Ascend 2022 was a huge hit, combining OATUG and OHUG in one event with customers, sponsors, and exhibitors participating in-person and virtually. Flexagon was pleased to be a Platinum sponsor at the conference, exhibit in the Partner Pavilion, and lead multiple sessions. Here are our highlights and takeaways:
Great to be back in person
It’s hard to describe the engagement level at the conference, seeing a smile close up, shaking hands, or enjoying a toast. What a joy to be back in person, while also having an opportunity to engage those who preferred to attend virtually. We were thrilled with the number of attendees who stopped by our booth. Whether they were long-time customers, or those currently seeking to solve their DevOps challenges, it was great to connect with everyone. In addition to the exhibit hall, sessions, and dinners, the conference party at The Jewel was fantastic and included dancing and socializing that harkens back to the good old days. 
Ascend has again proven that it’s not just about the business aspects of our relationships — the personal connections is what makes us love what we do at Flexagon.
Oracle EBS continues to be strategic investment
Oracle eBusiness Suite customers are taking various approaches to their application journeys, including: 1) staying the course with EBS on premises, 2) moving EBS to run on a cloud infrastructure and 3) running hybrid EBS with Oracle SaaS Fusion Applications. The key takeaway is that many customers continue to hold EBS as an essential application in their overall strategy in part because they have the flexibility to run EBS wherever it makes the most sense for their business. Although the majority of the customers moving EBS to a cloud infrastructure are headed to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), we also talked with customers who are leveraging Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS. Many customers moving EBS to OCI are also leveraging their existing investments in SOA, DB/APEX, and BI while adopting new cloud services like Integration (OIC). With Oracle continuing to provide support for EBS for the next 10+ years, there’s no dead end in sight.
Oracle SaaS Fusion Applications a big focus
Oracle’s long-time investment in Fusion Applications has proven to be valuable for them, and more importantly, for the customers adopting Oracle SaaS. Most of the SaaS focus that we saw at Ascend was on ERP, HCM, and SCM. However, there were also customers and partners interested in the SaaS CX applications like Commerce and CPQ. As mentioned in the EBS highlight, some customers are choosing a staged approach to adopting SaaS including hybrid use of EBS, adopting applications like Salesforce, and leveraging existing investments in Oracle Database and Middleware as part of their solution roadmap. In addition, there was a great deal of discussion related to cloud Business Intelligence (e.g. OTBI, Analytics Cloud) and Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC).
DevOps for EBS and Cloud showcase session
We had an amazing turnout for the Flexagon Solution Showcase with standing room only, and want to thank everyone who joined us to hear how FlexDeploy can help them to simplify DevOps for Oracle EBS and Oracle Cloud. The attendees were a mix of Oracle customers with eBusiness Suite running on-prem and on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, SaaS Fusion Applications, Business Intelligence, and Integration like OIC and SOA. Not surprisingly, many customers are looking for ways to improve their ability to develop and deliver Oracle applications and related technologies, and we appreciated the opportunity to share an overview of how FlexDeploy will help them streamline and accelerate their software development and delivery for exceptional results. If you missed the showcase presentation or would like a reminder of what was shared you can find a copy here, or contact us. Congratulations, too, to the raffle winners of the Flexagon backpacks and superhero t-shirts!
Customer round table session
Flexagon sponsored a customer roundtable session which provided a nice setting to hear what’s on the minds of Oracle Cloud customers, and for customers to share tips, tricks, and best practices with one another. Topics raised included integration of cloud applications with on-prem EBS, Oracle customer support challenges and tips/techniques, and the difference between personalization vs. customization via extensions, and security.
DevOps toolchain vendors like Tricentis, Panaya, and Opkey
The exhibit hall was filled with vendors, including system integrators, consulting firms and ISVs. It was great to connect with companies that we are already partnering with and identify new opportunities to provide joint solutions. This is another example of how Ascend enables Flexagon and other sponsors and exhibitors to collaborate on maximizing customer value with Oracle technologies.
Did we miss something?
Have other major takeaways from Ascend, or comments on what we heard? Please leave them in the comments.
