Key Takeaways from Oracle CloudWorld 2023

If you’ve been following the tech world, you’re likely aware that the dominant theme at this year’s Oracle CloudWorld event was generative AI. This variant of AI stands apart from traditional AI as it doesn’t just analyze data and make predictions; it goes a step further by creating new data akin to its training data. With the advent of advanced large language models (LLMs) like GPT-3, the potential for generative AI to revolutionize multiple industries is immense.

Keynotes

Oracle CTO and founder Larry Ellison, in his keynote, highlighted Oracle’s positioning as a leading cloud provider capable of supporting the infrastructure and services required for the next wave of generative AI applications. He pointed out that foundational machine learning models from organizations like OpenAI, XAI, Anthropic, and Cohere will serve as the backbone for state-of-the-art LLMs.

Oracle CEO Safra Catz underscored their commitment to placing customer success at the forefront of its mission. She introduced exciting offerings like Uber Direct, a last-mile retail delivery solution developed in collaboration with Oracle. This reflects Oracle’s dedication to facilitating digital transformation for organizations.

Ellison went on to emphasize the significance of generative AI, stating that it is “the most important technology ever.” He predicted that new applications would no longer be developed using traditional languages like Java; instead, they would rely on code generated by generative AI. He also discussed the evolution of Oracle’s APEX low-code platform to support no-code development and how solutions like Autonomous Database for Fusion and NetSuite aim to further automate cloud services. Oracle’s vision includes support for open, connected multi-cloud environments through seamless interoperability. Ellison also announced the forthcoming Oracle Cloud Data Intelligence Platform, a combination of Oracle Analytics and Generative AI.

Oracle’s vision for cloud-enabled generative AI is showing promising signs of being executed effectively. In the words of Emerson COO Ram Krishnan, as discussed with Safra Catz: “Vision without execution is hallucination.”

Analytics

I attended several Oracle Analytics sessions, summarized below:

Contextual Insights: A new feature called Contextual Insights was showcased during the sessions. Unlike features like Auto Insights, which are only available to authors, Contextual Insights will be accessible to consumers. This feature enables users to select a specific value within a visualization, and automated machine learning generates additional visualizations based on the selected value, similar to Auto Insights but within the context of the chosen visualization.

Catalog Content Access: Plans are in place to consolidate access to catalog content and make external content accessible. Additionally, the ability to set fine-grain permissions on catalog objects is in the pipeline, providing more flexibility compared to the current one-size-fits-all approach.

Roadmap: The roadmap session by Gabby Rubin revealed upcoming features, including increased flexibility in provisioning Oracle Analytics Cloud instances. Oracle’s long-term plan is to provide customers with complete shape flexibility during the provisioning of Oracle Analytics Cloud.

Integrated Data Preparation: Personally Identifiable Information (PII) support is coming soon in the data preparation step. Also, web-based semantic modeller support for EPM & Essbase data sources is marked as “later” on the roadmap.

The information from these sessions is publicly available and can be found here.

Oracle Executive Vice President T.K. Anand’s session provided additional context and information about Larry Ellison’s announcement regarding the Oracle Cloud Data Intelligence Platform. This development could potentially unify Oracle Analytics and the Fusion Analytics platform under a single umbrella, in conjunction with generative AI. Such a move could simplify Oracle Analytics’ offering, eliminating any confusion about which products best suit specific customers. Further developments in this area are worth monitoring.

My Presentation

I had the privilege of presenting at CloudWorld for the first time, and it was a fascinating experience. Tim German, the Head of Version 1's US EPM Practice, joined me as a co-presenter. Our topic, “From Data to Insights with Oracle Analytics,” drew a large audience, with standing room only. We had to cover a substantial amount of content in a 20-minute theatre session to showcase Oracle Analytics’ capabilities in enabling users to gain insights from their data assets.

The key takeaways from our session highlighted Oracle Analytics’ ability to:

• Connect to various data sources.

• Easily visualize and analyze data.

• Leverage built-in machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities.

• Facilitate data preparation.

• Promote collaboration and sharing.

CloudWorld was an enriching experience, providing the opportunity to meet individuals in person whom I had previously only interacted with via Zoom and Teams calls. As an Oracle ACE Pro, I enjoyed the Oracle ACE events, including the dinner, which saw over 100 Oracle ACEs in attendance. I also had the pleasure of meeting some of the Version 1 Oracle ACEs in person.

Now, I just hope my luggage isn’t overweight on the way home, given all the swag I collected!

Joel Acha is a Senior Business Solutions Architect at Version 1 and an Oracle ACE Pro.