Top of the afternoon to all of you! Ok, I do not know if
there is a greeting like that but I am just assuming because there exists a
‘top of the morning’ greeting…oh, well you get the drift hehe. So, how have you
been? Good I hope. In my last post, I had mentioned something about telling you
what went down on Friday, so here I am fulfilling my promises :)
For the longest time, IT or tech events have always been an
opportunity for me and my pals to go and learn something more, network, explore
opportunities and of course…eat! This has been the case for a little over a
year now. From the hackathons held at hotels like the Boma Hotel, Red Court
Hotel, PAWA254 and the iHub to the talks in Intercontinental Hotel, Sankara
Hotel, Southern Sun Mayfair Hotel and also the famous Hilton Hotel. I have
attended them all!
Therefore this year’s Oracle Day talk being held at the
Safari Park Hotel was not an exception. In fact it was the second time I was
there for a similar event.
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| Le Venue |
This time round however, I intended to really maximize on
the event. On the previous one I think I was a bit too excited to be at the
hotel’s gorgeous facilities that I barely concentrated much. Plus, let’s just
say I am a year older now and a bit wiser.
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| Last Year at Safari Park for the same event |
It is because of this that I decided to adorn myself in
official clothes and carry along with me my business cards. In the
intercontinental hotel talk, the attendees who were not clad in working attires
nor possess their cards were quietly but embarrassingly turned away. And for
that reason, I wanted to avoid this situation as much as possible.
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| I tried yo! |
I am not one to wear skirts and heels. I pride myself in the
fact that I am sort of a tom-boy and I look good while at it. Plus my field of
work does not require me to be in skirts and six inch pointy shoes. IT shirts
and jeans are usually my go to. But on this particular day, I made an
exception. So I got out my black A-line skirt out of the darkest corner of my
closet and ironed it for good measure. (We all have that one skirt which we
bought in order to wear in all interviews). I dressed it with my white vest and
purple sweater (I love purple).
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| #teamFlatShoes |
As for shoes, I wore my flat black sandals but
I had some official wedges in my handbag, just in case. And yes, I did say handbag!
I carried a giraffe print handbag which belongs to my sister. She thought it
would spice up my look :)
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| Swag, swag... |
I got to the Safari Park Hotel conference room at about
10:00 am. The event had already begun and the room was packed to capacity. I
had to be led to an empty seat by an usher.
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| Name tags |
The event was out to define cloud computing, mobile, social,
big data and internet which are some of the latest buzzwords in the IT
industry. These technologies are shaping the world and creating new
opportunities. From the day, attendees would get to hear stories of innovation
in practice, come out with a deeper understanding of how the world is changing,
how organizations can position themselves to drive innovation and how to take
advantage of the opportunities created.
 |
| Presentations |
The event was attended by various dignitaries among them the
Cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology,
Dr. Fred Matiangi and Dr. Andrew Sutherland, SVP Technology, Oracle Europe.
Also in attendance was Mr. Alexander Meixner, Mr. John Temba, Dennis Volemi of
CBA, Mr. Roy Masamba, HR Director, Safaricom and Mr. Nazir Noordin, MD, Copycat among other
key note speakers.
 |
| More presentations |
There was a lot to take from the talks that went on
throughout the day. Some of the ones that really stood out to me included:
- We can use IT to make our day to day lives a lot easier. There is no reason why at this day and age you still find companies that are drowning in spreadsheets and paper files while there are technologies to simplify this.
- We cannot fight tomorrow’s problem using yesterday’s technology. There is therefore a need to innovate newer and more technologies in order to keep up with the daily changes. These famous words were uttered by Dr. Andrew Sutherland.
- A society that ignores its young people is a society that ignores innovation. I liked this quote. Mainly because I form part of the young people and I know how we think. There is so much talent and creativity within us. And I do believe that one of us surely owns the ‘next biggest thing’ idea as we speak! If that you is you, don’t give up!!
- Kenyans have shown a lot of interest in the cloud computing technology compared to other African countries but it’s the people who have a notion that IT is difficult and complex therefore they steer clear from it. So people need to be more enlightened, open minded and receptive to it. And Oracle helps in this.
