Looking forward to Oracle CloudWorld

There are only 2 days to go until Oracle CloudWorld in Las Vegas, the largest gathering of Oracle customers, partners, developers, and technology enthusiasts of the year! That’s right, folks; we are finally back in person.

Of course, the database team will be there. You will have multiple opportunities to meet with us in one of the informative executive keynotes, technical sessions, customer sessions, or hands-on labs.

But what can you expect from this year’s event?

To help whet your appetite, here are some of the things I’m looking forward to at this year’s CloudWorld.

Reconnecting with the community

If you have ever been to an Oracle OpenWorld conference, you will know there are always plenty of chances to network throughout the day and into the evening. But this year, after two years of pandemic living, I reckon it’s more important than ever to spend time face to face with friends and colleagues to catch up and to learn from one another. That’s why I’m looking forward to networking on the expo floor, meeting customers in the Executive Briefing Center (formerly CVC), hanging out in our Expert Lounges, and kicking back with friends and customers at the legendary Oracle Party featuring the Steve Millar Band.

Getting Inspired

There is nothing quite like attending an Oracle Keynote by Larry Ellison to reignite my love of Oracle technologies. Larry never fails to deliver insights on our end-to-end data strategy and the latest on databases, apps, analytics, and our cloud services.
There will be three other Keynotes along with Larry’s this year featuring Oracle customers and leaders offering additional insights and inspiration on tech and apps.

I’m particularly keen to see Andy Mendelsohn and Juan Loaiza’s Solution Keynotes. Andy will share details on Oracle Database Directions on Tuesday, October 18th, at 12:15 pm. While Juan will be introducing new capabilities that are Revolutionizing Objects, Documents, and Relational Development on Wednesday, October 19th at 11:15 am.

Boosting my knowledge

This year there are even more ways to boost your knowledge and build your skills at CloudWorld via technical deep dives, panel discussions, hands-on labs, and more.

With hundreds of in-depth learning sessions across nine different tracks, no matter your role or where you plan to run your Oracle systems (in the public cloud, on-premises, hybrid cloud, etc.), we will have all the product updates, technology deep-dives, and best practices sessions you need. Choose a track based on your focus areas to get information, advice, and best practices tailored to your specific needs and goals.

I plan to spend most of my time in the database and developer tracks. You’ll hear about new product enhancements and what’s next for the Oracle Database and be able to attend deep-dive sessions on Machine Learning, Graph, Spatial, JSON, REST, APEX, MAA, Exadata, and App Dev. These sessions will be jam-packed with technical details, tips, and tricks you can take home and apply immediately, not marketing hype. You can check out the entire searchable catalog online.

I’m particularly looking forward to sessions on my favorite topic, the Oracle Optimizer.  There will be sessions by Nigel Bayliss, the Optimizer product manager, covering the Oracle Database 19c Optimizer (Thursday at 9 am) and the new Automatic Indexing capabilities (Tuesday at 4:40 pm). There will even be a session on Optimizer Hints given by little ole me (Wednesday at 3:45 pm)!

As well as in-depth technical sessions delivered by Oracle experts and Aces, you will also get an opportunity to try out all the technological innovations you hear about in our Hands-on-Labs.

Putting my knowledge to the test

One of the other things I’m looking forward to participating in at Cloud world is the OCI certifications.  You can earn a recognized OCI certification credential with on-site preparation classes and exams. I’ll definitely try my hand at the updated Oracle Autonomous Database 2022 Certified Professional exam.

Visiting Las Vegas again

Las Vegas is the ultimate home to world-class entertainment, cuisine, and nightlife. If you are a foodie like me, a trip to Las Vegas would not be complete without checking out some of the incredible restaurants they have on offer. Whether you want a great steak, sushi, or a vegetarian feast, Las Vegas has you covered. After all, you will need some fortification after spending all day learning and trying your hand at the latest Oracle technology.

