Not Attending the Annual Oracle Open World (OOW) Conference? 7 Reasons to Reconsider.

The annual Oracle Open World (OOW) conference is fast approaching and is sure to be bigger and better than ever this year.  With more than 40,000 attendees expected, it will again be the biggest conference held in San Francisco during 2010.  Why so many attendees, many of whom make it an annual ritual?  Why should you attend?  Here are just a few reasons, in no particular order, that I haven’t missed an OOW in at least 8 years.
  1. San Francisco.  A beautiful city with a unique charm all its own, to be able to spend a few days in SF is worth the time and effort all by itself.  Great views, outstanding restaurants, cable cars, Napa within an hour’s drive.  And the dates for this year’s OOW, September 19-23, coincide with the warmest time of year in SF (you’ll still want to have a jacket for the chilly evenings).
  2. JavaOne.  Sun and Oracle are now one and the JavaOne conference, a high-visibility event all its own, is being rolled into OOW.  Lightweight apps are all the rage and are likely to remain so, and Java is the 800 lb. gorilla in this area.  Oracle has stated its intention of aggressively enhancing Java while committing to keep it an open source offering.  Past attendees of JavaOne should not be disappointed.
  3. Larry Ellison’s keynote.  Whether you’re an Ellison fan or not, he is a Silicon Valley legend and his OOW keynotes never fail to make headlines.  Whether he’s bashing the competition, announcing a new acquisition, pontificating on the direction of the industry or answering audience questions, you can be assured he will always be entertaining.
  4. The customer appreciation event.  Oracle will once again be taking over Treasure Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay to stage their annual customer appreciation event.  Oracle goes all out to make this one of the premiere IT industry events of the year.  Among the bands that have performed in the past, and usually more than one at a time, are Aerosmith, Elton John, Prince, Nickelback, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, Journey, Cheap Trick, Roger Daltrey (phenomenal Who set last year with Pete Townsend’s son on guitar), Elvis Costello, Seal, Alan Jackson, The Wailers, etc.
  5. DEMOgrounds.   Typically in the middle of the exhibit hall, the DEMOgrounds consist of hundreds of demo stations staffed by Oracle experts who can walk you through nearly any Oracle product you can think of.  Curious about new features?  Have some technical questions?  Just want to experience the look and feel of an app?  The DEMOgrounds is the place for you.
  6. Conference Sessions.  OOW must have over 1,000 breakout sessions covering topics ranging from products to markets to professional development.  These offer attendees a chance to delve into their particular areas of interest with the help of both Oracle and non-Oracle experts.
  7. Exhibitors.  All the industry heavyweights show up, along with hundreds of second- and third-tier vendors willing and able to enhance all things Oracle.  Even though they know they’ll be the brunt of Larry Ellison’s keynote rants, IBM, SAP and Microsoft never miss OOW.
Whether Oracle is your vocation or avocation (or both), OOW is one event you need to experience.  Chances are you’ll find that it’s both a valuable and enjoyable use of your time.