Kscope16, ODTUG’s user conference known for providing a rich opportunity for networking and education on Oracle technologies, didn’t disappoint this year. Conference attendees had numerous hands-on training sessions to choose from as well as a full day of Sunday Symposiums featuring Oracle VPs and product managers sharing insights into what is new and what to look for in the future.
Perficient had a great session at this year’s conference on business intelligence, cloud analytics presented by Shiv Bharti, Practice Director, Oracle Business Analytics. The presentation highlighted why a data-driven marketing approach and 360-degree view of the customer is key to maximizing the return on marketing initiatives. Shiv wrote a post on the session topic that’s a great 5-minute read called Building a 360-Degree View of Your Customers on Oracle BICS.
While at the conference, I had an opportunity to speak with numerous Kscope attendees and the overwhelming majority of conversations centered around Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) and moving to the cloud. Two common themes seemed to surface around companies delaying a move to the cloud or simply not even considering a move—security of data and already having the hardware.
Not surprisingly, several of attendees in the “not moving camp” were from insurance companies with privacy being a main concern. If you have ever been notified by your insurance company that your personal information may have been compromised as I have, I can see their point. In addition, regulatory impacts can open an additional can of worms as far as what data may be required to be kept on-premises.
The attendees I spoke with that are slow to adopt because they already have the hardware investment in place, are not companies positioned for high-growth. Moving to the cloud isn’t for everyone. There are advantages and disadvantages, but in the end, a cloud strategy must align with your business objectives.
