Award-winning efforts at Oracle Cloud World: Our Journey to the Future of Technology

This year's Oracle Cloud World (formerly known as Open World) was an inspiring experience that offered an abundance of insights and cutting-edge technology. From engaging meetings with product leaders to the great honor of receiving the Innovation Award for EMEA, the conference was a clear affirmation of Oracle's central role in the multicloud era. We're really looking forward to applying the new opportunities we discovered to create even greater value for our customers.

For me, there were a few highlights in particular that stood out:

1. The Oracle database has now become the most comprehensive offering on the market and will soon be available on all major cloud providers. The latest 23ai version integrates a number of advanced technologies such as graph databases, AI, vectors and JSON duality, all in one converged platform. I'm particularly excited to see how the TrueCache functionality will improve performance, which could bring significant benefits to our customers.
2. The Oracle database offering on other clouds opens the doors to a number of well-known products and features such as GoldenGate, ETL, Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance and more, making Oracle's offering even more diverse and complete. "It's essential to take advantage of the tools we have at our disposal. Here at Cegal, we have a world-class team that carefully selects the best tools to ensure low risk and minimal downtime for our customers.
3. Oracle has now partnered with all the leading cloud providers, making multicloud a feasible and attractive solution. This gives customers the opportunity to choose the most optimal services from different providers, based on their specific needs and existing investments.
4. Aiven, known for its Kafka service, has now expanded its offering to Oracle Cloud Marketplace, giving users even more exciting options to choose from.
5. The Helidon platform continues to evolve and is now emerging as a mature and powerful solution worth considering. When combined with Coherence, we see a promising synergy that can deliver significant benefits. In addition, the integration with Graal can open the doors for further optimizations and improvements.
6. Oracle continues to strengthen and develop essential areas such as artificial intelligence, integration, analytics and much more.
7. Several customers and partners have highlighted the outstanding performance, stability and cost-effectiveness of Oracle's High Performance Computing (HPC) services.

Read more about Cetegra High Performance Computing (HPC) >

We spent a significant amount of time in the demo areas where all questions were thoroughly answered, as well as at the Weblogic and integration summits. These meetings were valuable moments to connect with other partners and customers, and to gain insights from product leaders who shared roadmaps and future plans. Such forums are invaluable for bringing back useful feedback to our teams back home. In addition, we spent a lot of time with our partner team, who provide us with invaluable support and assistance.

It's really gratifying to see how the true multicloud experience with Azure, OCI and GCP is becoming increasingly relevant. We are excited to see how this can create value for our customers. 

Significant strides toward enhanced security and innovation

For me, Larry Ellison's keynote speech is always a highlight, and this year was no exception. He shared the vision for Oracle's future with a focus on AI, automation and security. Larry highlighted Oracle APEX and four key pillars that will shape the company's strategy:

• data security
• application security
• user identity
• network security

Data security is at the very core of Oracle's business, and their commitment to it is unwavering. With Oracle Autonomous Database, they are introducing a fully automated, self-managing database that eliminates the risk of human error. Oracle has set an ambitious goal to migrate all its applications to this autonomous database by 2025.

Application security is a cornerstone for Oracle, and with the help of AI technology through Oracle APEX, they ensure that their applications are both robust and safe. APEX, with its easy-to-use low-code platform, enables fast and secure development of complex applications. Oracle is now relying heavily on APEX to build most of its new applications, moving away from traditional coding. It is gratifying to see APEX getting the recognition it deserves as a highly efficient low-code environment for creating APIs and applications. With Oracle's database soon to be available on several cloud platforms, APEX will also follow suit and be available there. Oracle is now emphasizing on integrating APEX seamlessly into developer pipelines, making it easier for developers to use the platform effectively. I look forward to exploring the AI capabilities of APEX with our customers and seeing how we can take advantage of these innovative tools.

From the stage, it was revealed that Oracle now offers a flexible cloud deployment model that enables rapid deployment of a full-stack OCI in dedicated regions. This can start with as little as 3 racks and is optimized for different environments. With access to over 150 OCI services, users can easily migrate, modernize and innovate in their cloud journey.

Oracle is shifting away from traditional passwords, opting instead for advanced biometric authentication methods like facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. This evolution not only streamlines the user experience but also significantly bolsters security, ensuring a safer and more intuitive way to protect data.

Larry eventually introduced a revolutionary new approach to network security called Zero Packet Routing (ZPR). This method separates network performance from security, giving administrators the ability to focus on optimizing the network while ensuring that only authorized data packets get through. For anyone with experience of network management in the cloud, this will be a long-awaited improvement - and it's encouraging to see the industry coming together around a common solution.

Award winner

Being awarded the Innovation Award for EMEA was a highlight we have worked hard and long to achieve. Receiving the Innovation Award from Oracle was a great honor and it filled me with pride to see my name lit up on the screen in the hall with other experts in the field. I have to admit that I took a few extra laps around the screen to really enjoy the moment.

With six dedicated colleagues from Cegal in attendance, we made the most of the conference. Although the journey was long, it's good to know that Oracle is planning several smaller events in Europe in the spring, making it easier to attend for those who can't travel that far.