COVID-19 has left us much to despair: lives lost, joblessness, loneliness, and so much more. But despite all the hardships and setbacks, Life has always evolved, and we should continue to make the most out of tragedy. In the past two years, terms like “Digital Transformation” and “Anywhere Operations” (see Gartner’s 2021 predictions) were aplenty. These have greatly influenced how businesses survive, operate, and thrive in this new era. The Cloud has had a huge impact on business continuity and even paving new markets and opportunities.
Insum – Oracle Cloud and APEX
I have two personal “news” to share. The first is that I have finally attained my “Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2021 Architect Professional” certification. I am also not afraid to say that this was my third attempt at the exam. I’m ever grateful for the opportunities and mentorship that Luc Demanche, Insum’s Cloud and DBA Practice Director, has provided me over the past two years. It isn’t just about the destination but the journey that is important, and I am glad that I was able to update myself on OCI’s evolving services.
The second piece of good news is that our team has now adopted new job titles for our team members that more accurately define what we do. For me, my new business card would brand me as a “Senior Cloud Solutions Architect.” While I love APEX very much, I always believed in building a more comprehensive solution with the Oracle Cloud (includes the Oracle Database) at its core and APEX as a portal. And I’m proud to say that that has been my primary role in my last few client engagements. For example, incorporating the OCI Object Storage and Oracle Functions to store and transform multimedia files. While these are personal accolades and milestones, they are only possible because of Insum’s investments in their employees, our culture, its center of excellence in APEX, and increasingly, the Oracle Cloud.
The Singapore Region
Helping customers digitally transform and migrate operations to the Cloud is very important our quest to help make APEX a premier web application platform. Just recently, Oracle announced that it aims to increase the number of cloud data regions worldwide. That includes 14 new locations, including Singapore! There are strong clues from my LinkedIn feeds that we will have a Singapore data region in the coming weeks.
Singapore is my home country. It has been my long-time dream to help increase the adoption and influence of APEX in Singapore and the ASEAN region. The benefit of having access to APEX, a no-cost feature of the Oracle Database, is key to increasing cloud consumption, and we have witnessed that through our customer engagements. Likewise, for organizations looking to improve ROIs on their cloud investments, making full use of this agile development platform is a no-brainer. I am very much looking forward to helping companies in the region in their digital transformation journey as Insum gradually increases its global footprint.
I plan to be in Singapore during the month of December 2021. If the public health orders permit, I’d be happy to pencil in some time for an in-person conversation. If you’d like to lim kopi with me, please get in touch using this form.
Free Certification and Training
In this article, I would also like to appeal to educators in Singapore to consider training and upskilling young IT professionals with knowledge about the OCI and APEX. Help prepare them for the launch of the new data region and the job opportunities that will follow. We need you to help grow a talent pool that will help support current and future OCI customers!
And what better time than now! Earlier in September, Oracle announced that it would provide FREE access to its learning platform till the end of 2021. Learners gain access to a wealth of courses, practice exams, and free certification vouchers with multiple attempts. Whether you are a DBA, Cloud native developer, or data scientist, there is something for everyone. I would be happy to assist in any way I can.
I Am a Believer
While working with Oracle technologies has been my trade, I have always been open to other technologies and frameworks. Throughout my entire career, nothing has stopped me from always learning about and keeping a close eye on other pastures. I believe all technologies are great. However, I truly believe that Oracle Cloud has lots to offer, especially with the autonomous, machine learning, and cloud native services. Many of these address the key technology areas in Gartner’s latest 2022 predictions. While it has its share of faults, the company has constantly been seeking feedback, evolving, and working to improve its products and service. I have experienced this firsthand.
I am always ready to engage in conversations and help find solutions that work for you, so please feel free to reach out. You can contact me personally on Twitter or through Insum.
APEXd2d
Alternatively, if you have questions about OCI and APEX, please consider signing up for help during the upcoming APEXd2d event. I intend to make myself available during the following hours:
Nov 29, 5 to 10 PM PST (Nov 30, 9 AM to 2 PM SGT)
Nov 30, 6 AM to 10 PM PST (Nov 30, 10 PM to Dec 1, 2 PM SGT)
Thanks for reading, and stay safe!
Title image credit: Mike Enerio