Regardless of what you look forward to at Oracle CloudWorld, I hope to see you there!

If you can’t make it in person, be sure to sign up for a digital pass, so you don’t miss any of the action. I have a code you can use to get a free Cloud World Digital Pass! Simple use Comp Code: OCWDIGITAL.

Register for Oracle Cloud World today!

What is a Converged Database?

At the recent OOW European conference there was a lot talk about Converged Databases and how they can greatly simplify data-driven app development.

But if you missed the conference, you might find yourself wondering what exactly is a Converged Database and what is the difference between a Converged Database and an Autonomous Database?

So, I thought it would be a good idea to write a short blog post explaining what a Converged Database is and how it relates to the Oracle Autonomous Database.

What is a Converged Database?

A Converged Database is a database that has native support for all modern data types (JSON, Spatial, Graph, etc. as well as relational), multiple workloads (IoT, Blockchain, Machine Learning, etc.) and the latest development paradigms (Microservice, Events, REST, SaaS, CI/CD, etc.) built into one product.

By having support for each of these datatype, workloads, and paradigms as features within a converged database, you can support mixed workloads and data types in a much simpler way. You don’t need to manage and maintain multiple systems or worry about having to provide unified security across them.

You also get synergy across these capabilities. For example, by having support for Machine Learning algorithms and Spatial data in the same database, you can easily do predictive analytics on Spatial data.  The Oracle Database is a great example of a Converged Database, as it provides support for Machine Learning, Blockchain, Graph, Spatial, JSON, REST, Events, Editions, and IoT Streaming as part of the core database at no additional cost.

A good analogy for a Converged Database is a smartphone. In the past, if you wanted to take a picture or video you would need a camera. If you wanted to navigate somewhere you would need a map or a navigation system. If you wanted to listen to music, you needed an iPod and if you wanted to make phone calls, you would also need a phone.

But with a smartphone, all of these products have been converged into one. Each of the original products is now a feature of the smartphone. Having all of these features converged into a single product inherently makes your life easier, as you can stream music over the phone’s data plan or upload pictures or videos directly to social media sites.
Continue reading “What is a Converged Database?”

OpenWorld 2019 Wrap Up

I can’t believe Oracle Open World is done for another year.

But what a great conference it was for those interested in the Oracle Database. We saw the introduction of Oracle Database 20c and of course the continuing evolution of the Oracle Autonomous Database with details on new deployment option (Dedicated) and new flavors (Document Store).

If you weren’t able to make it to OOW in person, don’t panic as a lot of the session presentations are now available for download in the OOW session catalog. You can download the slides by clicking the down arrow on the right-hand side of each session title as shown below.

Continue reading “OpenWorld 2019 Wrap Up”

FREE Oracle Autonomous Database

Today was the first day of Oracle Open World and during Larry Ellison’s afternoon keynote he made a number of extremely exciting announcements around Oracle Autonomous Database including the launch of an Always Free Tier for Developers and students in the Oracle Cloud.  Larry said, “as long as you use the service, it will be there, free forever.”

So what’s included in Oracle’s Always Free Tier?

Along with compute and storage services, you also get access to 2 Autonomous Database with 20GB of storage each absolutely free. So you can try out both an Autonomous Data Warehouse and an Autonomous Transaction Processing system.

Continue reading “FREE Oracle Autonomous Database”

Are you ready for Oracle OpenWorld 2019?

With less than a week to go until Oracle Open World kicks off, I thought I would share with you what you can expect.

Of course the whole Database team will be there and you will have multiple opportunities to meet up with us, in one of our technical sessions, our hands-on-labs or at the Oracle demogrounds.

Below are just some of the session I thought might be interesting to help get you started:

Continue reading “Are you ready for Oracle OpenWorld 2019?”

Day 2 of Open World 2018

Oracle OpenWorld started yesterday and San Francisco is just buzzing with Oracle folks and the excitement generated by the Oracle Autonomous Database.

