The DOAG 2019 conference in Nuremberg was a big and busy event, filled with many speaking sessions, vendor exhibits, and venues for engaging with Oracle customers, partners, and members of the Oracle team.
There were many similarities between this conference and regional events held elsewhere around the globe. Several differences I noticed were:
- A vast majority of the sessions were presented in German versus other events where there is a more balanced mix of the native language and English.
- Not surprisingly, the limited focus on applications such as Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, and JD Edwards given Germany is heavily SAP focused.
Here are a few other takeaways from DOAG 2019:
1. Oracle Database was a huge focus area.
This tends to be the case with many Oracle conferences. However, Database was even a bigger focus at DOAG 2019. There were lots of sessions from customers, partners, and Oracle regarding upgrading the DB, using of Autonomous DB, and new features being rolled out.
2. APEX is popular and growing rapidly.
Considering Database was a significant area of interest, it’s not surprising APEX is also very popular. APEX is being used to develop custom applications which stand alone and also many which are used to extend applications including SAP and EBS. APEX was called out in multiple keynotes, which is something we’ve seen over the past year, which is a sure indicator of the importance of APEX to Oracle and of course the larger customer base.
3. Oracle Fusion Middleware and Cloud PaaS such as Oracle Integration Cloud.
There is quite a large use of Fusion Middleware in Germany, and the use of Oracle Cloud related integration is gaining traction. Some customers are moving their existing middleware (such as SOA and OSB) to run on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and others are adopting Oracle Integration Cloud (PaaS). Integration is very important for connecting ground to ground, cloud to cloud, and cloud to ground. Therefore, the importance of integration continues to drive discussion, including at DOAG 2019.
4. Cloud Cloud Cloud.
Consistent with other events, cloud was front and center. There was a good balance of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS sessions and discussion in general. In addition to Oracle Cloud, there were many sessions and discussions related to multi-vendor cloud strategies and also the use of open source. This is awesome, especially given Flexagon’s enterprise approach which cuts across many vendors, cloud providers, and open source.
5. DevOps has good traction, but is still somewhat in its’ infancy.
There was a DevOps session track, which was awesome! The sessions ranged from high level perspective on the features and value of DevOps and CI/CD to deeper dive learnings based on customer implementations. From a technology perspective, the focus covered infrastructure/cloud resources, database, middleware, and applications. In addition to Flexagon and FlexDeploy, there were several vendors who had Database-centric solutions, such as Redgate. Overall, it was good to see that both customers and partners are focusing more on DevOps, both in terms of process and enabling technology.
6. Flexagon’s session: DevOps for You!
It was a wonderful opportunity to present our DevOps session, which included both an overview of what DevOps is, the challenges and opportunities it addresses, and provide the audience a first hand view into how FlexDeploy helps with use case related to database, middleware, applications, and cloud. I believe it is eye opening for many customers to understand how DevOps can positively impact their business and have a direct effect on making their work as a developer, administrator, or release manager easier and more enjoyable.
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Overall, DOAG 2019 was a big success, as I enjoyed the conference sessions, talking with customers, partners, and Oracle. It was also a wonderful opportunity to see a few local attractions and taste some excellent German cuisine such as schnitzel and sausage and also a few tasty beers! 😊
Did you miss DOAG but are still interested in the presentation? You can watch our DevOps for the Enterprise webinar for free! I present similar information as I did in Nuremberg.
