Collaborate 11: What Looks Good To Me

Collaborate 11 kicks up next weekend in Orlando, Florida (assuming the weather and the US Government budget permit the planes to fly). I'm looking forward to it for several reasons: 1) getting face-to-face with friends I only see a few times each year; 2) gathering more user stories from Oracle Applications customers; 3) hearing more about Fusion Applications (some folks on this subject are sharing more info, while others appear to not know what they're talking about - some presentations will be educational and some will just be entertaining).

As usual, I can't get to all the interesting stuff in this conference. I'll be focusing on Fusion Apps, E-Business Suite, and maybe a little SOA and BI if I can get it in. Based on those focus areas, this is what looks good to me at Collab 11:

Product Release Announcements

I expect we'll hear about one significant product update, possibly two. We may also hear about one or two product releases…I definitely see some noisy water on a few fronts, so it'll be interesting to see if any results surface during the conference. This is all speculation on my part, but isn't that half the fun of Collaborate?

Oracle Fusion Soup to Nuts II

It's nice to see Soup to Nuts take on a life of it's own. I haven't really had any role in this year's set of workshops, but it's good to see other people running with the idea. It's taken on a life of it's own and this year's agenda looks really strong.

My Presentations

I'll be presenting twice on Fusion Applications:

• Fusion Applications: A Peek Under The Hood, Session ID 7631, Monday, 3:45 - 4:45 in Room W105B

• Fusion Applications: How Is The Journey So Far?, Session ID 7642, Tuesday, 3:15 - 4:15 in Room W105B

I'll be walking my usual thin line between sharing information without getting myself into legal trouble…should be an entertaining dance, so come on by if you have the time.

E-Business Presentations

Oracle E-Business Suite Technology: Vision, Release Overview and Product Roadmap - Lisa Parekh

Get Ready for EBSR12.1! Tasks to Complete Now to Ease The R12.1 Upgrade Process

Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut Factor at the World's Largest Healthcare Payer - John Stouffer

Key Techniques and Tools to Reduce Your Oracle E-Business Suite R12 Technical Upgrade - Elke Phelps

Advanced Technology Deployment Architectures for Oracle E-Business Suite - Steven Chan

Leveraging Cloud Computing in an ERP Eco-System - Mike Rulf

Oracle E-Business Suite Applications Strategy and General Manager Update - Cliff Godwin

Oracle E-Business Suite and the Coexistence Strategy with Fusion Applications: Platform Perspective - Nadia Bendjedou

CS - Accounting in R12: Procure-to-Pay Process - Mohan Iyer

Technical Roadmap for Oracle Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite R12 and Oracle Fusion Applications - John Stouffer

SML Publisher in E-Business Suite for Newbies - Srini Chavali

Business Flow Overview and Master Data Management - Mohan Dutt

Fusion Applications

Oracle Fusion PPM: Next Generation Project Portfolio Management Applications - LIam Boyd

Record to Report Business Flow in Oracle Fusion Applications - David Haimes

Fusion Applications - Move Now or Wait? - Debra Lilley

Implementing Fusion Applications Using The Oracle Unified Methodology - Bruce Dehner

Oracle Fusion Middleware Extensions and Patterns for Oracle Fusion Applications - Paul Johl

Oracle Fusion Applications Technical Architecture and Deployment Overview - Steve Miranda

The Fusion Applications' User Experience: Transforming Work into Insight

Other Stuff

Facebook for Oracle! All About Oracle Webcenter for Non-Technical Folks - Basheer Khan

Physical Ordering of Data - Is It Ever Useful? - Mark Farnham

Understanding Oracle and Industry Cloud Computing Directions - A Decision-Maker's Guide - Ron Batra

Grid Next Generation - The Virtual Enterprise Extended - Ray Payne

So there you have it...my picks, for what they're worth. Collab 11 looks to be a pretty spiffy gathering...hope to see you there (look me up and say "hi").

Collab 10 Is Right Around The Corner

So, I'm sitting on my deck enjoying the weather this fine Sunday morning in Southern California, just daydreaming about the next few weeks and months when it hits me…yow, Collaborate 2010 is right around the corner!

Important disclosure: I'm going. I don't need to persuade or be persuaded. The years I've attended have convinced me that it's a worthwhile investment, especially when Collaborate takes place so close to me (Las Vegas).

