Collaborate 08 - It Looks Good To Me

I'm getting pretty excited about Collaborate 08. In comparison to years past, this year's conference seems to have a stronger focus on interactive exchanges and hands-on training. We'll still see plenty of PowerPoint slides before the conference ends, but the steak behind the sizzle looks a bit thicker this year.

Every year, when I head to Collaborate, I try to "lock in" on a few topics. My topics for this year are Fusion Applications, Fusion Middleware, E-Business R-12, and Oracle Support. With that in mind, what follows are some events that look good to me:

• My own session: "Case Study Update: A Roadmap To Fusion Applications" on Wednesday at 9:45 in Room 207. When I gave my original presentation on this subject at Oracle OpenWorld 2007, I promised an update at Collaborate 08. This is that update...and, my oh my, how things have changed!

• The Fusion Council Panel, hosted by Triora Group's John Stouffer, Wednesday at 4:30 in Room 112 (I'll be there too, just in case John needs a little help - you know how it is with DBAs in front of crowds).

• "Oracle BPEL Training", hosted by Innowave Technology's Basheer Khan on Thursday at 11:00 in Four Seasons Ballroom 4.

• The Hands-On Sessions for extending E-Business, PeopleSoft and Siebel applications with Oracle Fusion Middleware. You can learn more about these sessions here.

• Solution Beacon's "Road To The Rockies" presentation series, happening throughout the conference.

• The Sunday pre-conference session jointly sponsored by OAUG and ODTUG, "Mapping Fusion Middleware Success: Case Studies That Lead the Way". This session will be led by RightSizing's Jerry Ireland. You can learn more here.

• "Optimize System Performance and Availability with Metalink & Oracle Software Configuration Manager" by Oracle Support's Chris Warticki on Monday at 10:30 in Rooms 210/212. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: “Yuuuukk…boring!!! You’re excited about a Support session???” I'm here to tell you that what you learn in this session will change how you approach the management of your Oracle-based system.

• [Update Added 3/18/2008] "Fusion - Marketing Hype For Tomorrow Or Reality For Today" by Fujitsu's Debra Lilley on Tuesday from 11:00-12:00 in Room 203. Debra also leads the International Oracle Users Group Community's Product Development Council.
  

In addition, there are several presentations that fall into my "must see" sessions:

Fusion Applications

• "A Technical Roadmap to Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite Release 12, and Fusion Applications", John Stouffer, Triora Group, Wed., 8:30-9:30 207

• "Introduction to Fusion Applications", Steve Miranda, Oracle, Wed., 9:45-10:45, Four Seasons Ballroom 4 (Steve gave an early version of this presentation at Oracle OpenWorld 2007 – it should have been a keynote at that conference; if you missed it then, don’t miss it now)

• "Upgrading to Fusion Applications: Planning Ahead", Cliff Godwin, Oracle, Wed., 11:00-12:00, Four Seasons Ballroom 4 (this presentation answers quite a few of the questions floating around in the user community about the upgrade to Fusion Applications)

Fusion Middleware

• “10 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for Fusion Applications”, Nadia Bendjedou, Oracle, Monday, 8:00-9:00, Room 407

• “BPEL People – BPEL Middleware as a Software Integration Solution for the City of Las Vegas”, Pat Dues, City of Las Vegas, Monday, 2:15-3:15, Room 109

• “Demystifying SOA with Fusion Middleware – Real Life Example”, Manish Bhansali, Move Inc., Monday, 3:30-4:30, Room 207

• “Extending and Automating the HR Onboarding Process Using Fusion Middleware”, Michael Rulf, USi, Tuesday, 11:00-12:00, Room 404

• “Business Process Architect – It’s All About the Model”, Paul Cyphers, Tuesday, 11:00-12:00, Room 207

• “Faster, Cheaper, Better: Implementing Fusion Middleware at Capital & Coast District Health Board”, Greg Fookes, Hewlett Packard New Zealand, Tuesday, 3:30-4:30, Room 207

• “Service Enablement of Oracle E-Business Suite with Oracle SOA Platform”, Nishit Rao, Oracle, Wednesday, 8:30-9:30, Rooms 210/212

• “Taking Oracle AIA to the Next Level with Oracle Fusion Middleware”, Markus Zirn, Oracle, Wednesday, 9:45-10:45, Room 405

• “Large Scale B2B Integration with Fusion Middleware”, Sean Carey, SPS Commerce, Wednesday, 3:15-4:15, Room 207

• “Case Study – Application Customers Achieving Business Values by Using Oracle Fusion Middleware Today”, Nadia Bendjedou, Oracle, Wednesday, 3:15-4:15, Room 109

E-Business Suite

• “E-Business Suite Customers Achieving Business Values with Oracle Fusion Middleware Today and Beyond”, Nadia Bendjedou, Oracle, Monday, 9:15-10:15, Room 207

• “Using Oracle Application Server 10g with Oracle E-Business Suite”, Steven Chan, Oracle, Monday, 1:00-2:00, Room 407 (yes, THAT Steven Chan...the host of the most widely-read Oracle blog on the planet; you'll come away from any interaction with Steven feeling mentally well-nourished - this presentation is HIGHLY recommended)
  

• “Release 12 Java Infrastructure”, Brian Bent, Solution Beacon, Tuesday, 4:45-5:45, Room 407

• “Release 12: Are You Ready for Fusion? A Practical Guide to What You Should Know”, Robert McMillen, Triora Group, Thursday, 12:15-1:15, Room 207

• “How Do You Publish XML in the Oracle E-Business Suite?”, Tim Dexter, Oracle, Thursday, 1:00-2:00, Room 405

Yes, I know there are a few scheduling conflicts in the events I’ve listed here. That’s a sign of a good conference…there’s enough good content that you’re forced to make choices on what you’ll attend.

For the Fusion-minded among us, note that I have not listed all the Fusion-related events taking place at Collaborate 08. You can learn about more events and stay on top of breaking developments by visiting the OAUG Fusion Council's Collaborate 08 website here.

Also note that it’s highly likely that the schedule will change as we get closer to the conference. You can check the latest schedule and get started on building your own agenda for Collaborate 08 here.

I've not even scratched the surface on all the events and information available at Collaborate 08. If you haven't registered yet, you're at risk of missing out on a great conference. You can still get a spot by registering here.