Collaborate11: Hits Not To Miss

Oracle User Group faithfuls from OAUG, Quest and IOUG will congregate at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL from Sunday, April 10 to Thursday, April 14, 2011. With over 1200 sessions and multiple mini events, 24 hours a day would not seem enough for attendees. Instead of spending hours flipping through the conference guide to decide the sessions to attend, use the My Show Planner Mobile to build your schedule and carry with you on your smart phone. Session updates and other news including cash prizes from Twitter feeds will all feature on this app. To make sure you do not miss the hit shows, here is a day-wise highlight of popular show times.

Sunday, April 10th

• Register bright and early. Registration desk opens at 8.00am
• Training Day Workshops - R12 Application Security Best Practices, Project Management using MS Projects, Master Data Management (MDM) Bootcamp and IBM DB2 Certification Workshop (2 day and FREE!)
• Special Interest Group (SIG) Meetings throughout the day
• Oracle Fusion Soup to Nuts session - an intensive deep-dive look into the latest Oracle Fusion content. Get the latest insights on OEM, Fusion Applications, Middleware with Applications Unlimited, Development Tools and Database.
• Sunday Session Selections - Meet Your SLA with SLA, Best Practices for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher, Implementing Oracle Fusion Applications Using the Oracle Unified Method, IFRS for Beginners, an overview of the International Financial Reporting Standards, Oracle Fusion Procurement: Setting the New Standard for Supply Management Applications, 42 real Life Examples of Fusion Middleware with Applications
• End the evening with the OAUG Welcome Reception - 21 & Legal to celebrate 21 years of OAUG

Monday, April 11th

• Monday Menu Selections - OAUG General Ledger SIG Meeting, Have Your Cake and Eat It Too – Do an R12 Technical and Get the New Features Now, Value of Upgrading to Release 12.1 for Oracle Financials, CS - Business Case Overview for Quote to Cash and Procure to Pay Process, Migrating to Oracle R12 Subledger Accounting (SLA), Fusion Applications: A Peek Under The Hood, Understanding Oracle Fusion Financials for PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and E-Business Suite Customers   
• Oracle Keynote: Oracle’s Cloud Computing Strategy by Steve Miranda, Senior Vice President, Application Development at 5.00pm
• Welcome Reception at the Exhibitor Showcase from 6.00pm -8.00pm
  

Tuesday, April 12th

• Tuesday Teaser Selections - Fusion Applications - Move now or Wait, ResCare Financials & HR Analytics: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly From an IT Perspective, Oracle Applications Strategy and Roadmap, CS – Accounting in R12: Quote to Cash Process, Hot Topics in Financial Reporting: IFRS, XBRL and More, OCP Advisor's Tips on How To Become An Oracle Certified Professional, Oracle Fusion Applications Overview and Strategy Recommendations for Oracle Applications Customers, Mission Possible:  Upgrade to Oracle R12 in 3 Countries in Six Months, Release 12: Tackling the Question of Reimplementation vs Upgrade, Oracle Fusion Applications Technical Architecture and Deployment Overview.
• Several GEO (Geographical User Groups) meet in the afternoon from 4.00pm onwards
• Exhibitor Showcase Happy Hour from 5.45 p.m. - 7 p.m.
  

Wednesday, April 13th

• Wednesday Winner Selections - How Fusion DOO can add value by leveraging your existing Order Management Systems, Five Steps to World Class Close: Integrate Financial Close Best Practices and Enabling Technology, Understanding SOA Maturity Phases in an Oracle E-Business Suite Implementation Lifecycle, Preparing for Oracle Fusion, 11.5.10.2 to 12.1.3: A Technical Perspective, XML Publisher in E-Business Suite for Newbies, Release 12 Advanced Global Intercompany System: What's in it for you?
• Universal’s Island of Adventure Party - 7.30 p.m. - 11.00 p.m. Get ready for one of the biggest parties COLLABORATE has ever thrown because OAUG has reserved the entire Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park just for you!

Thursday, April 14th

• Thursday Tonic Selections -  Facebook for Oracle ! All about Oracle WebCenter for non-technical folks, iSetup: Don't Let Your Configurations Manage You, Oracle Fusion Customer Relationship Management, The New Standard for Sales Performance Management, Record to Report Business Flow in Oracle Fusion Applications

There are over 75 sessions on Oracle fusion and more than 60 session on Oracle EBS R12. OAUG speakers are presenting 500 sessions at the conference. Follow the conference on Twitter using the hashtag #C11.

Top Ten Reasons To Attend COLLABORATE11

COLLABORATE11 - The annual Oracle Applications conference hosted by user groups invites you to join thousands in sunny Orlando, FL. For those sitting on the fence and still deciding on attending the conference or not, here are the top ten reasons (in no specific order) to book your hotel rooms and airline tickets today.

Reason # 10 - The conference is like a week-long education class. The registration fee is less than $2000 (for Federal employees it is less than $1000). This is a big discount compared to a week-long class at leading Oracle education providers. Great value for money.

Reason # 9 - Whether you are evaluating a new Oracle module, a third-party product or shortlisting service providers for your new project, the Exhibitor showcase is a must visit. Watch product demos, talk to consulting experts and pack your suitcase with conference swags. If you are lucky you might win one of the dozens of Apple iPad giveaways from various vendors!

Reason # 8 - The education tracks at the conference cover the length and breadth of your application ecosystem. From Business Intelligence, Database, GRC, HCM and SCM and Financials there are hundreds of sessions to choose from. A select group of Oracle Special Interest Groups (SIG) is presenting 14 top-of-the-class sessions on Quote to Cash and Procure to Pay Business Flows.

Reason # 7 - Oracle Support team has a big presence at the conference. Attend Oracle Support seasons to learn about new diagnostic and proactive health checks that one can do to keep applications running with maximum efficiency.

Reason # 6 - A conference provides great opportunities to network with fellow Oracle users and practitioners. Each conference day ends with a special event culminating with the mega appreciation night at Universal's Island of Adventure theme park completely reserved for you!

Reason # 5 - The line-up of speakers at the conference consists of Who's Who of the Oracle universe. Apart from speakers from Oracle Corporation, the galaxy of speakers include Oracle Gurus who are Oracle ACE Directors and ACEs. Here is a complete list of Oracle ACE Community speakers .

Reason # 4 - Participate in Oracle User Experience (Oracle UX) feedback session on Oracle Fusion Applications. Be one of the first individuals to test drive a Oracle Fusion Applications next generation product and give feedback to Oracle.

Reason # 3 - Many attendee organizations are planning or already executing Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 upgrade or implementation projects. Meet experts from Oracle at the Oracle Demo Grounds or at Oracle keynote sessions and get your questions answered about Oracle EBS R12.

Reason # 2 - Use the My Show Planner application to build your conference agenda this week. With over 1200 sessions in the conference agenda, there are a lot of choices. Plan each conference hour with sessions to attend. It also gives the organizers an idea of number of attendees for a specific session. If the registered attendees cross the room size, the session can be relocated to a larger room. While standing room only sessions are a great ego-boost for the speaker, weary feet do need rest and a comfortable chair has no competition.

Reason # 1 - The destination city happens to be the home of Walt Disney World. In 2004, my family and I stayed in one of the Disney resort hotels which is within driving distance to the conference location. Cap off a great week by spending the weekend following the conference at the Happiest Place on Earth. This one surely does not need much convincing!