If you missed Larry Ellison’s keynote yesterday the short video below will service as a good recap!

If you are interested in more information on the Autonomous Database and how it’s changing the roll of the DBA, be sure to check out the following sessions today:

  • An Insider’s Guide to Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing
    Session TRN3979 at 11:15am in Moscone West – room 3003
    Robert Greene and I will provide an insiders view to the technology underlying Oracle Autonomous Database  and give you a guided tour of getting started with the Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing.
  • Test Drive Automatic Index Creation in Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud
    Session TRN3980 at 4:45pm in Moscone West – room 3003
    After hearing all about Autonomous Transaction Processing in the morning session, we are sure you will be ready for a deeper dive into the Automatic Indexing capabilities. Mohamed Zait (lead architect on the Optimizer team) and I will explain exactly how Automatic Indexing works and share with you the results of this awesome capability in action.

You can also get your Autonomous Database laptop stickers at either of these sessions!

Day 1 Oracle Open World 2018

The biggest day of the Oracle calendar has arrived.

Oracle OpenWorld 2018 officially starts today!

The show kicks off with ton’s of great technical sessions including several great sessions on Oracle Autonomous Database.

  • 9:00 AM – 9:45AM Oracle Exadata: Strategy and Roadmap for New Technologies, Cloud, and On-Premises – session PRM4114 in Moscone West room 3008.
    Kick off your OpenWorld with Juan Loaiza as he provides an overview of current and future Exadata capabilities, which is the underlying infrastructure for our Autonomous Database both in the public cloud, and Oracle Cloud at Customer technologies.
  • 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Oracle Autonomous Database – session PKN3947  in the Arena in Moscone South.
    In this general session Andy Mendelsohn will shares the latest updates from the Database Development team along with customer reaction to Oracle Autonomous Database.
  • 1:45 PM – 3:00 PM Larry’s keynote in Moscone North – Hall D. A must see, as he is going to share details on Gen 2 Cloud and the Oracle Autonomous Database!
  • 4:45 PM – 5:30 PM Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing Overview and Roadmap – session PRO3978 in Moscone West room 3003. Finish your afternoon with Juan Loaiza and I as we< explain how our unique Autonomous Database works and illustrates how it can simplify your approach to data management and accelerate your transition to the cloud.

Hope to see ya there!

Time to start planning for Oracle Open World 2018

With just a week to go until Oracle Open Worldthe largest gathering of Oracle customers, partners, developers, and technology enthusiasts, I thought I would share with you what you can expect.

Of course the Autonomous Database team will be there and you will have multiple opportunities to meet up with us, in one of our technical sessions, our hands-on-labs or at the Oracle demogrounds.

This year the Autonomous Database team has 5 technical sessions:

  • Monday, October 22nd at 4:45pm What to expect from Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing
    Session PRO3978 at Moscone West – room 3003
    Juan Loaiza reveals what motivated Oracle to develop the Autonomous Database and provides a clear understanding of how this unique cloud services works and how you can expect it to change the wait you interact with the Database.
  • Tuesday, October 23rd at 11:15am An Insider’s Guide to Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing
    Session TRN3979 at Moscone West – room 3003
    Robert Greene and I will provide an insiders view to the technology underlying Oracle Autonomous Database  and give you a guided tour of getting started with the Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing.
  • Tuesday, October 23rd at 4;45pm Test Drive Automatic Index Creation in Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud
    Session TRN3980 at Moscone West – room 3003
    After hearing all about Autonomous Transaction Processing in the morning session, we are sure you will be ready for a deeper dive into the Automatic Indexing capabilities. Mohamed Zait (lead architect on the Optimizer team) and I will explain exactly how Automatic Indexing works and share with you the results of this awesome capability in action.
  • Wednesday, October 24th at 11:15am The Changing Role of the DBA
    Session TIP5526 at Moscone West – room 3003
    As we move into a new era of Autonomous Database, there is naturally some concern regarding how it will impact the role of the DBA.  In this session Penny Avril and I will describe the evolution of the role of the DBA with the introduction of the Autonomous Database and what you can do to prepare.
  • Thursday,October 25th at 9:00am Autonomous Transaction Processing and the Business-Critical Application
    Session CAS5200 at Moscone West – room 3003
    In our fifth and final session Robert Greene and Binoy Sukumaran, explain how Oracle Autonomous Database  addresses the reality of the business-critical application.

