blogging is dead" articles but I don't necessarily agree (even though I have been away from the Blogosphere for so long). Human quest for knowledge is perennial - as long as there is valuable information published, regardless of how it is delivered, there will be readers. Of course, with the ever decreasing attention spans, the key is concise & invaluable blogs.

A lot has transpired in the Oracle world since my last post. Two significant events that stand out are the surprise acquisition of Sun and the much anticipated announcement of Oracle Fusion Applications. This year, I plan to focus on Oracle Fusion Applications and how SOA & Oracle Fusion Middleware power this next-generation, open-standards-based business applications.

I recall how I ended my first blog post "I do plan to come back often and I hope, so will you". This year, I wish to live up to that commitment. I plan to post at least one blog a week and hope you will return each week to read it.

Wish you all a healthy and happy 2011!

Oracle Open World 2009

2009-10-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

OpenWorld is right around the corner and I look forward to seeing several of my friends, who are regulars at this conference. I also look forward to learning more about Fusion Middleware 11g, especially the new features to be included in future releases. And, I am told that Larry Ellison's keynote is not to be missed (wink, wink)!

Innowave's Booth 2341 is in the Moscone Center's South Exhibit Hall - do stop by and meet our team. Learn about some exciting offerings that we are launching at OpenWorld this year.

Just wanted to share some of the sessions we plan to participate in:

Sunday, October 11

I plan to attend the OAUG Oracle Fusion Middleware Special Interest Group (fmwsig.oaug.org) meeting that starts at noon in Moscone West, Room 3001. This is one of the SIGs that I helped launch and is now chaired by my good friend, Ron Batra. As part of the agenda, around 12:45 p.m., I will be discussing best practices and development concepts for SOA Suite 11g.

After the opening keynote, I look forward to the Oracle ACE Dinner hosted by OTN - will get to reconnect with fellow ACEs and ACE Directors from all over the world. A big thank you to the OTN team - Justin, Vikki & Lillian - they do an outstanding job of coordinating all our activities and supporting us all year round.

Monday, October 12

For the those of you interested in Fusion Middleware 11g, Oracle SOA Suite 11g Customer Panel starts at 10:15 a.m. at the Hilton Hotel, Yosemite A. I will be joining moderator, Melody Wood and fellow panelist, John Knoepfle for a discussion about the features of SOA Suite 11g, best practices as well as share some real-world case studies.

In the afternoon at 4:00 p.m., Juliana Button, Samuel Tong and I will be in the Moscone South, Room 304 talking about how to build a SOA Solution with Oracle Fusion Middleware for Oracle E-Business Suite. A must for those of you who want to know how to SOA-enable your E-Business Suite.

A "must attend" for all architects interested in SOA Governance, join Mike Knecht and other reputed panelists as they discuss Best Practices with Oracle Enterprise Repository at 4:00 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel, Golden Gate 3.

Wednesday, October 14

First of my Unconference sessions, will be demonstrating a very cool Integration Dashboard that we built for one of our clients using ADF 11g. Join the ADF Enterprise Methodology Group, at 1:00 p.m. in Overlook I, Moscone West Level 3, to learn about best practices and development approaches for ADF 11g. The demos are scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, October 15

My second Unconference session, I will be with Floyd Teter and Debra Lilley to discuss "Why We Can't Wait for Fusion Applications". This again is a "must attend" session for those of you interested in learning about the next-generation Fusion Applications being developed by Oracle.

Be sure to sign up to participate in some amazing Hands-on Labs - self-paced, practical sessions that help you learn a new concept or sharpen your skills. Also, do not miss the DEMOgrounds in the exhibit halls - you can get answers for almost any question you may have about Oracle products from experts who are at these pods. For more details, visit the Oracle OpenWorld 2009 website.

Hope to see you at OpenWorld 2009!

Oracle Partner Network

2009-02-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Last month, Innowave became one of only 59 Certified Advantage Partners based in the United States.

Innowave was elevated to the Oralce PartnerNetwork's highest membership level by fulfilling the criteria and addressing all the requirements which include enablement, business commitment and staff competency in multiple product focus areas.

I have been involved with the Oracle PartnerNetwork since 1996, with different systems integrators, always starting at the basic partner level and quickly developing competency among team members to advance to the Certified Advantage Partner level. Innowave was no different - as soon the company was founded, it joined the Oracle PartnerNetwork, advancing to become a Certified Partner and elevated recently to the Certified Advantage Partner.