But I'm also betting that my case is different from yours. In another year of tight budgets and limited resources, you're probably wondering whether you should attend at all. And if you do want to attend, how do you justify it? For those of you in this position, I have three points for your consideration.

1. The real story in real time. What I mean here is that you'll get real stories from real customers on what they're doing in real time (the present) with the same challenges, products and tools that you're using in your own enterprise. Not much sugar coating or sales pitching here (although there will be plenty of both as well if you're into that sort of thing). Just the real story.

2. Networking opportunities. You'll have the chance to rub shoulders and talk shop with other customers with technical footprints and business situations similar to your own. Make a friend, swap business cards. Then the next time your company starting talking about the next upgrade, new product, or business process change, you can call up your new friend and do some informal benchmarking.

3. Learning and exploration. Lots of new products, tools and configurations first see the light of day at Collaborate, especially in the workshops. Need some advice on a specific challenge? Swing by the OAUG/ITConvergence both on the exhibition floor to "Get Expertise from the ACEs". Want to get a peek at the latest developments with Oracle Enterprise Search? Sign up for a an Oracle Usability Lab user session. Want some hands-on training with a specific tool? Check out IOUG's Deep Dive sessions and Bootcamps. How about some "let me drive" exploration of new products without someone hovering over your shoulder? Quest is sponsoring a Playday with "live drives" of JD Ewards, E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, BI Publisher, the User Productivity Kit, K-Rise Systems's EASYProcess and Hewlett-Packard's LoadRunner. Looking for information on Oracle Fusion? Come to the "Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts" workshop.

So there you have it. Who knows what nuggets you'll be able to take back to the office? But if you want those nuggets, you have to come to Las Vegas to get them. Three fine reasons to be in Las Vegas from April 18 through 22 for Collaborate 2010. See you there.

Short Fuse Stuff

This has nothing to do with the Roadmap series of articles. It really has to do with my experience watch Warner Brothers' Road Runner cartoons. Loved 'em as a kid and still love 'em now. In each of those cartoons, there is at least one instance of the Coyote attempting to knock off the Road Runner with some sort of bomb...and, in each case, the bomb's fuse is too short. The bomb explodes before the Coyote can throw or lauch the bomb. The Coyote gets nailed by the bomb...and I laugh until I hurt. The Coyote's problem here is that he never moves quickly enough to compensate for the short fuse. As for me, I've learned that when I encounter short fuse stuff in life, it's time to move quickly.

Much as I'd like to finish with the Roadmap before posting other articles, I have some short fuse stuff for share. There are some breaking events that I really should share with you right now - waiting until later will detract from the value of the information. So, without further delay, let's deal with the "short fuse" stuff before it blows up on me:

• OAUG is sponsoring a Fusion Middleware Boot Camp, with the intent of training developers and other technical types on basic Fusion Middleware skills (web services, XML, BPEL, BI Publisher). The bootcamp will take place October 22 through November 2 at the Oracle Education Center in Chicago, Illinois. You can learn more here. If you plan to attend, get registered - the seats are limited and filling up fast!
  

• Both OAUG and IOUG have put out their call for presentations for the Collaborate 08 conference. The conference will take place April 13 through 17, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. Note that both calls are asking for papers focusing on specific subject areas, and that the focus areas are different for each organization. The deadline in OAUG's call is October 28th. Although I don't see a date in the IOUG call, I would guess that their deadline is similar. You can learn more about the OAUG call here and about the IOUG call here.
  

• Oracle has rolled out the Oracle Innovation Award to honor companies "...already using Oracle Fusion Middleware to extend the business value of Oracle applications in innovative, exciting ways." The top 25 winners will each receive one conference pass to Oracle OpenWorld 2007 as well as a one-on-one conversation with an Oracle executive at an awards reception during the conference. Top 5 winners each receive one Oracle OpenWorld conference pass with a Club Oracle Gold Ugrade, inclusion in a feature article for Profit magazine, and an exclusive appearance on an Oracle Appcast with Cliff Godwin (I recently participated in one of these podcasts myself - a great experience. I hope I get to do it again). Nominations are now open with a deadline of October 5th, 2007. You can learn more about the Oracle Innovation Award here. So, if you've done something innovative with a component of Fusion Middleware and the Oracle applications, there may some benefits to sharing your story.
  

That clears the decks on all the short fuse stuff for now. Back to the Roadmap...