You will also have an opportunity to try out Oracle Autonomous Database for yourself in our hands-on lab, Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud Driving School that will run every day in the Marriott Marquis (Yerba Buena Level) – Salon 9B.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST BRING YOUR OWN LAPTOP (BYOL) TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HANDS-ON LABS.

If you have burning questions related to Oracle Autonomous Database, you can ask them at the Autonomous Database demo booths in the Database area of the demogrounds in Moscone South. Members of theAutonomous Database development team as well as the Product Managers will be there Monday to Wednesday from 9:45am until 5:30pm. The demo booth is also the place to get an Autonomous Database laptop sticker! 

The Autonomous Database team aren’t the only ones talking about Oracle Autonomous Database at this year’s conference. There are also a number of great sessions being delivered by Oracle ACEs including Julian Dontcheff‘s session on Migrating to Oracle Autonomous Data and Jim Czuprynski‘s case study. Check out the full searchable OOW catalog on-line to start planning your trip today!

Oracle OpenWorld 2018 Call for papers is open!

Believe it or not, it’s time to start thinking about Oracle OpenWorld 2018!

The Oracle OpenWorld 2018 call for papers is now opens! Oracle customers and partners are encouraged to submit proposals to present at this year’s Oracle OpenWorld conference, which will be held October 22-25, 2018 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Details and submission guidelines are available on the Oracle OpenWorld Call for Papers web site. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, March 22, 11:59 p.m. PDT.

We look forward to checking out your sessions on the Oracle Database and how it has changed the way you do business!

Oracle Autonomous Database – What you need to know

At OpenWorld, Larry Ellison announced  an Autonomous Database cloud (service), which is self-driving, self-securing, and self-repairing.

Although there was a lot of excitement surrounding the announcement, there were also a lot of questions.

Is Oracle Database 18c the Autonomous Database?

How does it work exactly?

When and where will it become available?

How will it impact the role of the DBA?

So, I thought it would be a good idea to try and answer these questions and concerns.

Most of the answers can be found in a series of videos we shared in early November or in the Oracle Autonomous Database Strategy white paper. But before I introduce the videos let me address the first question, “Is Oracle Database 18c the Autonomous Database?”

The simple answer is NO. The Autonomous Database is a Cloud service running on top of Oracle Database 18c along with additional services to provide performance and availability SLAs. They are definitely not the same thing. Hopefully the formula below makes this clear.

Now that we have cleared that up, let’s move on to the videos I mentioned.

In the first video, Juan Loaiza gives you a peek behind the curtain of the Autonomous Database. He explains how it delivers full end-to-end automation for mission-critical workloads, including automation in provisioning, patching, securing, monitoring, optimizing, and more.

In the second video, Cetin Özbütün provides an overview of  the first Autonomous Database service to become available later this year, the Autonomous Data Warehouse. This service is extremely easy to use as you simply load data and begin running queries. Oracle will take care of everything else for you.

In the third video, George Lumpkin shares more details on the features of the Autonomous Data Warehouse Cloud and explains how customers can simply load their data and start running queries immediately.

In the fourth video, Vipin Samar outlines how the Oracle’s Autonomous Data Warehouse Cloud integrates automation to help deliver a self-securing data management platform.

And finally yours truly explains which aspect of the DBA role will be done automatically (mundane custodial tasks), allowing the DBAs to spend more time innovating and helping the business to better leverage their data.

As we get closer the official launch of new services we will share more information. So stay tuned!

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