The Oracle PartnerNetwork is a global business network of more than 20,000 companies worldwide that deliver enterprise software solutions based on Oracle software. So if your business deals with Oracle products, there is value in joining no matter what your business model is: Systems Integrator, Independent Software Vendor (ISV), Hosting Service Provider, or a Value-Added Reseller (VAR).

Through access to Oracle's premier products, education, technical services, marketing and sales support, the Oracle PartnerNetwork program provides partners with the resources they need to be successful in today's global economy. Innowave has definitely benefited by leveraging these resources to deliver its award winning solutions. I will write more about these awards in a future blog post.

Meanwhile, if you need more information about the Oracle PartnerNetwork, visit: http://partners.oracle.com

COLLABORATE 2009

2008-10-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

COLLABORATE 2009, the Technology and Applications Forum for the Oracle Community, will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from May 3, 2009 through May 7, 2009.

Volunteers from the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG), the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) and Quest International Users Group (Quest), spend close to a year in planning to deliver this annual conference of the users, for the users by the users of Oracle Applications and Technology. Oracle Executives and Product Managers have a strong presence at the COLLABORATE conferences, bringing interesting keynotes, important announcements, future directions and strategic perspectives to share with the ever growing user community . The conference brings exceptional value to the attendees in terms of actual user experiences and educational content delivered from a practitioner's perspective.

I have attended all three COLLABORATE conferences since these major user groups decided to join forces in 2006 and look forward to the next in 2009. I have been fortunate to participate in most of the OAUG Connection Point conferences since 1996. I initially started out as just an attendee and progressed to presenting white papers, coordinating OAUG Special Interest Group meetings, participating on expert panels, and moderating panels.

I have had the privilege of serving on the OAUG Conference Committee for several years in various roles: Geo/SIG Meeting Scheduler (2003), Panel & Integration Track Chair (2004), Paper Selection Co-Chair (2005), Agenda Chair (2006), Conference Co-Chair (2007) and it was an honor to be the OAUG Conference Chair at the very successful COLLABORATE 2008 Conference in Denver. It takes a lot of effort and outstanding teamwork, from both the volunteers and staff alike, that you get to deeply appreciate when serving on this committee. Overall, the experience has been very rewarding.

So, why am I writing this today? To remind potential presenters and panelists of the upcoming deadline (October 31, 2008) to submit papers for inclusion in COLLABORATE 2009. If you are a procrastinator like me, now is the time to act and submit a proposal for the paper you have always been hoping to present. Just follow the link to the COLLABORATE 2009 Paper Submission page.

I continue to appreciate the tremendous educational value this conference provides to users. Where else can we learn so much in such a short time? And, not just from the Oracle product specialists and industry experts, but also from peers, other users like you who bring their best practices, tips & techniques, lessons learned and success stories to share! So, if you do not have a paper to present, I encourage you to at least consider attending, to learn, experience and benefit from the wealth of information this forum provides to the Oracle Applications user community.

Hope to see you at COLLABORATE 2009 in Orlando!

Welcome to my blog

2008-10-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

So I have started my own blog. Been thinking about doing it for a long time now, and have procrastinated it even longer (now that can't be, can it?).

Most folks I hang out with at conferences are bloggers. Well, I have blogged on other sites before including OAUG's Knowledge Factory and Oracle's OTN (more about these later). The tipping point was when Oracle gave me a "Blogger" ribbon at OpenWorld - that is when I decided to start my own blog.

After that, all I needed was an auspicious date! So why today? Today is the 3 year anniversary of Innowave Technology, a professional services firm that I founded in 2005 to provide unique, innovative solutions using Oracle Applications and Technology, specifically leveraging Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Oracle Fusion Middleware. It has been an exciting three years of growth and several successful projects. Innowave was recently recognized and awarded the Oracle Excellence System Integrator of the Year award at Oracle OpenWorld. More about Innowave later.

I realize that blogging is all about commitment. A commitment to constantly keep you abreast of the things that interest you. This blog though, given my 20+ years of working with Oracle products, will be dedicated to all things Oracle: technology, products, applications, solutions, innovations, programs, initiatives, users, success stories, user groups, conferences - pretty much anything to do with Oracle. So if Oracle doesn't interest you, this is not the blog for you :o)

As I write this first post, it dawns on me that I have so much to share. I do plan to come back often and I hope, so will you.