- Plus congrats to the graduates of the OCM
In the afternoon, the conference room was split into
different segments each of which focused on a specific track like Applications,
Cloud Computing, Modern Data Centre and Big Data and Analytics. These
definitions are from their website here.
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| More presentations :) |
Big Data & Analytics: Big Data at Work:
Transform your Business with Analytics
Big data is the datafication of every activity in
business, government and even private life. As the world makes a digital copy
of itself, its ability to produce data has outstripped most organizations’
ability to use it and drive value from it. This mismatch forces a top-to-bottom
re-evaluation of what data is, how organizations get value from it and the
investments to be made. This track will dive into how organizations need to
rethink Big Data and the approach – from infrastructure to analytics - that
creates a new kind of sustainable advantage over the competition.
Cloud: Your Cloud, Your Way
Cloud computing is transforming business and IT by
enabling greater agility with lower cost and risk. As cloud computing moves to
the mainstream, it is time for your organization to develop your cloud strategy
and roadmap that supports current and future business needs. Learn how Oracle
helps customers succeed in their journey to their cloud through a broad
portfolio of cloud solutions across SaaS, PaaS and IaaS services deployed in
public, private and managed cloud models.
Mobile: Extend Your Business - Mobilize Your
Enterprise
Enterprise Mobility is essential to how
organizations are transforming themselves and their industry. This
technological innovation enables them to extend their business, change how they
work, collaborate, and engage with customers, partners and employees.
Leveraging Oracle's next generation business innovation platform - Oracle
Fusion Middleware - organizations are developing enterprise mobile strategies
that provide immediate value while ensuring future success and business growth.
In this track we will discuss key components of the Oracle Mobile Platform and
Oracle Fusion Middleware. You will gain valuable insights into how you can
mobilize your enterprise with Oracle.
Systems: The Modern Data Center
Optimized data centers can lead to accelerated
business growth and reduced IT costs - join senior Oracle executives and
partners to find out how Oracle enables the optimized data center and can
deliver strategic business value.
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| Ummm, more presentations I guess |
I chose the Applications track alongside my friend +concillier kitungulu who I had attended the event
with. There was a tea break at about 12:00 noon and not forgetting the
delicious buffet lunch at the restaurant just a couple of hours later. Talk of
meat, more meat with a side of some more meat. Tasty desserts and fruits were
also on the menu though some people finished the cakes for me! *ahem ahem* I
will not mention names!
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| People were tweeting too much! So many phones died |
The track sessions went on until about 6:00pm when the event
came to a close. It is at this point where we were rewarded with an awesome branded
laptop bag pack. I cannot appreciate this bag enough as it came at the exact
moment when my beautiful WHITE Gmail bag needed some washing but I just
couldn’t trust the unpredictable weather enough to douse the it in water.
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| The Oracle bag and the white Gmail bag (Which I can now wash ) |
A wonderful surprise was announced in the end of it all. And
that was the fact that there were cocktails and an open bar for all the
attendees. I personally do not take alcohol so for me it wasn’t a big deal. But
I do take the occasional glass of red wine…I do it for a healthy heart people.
Don’t believe me, baaam read here
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| Red Wine is good for ya! |
Hehe, this particular bottle was a bit strong I must say
because by the first half glass I was already feeling the effects. I was
extremely happy and I talked a lot. So if you thought I couldn’t talk any faster
or any louder you were wrong! LOL! By 8:00 pm I had already had my fun. So I
decided to call it a day even if there was still a special dinner being hosted
at the hotel. I left other people still enjoying the drinks and the soft music
that filled the serene ambiance. I got home and dashed quickly to my room
before my folks had a chance to take out the good old breathalyzer! I had to
get to bed so as to be fresh and ready for the next day’s mapping event. Which
I was!
It was a good event and I am glad I attended it. I am already
looking forward to the 2014 Edition! I met some good old friends, networked with corporates and I learnt a
lot as well. You should also make a point of attending the next one. It will
give you a platform to share your experiences with others, network and ask IT
strategic questions directly to the Oracle experts.
Thanks for dropping
by. Have a lovely afternoon.
#happydays
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