My OGhTech17 review: Oracle User Group Netherlands Tech Experience 17

A couple of weeks ago I had the great honor of giving a talk in one of my favorite countries of the world, The Netherlands. This event was the first organized by the Oracle user group in that country and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the way it was carried out, the quality of the sessions, the venue, the audience and the logistics. But, above all, to see good friends one more time and to open borders to meet new people who bring not only technical knowledge but memorable life experiences.

The sessions were given over two days, in one of the most original venues I've seen. Amesfoort, one of the provinces of Utrecht, was the host of the event, it is located approximately 50km from Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, is a small but modern city that combines the old and traditional Dutch style with a beautiful first world architecture.

The venue was a place called De Rijtuigenloods, it is an old train station that has been modernized and used to give an industrial and different touch to this type of events. Inside the place, besides the main room for the keynotes and the rooms for each session, there were some adapted train wagons, where also several talks took place.

I do not have the exact data, but it seems to me that the audience was about 250 attendees, which certainly is a very good number to be the first event of this type and to give it a personal feeling.

In the morning, Maria Colgan, Oracle Master Product Manager, during the keynote of the event, gave us a very funny and entertaining review about the features of 12c version of the Database to support DevOps. Following a series of technical sessions, an agenda filled with interesting topics such as Database, Middleware, Integration, Cloud, Chatbots, among others, made it difficult to decide which of the 80 sessions to enter.

Excellent sessions, that show the panorama of how IT environment in Europe looks, were given by expert speakers from countries like Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, England, United States, Ireland, Turkey, among others, and this time, a participant from Mexico .

My talk gave me a perspective of the impact and great interest that IT people have over the subject. I was pleasantly surprised that the room was full and with a couple of people standing, which in turn gave an extra touch of nervousness, for the commitment to share with all of them my vision and point of view with quality and responsibility. Fortunately the audience was very receptive and open to sharing their ideas, so I greatly appreciate their input, time and feedback.

After two days of sessions, the event closed with a pleasant and very interesting talk by Lucas Jellema, one of the most recognized characters in the Oracle environment, and in particular in Middleware, and whom I personally admire for his career. At this closure, Lucas provided us with his insight into Oracle's evolution, but he also gave us a great message; Today's challenges can not, or must be always solved in a static way with a single line of products, it is time to think about the diversity of platforms, tools and even vendors. This is the message that I corroborate with my daily work, the combination of different elements can open the door and make it easier for organizations to take the technological leap that they need in their growth, which in turn gives us a broader vision and experience as IT professionals.

And since after work comes the fun, the drinks and talks with old and new friends did not wait, some additional activities, and sadly, farewells, but hoping it is not the last time we see each other.

I must thank the Netherlands Users Group, who opened the doors of their country and welcomed me with much affection to participate in this event. Also to all the people who treated me wonderfully and from whom I could not complain for anything. I hope we see each other again next year.

Thank you very much, I had an incredible time!