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Oracle Applications
Users Group

OAUG eNews

 Global Users.
Global Solutions.
www.oaug.org February 9, 2006 Volume VI / Issue 3

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In This Issue

DataRoad Managed Services Customers are Realizing the Following Benefits:

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  • 50% Faster Problem Resolution
  • Proactive Service, 50% Fewer Service Requests Filed
  • Outage Avoidance, 60% of Unplanned Outage Prevented
  • 40-60% Savings On Oracle Management and Administration Costs

Can your company achieve similar results?

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OAUG News

President’s Corner

2006 OAUG President Patricia Dues

2006 OAUG President Patricia Dues

OAUG

The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) is proud to introduce its new logo — boldly depicting the connectivity of a worldwide users group, a close association with Oracle and the OAUG’s commitment to enhancing the value of the growing family of Oracle Applications through a global community of users.

I hope you like the new logo. The OAUG Board of Directors feels this it more closely represents our global membership and initiatives. We are into a new year, we have a new logo and we are setting a new course. Stay tuned because throughout the year you will be hearing more about our Oracle Community Integration Initiative, Fusion development, the OAUG Skills Marketplace and the Geo/SIG Leadership Forum.

The OAUG thanks its members for their continued support and commitment to the user group community. For additional information regarding OAUG member benefits and services, visit oaug.org or call +1 404.240.0897.

The Oracle Applications Users Group
Global Users. Global Solutions.

 — Patricia Dues, OAUG President

OAUG Welcomes Siebel to its Global User Group Community

The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) welcomes the Siebel community of users and partners to the Oracle family. The OAUG is ready to assist and enable you to quickly integrate and begin playing an active role within the Oracle Applications community as quickly as possible, by inviting you to join our Oracle Community Integration Initiative.

The Oracle Community Integration Initiative is the OAUG’s outreach program to assist acquired communities like Siebel users and provide numerous resources and benefits, such as strategic guidance, access to existing channels of influence within Oracle, which have been established during the last 15 years, and advice on establishing a successful independent user group within the OAUG’s global community.

Additional benefits and services include: help to organize regional or industry meetings; online educational sessions; guidance on how to align specific business practices with current Oracle initiatives; and participation on established collaborations with Oracle on matters such as enhancements, Fusion and pricing. In fact, CRM sessions dealing with best practice business processing have already been scheduled for our next conference, COLLABORATE 06: Technology and Applications Forum for the Oracle Community, which occurs in Nashville, Tennessee, April 23 - 27, 2006.

The OAUG will assist Siebel users in establishing themselves within our organization as a “user group within a user group” and facilitate collaboration with the OAUG Oracle E-Business Suite and PeopleSoft CRM special interest user groups. An overarching volunteer leadership group representing Siebel, Oracle E-Business and PeopleSoft users is being formed to coordinate the collaboration and development of programs and will provide networking and educational forums for the various product users. Lastly, the OAUG is currently developing a Siebel-specific portal on oaug.org, which will provide a consolidated online community and resource center for the Siebel community.

Siebel users and related professional services firms are encouraged to contact Steven Hughes, OAUG executive director, to discuss ways to take part in the Oracle Community Integration Initiative. Hughes can be reached at shughes@oaug.com.

Oracle Fusion Applications

If you are currently using a PeopleSoft Enterprise application (8.0 and above), Oracle would like your help so it can better understand its customer’s customizations and setups as it designs and builds its Fusion Application suite. Share your experience!

OAUG and Oracle Collaborate on Superior Ownership Survey

The OAUG supports Oracle in its pursuit to deliver a superior ownership experience to all users. If you are currently using an Oracle Applications product (Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft Enterprise, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne or JD Edwards World), Oracle would appreciate your participation in a fast, new type of Web-based interview process that focuses on what you think is most important to reducing costs, decreasing risks and enhancing your experience in working with Oracle Applications. Share your experience!

OAUG Members: Speak Directly with Oracle About Pricing and Licensing

On February 16, 2006, at 1:00 p.m. PST, the OAUG Pricing Council will host a one-hour town hall conference call with Jacqueline Woods, Vice President, Global Practices, for Oracle Corporation, to answer your questions about Oracle pricing and licensing. This call is open to all OAUG members. If you have pricing and licensing questions that you would like Ms. Woods to address, please submit your question to pricing@oaug.com. Teleconference dial-in information is now available on the OAUG Web site. You are encouraged to participate in this unique OAUG member benefit and channel of communication with Oracle.

Please note: If you already submitted questions intended for the call that was postponed from December 8, 2005, your questions will be included in the re-scheduled call agenda and do not need to be re-submitted.

