QUESTIONS AND @NSWERS
Perfect Attendance
ACE THIS YEAR’S ORACLE OPENWORLD WITH SMART TIPS FROM A VETERAN ATTENDEE.
onnie Johnson, executive vice president
of the Oracle Applications Users Group
(OAUG), knows a few things about Oracle
Open World. She is the director of application
services at Louisville, Kentucky’s ResCare, a
human services company providing residential, therapeutic, job training, and educational support. This October’s conference will
be her fifth time attending and her second
consecutive year presenting. Profit spoke to
Johnson to get her tips on preparing for the
most important educational and networking
event of the year for Oracle technologists,
customers, and partners.
PROFIT: What are you looking forward
to at this year’s Oracle Open World?
JOHNSON: The educational sessions,
the networking with peers, and the
face-to-face time with my Oracle reps are
the top three areas that I tend to focus on
when I attend Oracle Open World. I am
looking for what’s happening with the
new products—what product releases
are coming out and what functionality
is being added. If we need to collaborate
with an Oracle partner, the exhibition
hall is wonderful because everybody’s
there. You can go speak to professionals
in different areas and get a flavor for their
background and their teams and how
they can work with you.
Also, I always catch as many of the
keynotes as I can. There’s so much going
on in San Francisco, and the number of
people at the conference can wear you
down a little bit. But the keynotes are
fun, exciting events and really energize
you as an attendee.
PROFIT: How do you prepare for the
show?
JOHNSON: I am one of ResCare’s main
liaisons with Oracle, so if we are interested in a new topic or project down
the pike I tend to be the one to do the
research, bring it to the table, and coordinate with the Oracle partner reps at the
beginning of that project. If I see something I think ResCare needs at Oracle
Open World, I can get out there and start
building a case and bring it home. The
timing is great for calendar-year end
users who are beginning the budgeting
process for next year.
Bonnie Johnson, Executive Vice President,
Oracle Applications Users Group
I also hone in on the applications
we recently purchased. For example, we
just closed on the licensing for Oracle
Essbase, so this year I will be attending
sessions featuring projects that focus
on that.
PROFIT: You gave a presentation about
business intelligence [BI] last year. What
about this year?
JOHNSON: I’ll be presenting on BI again
this year. Our ResCare BI project went
live this year at the end of January. I’ll be
speaking more about how that go-live
has gone within the organization, from
the top down. I’ll also be talking about
the enhancements we started and what
we plan to accomplish this year. I want
to give folks an understanding that BI is a
never-ending project rollout.
PROFIT: What advice would you give to
first-time attendees?
JOHNSON: I think the best advice that I
can give is: Don’t be overwhelmed. Make
sure that you have a focus—or your top
three areas of focus—because you can’t
take the whole event in. You really have to
decide what it is you’re there for, personally and professionally. Then, seek out
networking and educational opportunities
that fit into that circle.
Also, don’t worry if you miss an Oracle
session on the new features. There’s
usually another one with a slightly different flavor where you can get the same
information. And remember to use that
face-to-face time with your Oracle reps.
PROFIT: What do you enjoy doing in
San Francisco?
JOHNSON: My husband started coming
with me a couple years back, and we’ve
enjoyed wine tours—he mountain bikes
when I am in sessions. San Francisco is
just a hotbed of fine dining and art galleries, plus you’ve got fun destinations
like Fisherman’s Wharf. And what I like
is you can walk everywhere, so be sure to
get a comfortable pair of walking shoes.
Then, on top of that, there isn’t an evening
that goes by without a networking event,
whether it be sponsored by Oracle, a
partner, or a user group. And the Oracle
Appreciation Event is always a great final
ending to the week. I always say, come
early and stay late. <>
Oracle Open World is October 2 through 6 in San
Francisco, California. To find out more about the
conference, including how to register, visit
oracle.com/openworld/index.html.
