It’s that time of year again when Oracle holds its event of events…Oracle OpenWorld. Pilgrims will be descending on the Moscone center in San Francisco 1 week from today. They will network, learn, socialize and dream. Great conversations will be had, new business partnerships formed, existing ones strengthened. We’ll all be waiting with baited breath about what Oracle is going to announce. I know one thing, they never disappoint. And, I’m excited. Is it time yet?
These events tend to be a little like Christmas. Presents are substituted with announcements and information. There is electricity in the air, enough energy to light up a small city. The anticipation of the event is palatable. Is it time yet?
Customer Experience
My specific interest this year is Oracle’s Customer Experience (CX) portfolio. Oracle has spent a considerable amount of time and resources to make this portfolio round by acquiring and investing in solutions. All the pieces are there, neatly organized and ready to provide great benefit to any organization wanting to take advantage of it. I’m curious to see this CX suite in action and learn about new capabilities developed by Oracle. Oracle has dedicated an entire “Zone” to CX this year. You’ll find it on level 3 of the Moscone center. It will include over 140 sessions across CX strategy & design, marketing, sales, service, etc. “Is it time yet?”
Given the sheer breadth of presentations and information, I highly recommend sitting down with the conference agenda prior to the event and marking up the sessions which you feel are “must attends”. I did, and there are a lot of them. Two areas I am planning on spending my focus are the “Executive Solution Series” and the, “Oracle Solutions Tracks”. Both will cover real-world application of the CX portfolio with some specific emphasis on vertical industries.
Executive Solution Series
The ‘Executive Solution Series” are targeted at Executives and focused on trends, solutions and solving real-world business challenges. One session in particular is called, “Why Customer Experience Management is ranked the #1 investment area by CEO’s”. I am waiting anxiously to attend this particular session. It is being facilitated by an actual customer, in this case an executive representing DHL.
These sessions are so valuable because they tend to spur thinking and dreaming like I mentioned above. If you are like me, you’ll sit through these sessions taking copious notes, and writing down key points in the margins. Questions will come up like,
- “How is what I am hearing, seeing applicable to my business?”
- “With such a diverse portfolio, which solutions can we consume and when should we consume them?”
- “What are the specific business benefits these solutions will deliver to my business?”
With so much information to consume, sometimes it seems daunting trying to figure it all out. Not to worry. After or before attending any sessions, feel free to drop by the Perficient booth and see me. I would be happy to work with you on a specific plan for business that takes full advantage of the breadth of Oracle CX solutions and creates a compelling business case.
We have developed a CX Blueprint offering that answers the above questions plus much, much more.
I look forward to the event and seeing you all next week. “Is it time yet?”