Oracle News

Oracle Completes Acquisition of Siebel

Oracle Corporation announced on January 31, 2006, the completion of its acquisition of Siebel Systems, Inc. “Oracle is now the undisputed leader in Customer Relationship Management software,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. “Oracle’s focus on modern, standards-based applications and middleware is moving us into a leadership position in applications and on-demand services. Siebel accelerates that move.” (more…)

Oracle University Offers OAUG Members Applications Education Solutions

The success of an implementation is measured by how quickly new applications are adopted throughout the organization. Whether it is a new implementation or an upgrade to the latest release, Oracle University offers comprehensive applications education solutions to meet your learning needs. Visit the Oracle University OAUG training portal for more information and a listing of featured training sessions.

Vendor Product Awareness Sessions

A learning opportunity for OAUG members! Participate in these free educational sessions that are normally held three times per month. The interactive teleconference or Webcast sessions provide information about a variety of products and services that complement Oracle Applications. Upcoming sessions are listed below. Session abstracts are available on the OAUG Web site.

If you are an Associate member of the OAUG and are interested in hosting a Vendor Product Awareness Session, contact Rodney Johnson at rjohnson@oaug.com, +1 404.240.0897, ext. 2810.

Need a solution to manage your application data growth, which provides significant performance improvement, lower TCO and achieves compliance? Learn more on March 15, 8:30 a.m. PST.

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www.outerbay.com
info@outerbay.com

OAUG eLearning

OAUG eLearning: Free Online Education and Training for OAUG Members

The Oracle Applications Users Group is offering free, easy-to-access educational, training and networking opportunities for OAUG members — OAUG eLearning.

OAUG Training Tuesdays cover a broad range of topics and are presented by top-rated OAUG trainers. Choose between four different delivery times for OAUG Training Tuesdays, which feature two course offerings twice daily. Refer to the Training Tuesdays schedule for more information and to register for sessions.

OAUG Community Thursdays highlight the best-of-the-best educational and training sessions, and offer discussion forums as hosted by OAUG geographic (Geos) and special interest groups (SIGs). Refer to the Community Thursdays schedule for more information and to register for sessions.

Regardless of your geographic location, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Berlin or London, we have training available with live presenters.

These sessions are for everyone! Whether you are interested in the look and feel of Oracle’s E-Business Suite or you are a seasoned user looking to expand your skill set, a diverse range of topics and sessions are available. Everyone in the Oracle family of applications (E-Business Suite, Enterprise, EnterpriseOne and Retek) will want to take advantage of these free training sessions.

Dial into a training session from the convenience of your desk and take advantage of free sessions that you would typically pay hundreds of dollars to experience.

Please note that OAUG eLearning sessions are limited to OAUG members only and space is limited. As of January 2006, registration is required for all OAUG eLearning sessions. Refer to the session schedules to register:

If you are not an OAUG member, but you would like more information on how your organization can join to take advantage of this and other member-only opportunities and initiatives, please refer to OAUG Membership Information.

OAUG Conference and Event Updates

OAUG Apps Forum 2006 — Brussels

OAUG Apps Forum 2006

16 February 2006
Sheraton Brussels Hotel
Brussels, Belgium

The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) invites all Oracle Applications users to participate in its upcoming event, OAUG Apps Forum 2006 — Brussels, held in Brussels, Belgium, 16 February 2006, at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel.

This event will feature Karsten Roigk, Vice President, Market Strategy & Sales Support, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Oracle Corporation, as the keynote speaker. Roigk’s address will provide an overview of Oracle’s strategy in the applications area — primarily in light of the recent PeopleSoft acquisition.

The OAUG Apps Forum 2006 — Brussels agenda grid is now available as a PDF on the conference Web site, as well as a complete listing of presentation abstracts.

Register for OAUG Apps Forum 2006 — Brussels today and receive the advance rate of only €150 for OAUG members and €200 for non-members.

The OAUG Apps Forum conference Web site is the place to go to find out more about general event information or registering for the conference.

We look forward to seeing you in Brussels!

Oracle Applications Day

Multiple Dates
Multiple Locations
Hosted by Oracle Corporation

Oracle is pleased to bring together the “best of the best” — not just quality products, but also highly experienced people and innovative, best-of-breed processes. With Oracle Applications, greater business insight for better decision-making and adaptive business processes for optimal responsiveness to dynamic market conditions is possible. Discover how at Oracle Applications Day, coming soon to a city near you.

