OpenWorld 2016 - My Top 10 Agenda Highlights

I cannot believe it's a year since OpenWorld 2015.  Some say it's age that makes time go faster, some say it has something to with not watching a boiling kettle, or that time flies when you're having fun... still others say it has something to with the orbit of Jupiter and it's proximity to the Earth....hmmm... well I have a different theory.

Time flies when you're busy playing with all the great Oracle toys released in the last 18 months. 

Oracle Compute (IaaS) and Database (DBaaS) Services, PeopleTools 8.55, PeopleSoft Cloud Architecture DPKs, ACM, Oracle Marketplace provisioning of PeopleSoft Images, release of FSCM PUM Images 016, 017, 018, 019 and 020, HCM Images 015, 016, 017 and 018, to name but a few.  And when you're busy ... time flies.  There's simply not enough time to play with all the toys as much as I'd like to.

This is a great dilemma to have.  Can you imagine working with a dead, end of life product, where there was no investment and no strategic thought going into it's future and direction, no innovative and enthusiastic community of people who love to talk and share about how to get the best out of our investment?  So...I'm confident Oracle won't let up on the innovations this year; and our wonderful community of people will keep sharing;  and so we should expect this years Oracle OpenWorld conference to be another great one and another busy year of play.

The conference agenda is packed as always and I've struggled to keep my agenda highlights down to 10. But here goes. I look forward to seeing old and new friends at this years conference.  My top 10 agenda highlights for the 2016 conference are:

Sunday

Sasank Vemana

#1 Life Hacks for PeopleSoft Development [UGF2499]- Sasank Vemana on Sunday @ 09:15 am
Sasank is a top PeopleSoft expert and blogger https://pe0ples0ft.blogspot.co.uk .  Anything he has to say on tips and techniques will be well worth rising early for on what is likely to be your first conference session of the week.  Good luck Sasank.

Monday 

#2 Customer Successes with PeopleSoft Fluid User Interface [CON5090]- 4 customers including Jo Lock from Oxfam GB @ 1:45 pm
Customers want to hear other customer success stories.  I know for sure that Jo Lock, PeopleSoft Functional Lead from Oxfam GB, has a great story to tell of how Fluid is making a real difference at Oxfam (I even have Jo's name tattooed on my left arm!)

#3 PeopleSoft Cloud Architecture: Practical Applications and Use Cases [CON3672] - Graham Smith @ 1:45pm
Is this a first for OpenWorld?  Husband and wife up against each other on the agenda.  If you want to hear about running PeopleSoft in the cloud then come to my session. If you want to hear about what customers have done with Fluid then go to the session where my wife is on the panel (really... I won't be offended.)

Jim Marion

#4 Getting the Most Out of PeopleSoft: PeopleSoft PeopleTools Tips and Techniques [CON7070]- Jim Marion @ 4:15 pm
Need I say more. PeopleTools expert, blogger and author of three great books http://jjmpsj.blogspot.co.uk .  Jim draws a crowd because he knows his stuff and freely shares his insights into exploiting your investment in PeopleSoft.  Hoping this session is still on given Jim's exciting move to PeopleSoft mobile and security specialists GreyHeller (http://www.greyheller.com).  UPDATE: This session is still on

Tuesday

#5 General Session: Today’s PeopleSoft is Intuitive, Powerful, and in the Cloud [GEN5077] - Paco Aubrejuan & Marc Weintraub @ 12:15pm
DO NOT MISS THIS SESSION.  The Paco & Marc show is the key PeopleSoft session for understanding where PeopleSoft is going.  Looking forward to hearing about new application innovations, PeopleTools 8.56 and beyond and what Oracle has in store for PeopleSoft in the cloud.

Paco Aubrejuan - Senior Vice President, PeopleSoft Enterprise,

#6 PeopleSoft Technology Roadmap [CON7061] - Jeff Robbins @ 4:00pm
DO NOT MISS THIS SESSION.  PeopleSoft Technology is the foundation on which great apps are built. What's new in PeopleTools and what's on the horizon?  This is always a good session to be at and Jeff is a great presenter.

#7 Hands-On with PeopleSoft: Value of PeopleSoft in Oracle Cloud [CON7072] - Jeff Robbins @ 5:15pm
You've always been able to run PeopleSoft in the cloud.  So, what's new?  Is there some new "secret sauce"?

Wednesday

#8 Getting the Most Out of PeopleSoft: Transitioning to Elasticsearch [CON7066] - Matthew Haavisto @ 12:15pm
It's here !!!  Hello Elastic - Goodbye SES.  Nuff said.

#9 Hands-On with PeopleSoft: A Successful PeopleSoft Fluid User Interface Rollout [CON7063] - Dave Bain @ 3:00pm
King Solomon said in the book of Proverbs "there's wisdom in the counsel of many" .  So, if your're working on Fluid projects or thinking about it then come and here some more "counsel".

Thursday

#10 PeopleSoft in the Cloud: Real-World Experiences [CON7064] - Jeff Robbins and Oracle Partner panel @ 10.45am
Have you noticed there's a "cloud" theme to this years conference.  I think that cloud is just a set of solutions to some common IT challenges and Cedar Consulting will be joining with other Oracle Partners to share their experiences.

#11 Meet the Experts: PeopleSoft PeopleTools [MTE7726] @ 10:45
I'd be happy to sit around drinking coffee and tins of "interesting-conference-supplied" grape juice all day with these guys.  This is what you paid your conference ticket for (apart from Billy Joel of course. But then you can't drink coffee with him)

#12 Hands-On with PeopleSoft: Develop Practices to Harden and Protect PeopleSoft [CON7074] - Greg Kelly @ 2:30pm
The last session of the day of the last day of the conference but one of THE MOST IMPORTANT -  security insights from Oracle's PeopleSoft security guru Greg Kelly delivered with his usual Irish wit and candour.