OCW Redux

I think this was number twelve for me. Hard to believe, really. But in a lot of ways, it's one of the most memorable because of the change in venue. 
The other eleven San Francisco ones seem to run together in my mind. Prior to the move to Vegas, we had OOW on auto-pilot. For 2022, all bets were off.

Well, for those unable to attend you missed a lot. Was it perfect? I wouldn't say that. But GAWD, it was great to get back to normal.

Here are my takes on Oracle Cloud World 2022.

MEETING OLD FRIENDS Most of the people I re-connected with at OCW I never saw that much in-person anyway, but this time around that handshake or that hug sure hit the spot. To me the conference was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief and of gratitude. We were able to put the past in the past.

APEX is in. For Insum, the sun rises and sets with APEX. So, you can imagine how we felt to have Uncle Larry include APEX in his keynote, "Solving the Most Complex Problems Across Industries". 

And by golly, it wasn't just a passing mention. He discussed in detail how a low code tool like APEX provided the perfect blend of features and speed to build applications critical to combat COVID-19. APEX is here to stay.

ACE PROGRAM I hung out at the ACE Lounge. Felt I really needed to do that as Jen and Co. were kind enough to provide me a comp pass. Rubbed elbows with Oracle royalty at the ACE Dinner. It was a treat to have Oracle EVP, Juan Loaiza, present.  He even spent time at each table getting to know us and us getting to know him. Cool dude.

APEX MEET-UP One of the the things most missed regarding OpenWorld was the pilgrimage to Johnny Foley's Irish House. The APEX Dev Team and all the fan boys and fan girls would descend there on the Tuesday night for dueling pianos. Great times. Unforgettable times.

We wanted to continue that tradition so Tuesday night we stormed the nearby Yardhouse for fun and fellowship. The APEX Dev Team was well represented as well as others of us dependent on APEX to keep the lights burning. I got to say, Joel Kallman was severely missed but we soldier on and look to complete the work and the evangelism he started.

NAVIGATION The biggest negative issue I had was simply getting my bearings. The highways and byways of the Venetian meander a bit. While by the end of the week I pretty much had it down, the first day or two I travelled via the struggle bus.  A word of advice. Pay the difference and stay as close as you can to the Conference Center. I ponied up and stayed at the Palazzo, but the rest of my team stayed at the Linq. Nothing at all wrong with the accommodations at the Linq, but trust me your feet will thank you.

ATTENDANCE We'll never know the actual attendance. Even if a figure was provided, it would be met with extreme skepticism. I know how that game is played. One glaring thing I noticed was the exhibit hall aisles were as wide as the 405 but not near as busy. Food was surprisingly good. Much, much better than the Moscone sammich of past years.

You may have noticed I didn't review many sessions in the post. That's because in my current role I attend OCW to explore business opportunities and have as many B2B, B2C and B2O (Business to Oracle) conversations as I can.

So, should you plan on attending next year? Hells, yeah. Vegas has inked a long term agreement with Oracle to keep the conference right where it is. I expect attendance to slowly climb back to pre-pandemic levels. 


...our journey continues