Register now for Oracle Applications Day:

Desktop Conference 2006 — You’re Virtually There!

February 21-23, 2006
A Collaborative Virtual Conference Presented by the Business Intelligence/Data Warehouse SIG, OAUG, IOUG, ODTUG and Oracle Corporation

Desktop Conference 2006 is the best value you will find anywhere. This is the only conference where you do not need to travel to hear and talk to worldwide experts, such as:

You will also get a chance to hear other expert users from around the world such as:

Registration gets you access to all of the sessions plus the Desktop Conference 2006 Web site with sponsor blogs and much more. For more information about the desktop conference, including registration rates and agenda, please visit www.desktopconference2006.org.

The Road to Nashville — San Ramon, California

February 23, 2006
San Ramon Marriott
Hosted by OAUG and Solution Beacon, LLC

If you can’t make it to COLLABORATE 06 in Nashville this year, you can still experience the great educational and networking opportunity of the conference by attending one of the highly acclaimed Release 11i Workshops. Join the OAUG and Solution Beacon for a free, one-day event featuring multiple technical and functional presentations, delivered by some of the foremost experts in the Oracle community.

Register today!

Details on all the stops on the Road to Nashville are available on the Solution Beacon Web site.

COLLABORATE 06: Technology and Applications Forum for the Oracle Community

COLLABORATE 06: Technology and Applications Forum for the Oracle Community

April 23-27, 2006
Gaylord Opryland Resort
Nashville, Tennessee

The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) invites the family of Oracle Applications users to attend the most comprehensive Oracle education event of year — COLLABORATE 06: Technology and Applications Forum for the Oracle Community (previously the OAUG Connection Point® conference).

COLLABORATE 06 will be an event like you’ve never seen before — the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) (formerly International Oracle Users Group), the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) and Quest International Users Group (Quest) have combined resources and ideas to bring you a global event in one location. This event will deliver the same exceptional content you’ve come to expect from the OAUG Connection Point® conference each year.

This event will feature a keynote address from Charles Phillips, president, Oracle Corporation. Visit the COLLABORATE 06 Web site for information on this keynote address and other Oracle Super Session speakers.

Oracle Retail User Group PeopleSoft Distributors’ & Manufacturers’ Users Group

In addition, the Oracle Retail Users Group (ORUG, formerly the Retek User Group) and the PeopleSoft Distributors’ & Manufacturers’ Users Group (DMUG) will each be hosting a conference within a conference during COLLABORATE 06. The ORUG event will take place April 23-26, 2006, and the DMUG event will take place April 24, 2006. Both of these groups will be meeting at the Radisson Opryland Hotel, located directly across from the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Event information for both groups is now available.

Register for COLLABORATE 06 by March 21, 2006, and receive the early bird registration rate. That’s a savings of USD $200! Visit the OAUG COLLABORATE 06 Web site and register today.

For more information, please visit the OAUG COLLABORATE 06 conference Web site.

We look forward to seeing you in Nashville!

Geographic (Geo) and Special Interest Group (SIG) News

Welcome to our Newest Affiliated SIG!

The newly reformed Outsourcing SIG will focus on all aspects of Outsourcing that impact the family of Oracle Applications. This can range from outsourcing hosting the Oracle Applications to outsourcing certain activities like payroll processing or outsourcing development activities (onshore or offshore). Join the Outsourcing SIG for its first meeting during the OAUG Forum at COLLABORATE 06 to learn more, provide input into the scope and direction of the SIG, and network with other users. For more information about the SIG, contact John Faucher at jfaucher@solutionbeacon.com

One-Day SIG Conferences

The OAUG Multi-National/Multi-Org SIG, Financial Services Industry SIG and CRM SIG will be hosting one-day SIG conferences in conjunction with COLLABORATE 06. These conferences are open to all registered conference attendees at no additional cost. Agendas and abstracts will be posted to the OAUG COLLABORATE 06 Web site soon.

Multi-National/Multi Org SIG
Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Presentations will cover the functionality and business challenges of implementing and supporting Oracle Applications in an international environment, and will include panel and open forum discussions.

Financial Services Industry SIG
Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Sessions will include presentations and panel discussions of interest to users in the Financial Services Industry, including banking, insurance and capital markets.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) SIG
Thursday, April 27, 2006

Topics will include discussions regarding common CRM business and technical issues, as well as presentations on customer implementations and Oracle’s CRM strategy.

Upcoming Geo/SIG Meetings

Click on the links for details regarding registration, agendas, presenter and sponsorship opportunities.

For additional information about OAUG Geos and SIGs, please visit the OAUG Web site.