Oracle CloudWorld 2023: Live reports from the main keynotes

We're seated and ready for the keynote to begin. Usual upbeat music pumping as the crowds come in and find their seats.

Not long to go now and the room is filling up. ITPro very glad we got here early and thankfully we have not only a seat but a desk to rest our laptop on so we can bring you all the keynote news as it happens! 

While it's only day one of Oracle CloudWorld, the tech giant has already made a raft of announcements. We've listed them below but expect Safra et al to go into more detail on a few of the key ones during her keynote session, which starts in just a few minutes.

Here are the headlines so far:

• Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians Establishes Foundations for Future Generational Success with Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications
• TrueBlue Automates Finance and HR with Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications
• Providence Boosts Enterprise Operations with Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications
• Tenet Healthcare Streamlines HR and Payroll Processes with Oracle
• Red Bull Ford Powertrains Uses Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to Build Hybrid Engine from the Ground Up
• Thales Announces Support for External Key Management in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
• Amdocs and Oracle Accelerate Service Providers’ Journey to the Cloud
• Loblaw Rings Up Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to Modernize its IT Infrastructure
• Oracle Transforms Payments and Transaction Banking in the Cloud
• Oracle Helps Healthcare Organizations Optimize Workforce Management
• Oracle Helps Healthcare Organizations Solve Financial, Planning, and Supply Chain Challenges
• Oracle Brings Generative AI Capabilities to Healthcare
• Burjeel Holdings PLC Awards Oracle Health AED 125 million Contract to Implement State-of-the-art Electronic Medical Record Ecosystem
• Oracle Transforms Care Delivery with Next-Generation Millennium EHR and Generative AI Capabilities
• Oracle and Mastercard Enable Customers to Get Faster Access to Working Capital
• New Oracle Student Offering Transforms the Higher Education Experience
• Oracle and Uber Co-innovate to Transform Last Mile Delivery in Retail
• Oracle Enables Marketing and Sales Teams to Accelerate Revenue with GuiCampaigns
• Oracle Adds Artificial Intelligence to Marketing, Sales, and Service Applications to Help Customers Grow Revenue
• Oracle Introduces Generative AI Capabilities to Help Organizations Improve Customer Service
• Oracle Releases Java 21 and Extends Support Roadmap

Now playing 'Final Countdown' as we, literally, countdown to the main event. Room very full. Looks like standing room only at the back. 

Theme of this opening keynote is “Putting customer success at the heart of everything” and Catz, according to Oracle, will be joined by "leaders of innovative companies."

After a video with lots of inspirational words and no doubt nods to some of the key themes of the next few days, Safra Catz is on stage. 

Catz entrance is no less inspirational and upbeat as the video played before her entrance. 

Enthusiastically, she addresses the assembled audience:

“This is so fantastic. Together we can do pretty much anything. Between all of you and us, this is a truly stunning moment for all of us. For technology, for people and for doing things that many of us weren’t even sure were possible. 

"We get to celebrate and learn from each other. Today’s keynote is really focused on all of you. On teaching and learning and sharing. And showing what’s possible when you have the right technology and the right mindset.  I think you’re going to learn a lot… 

"We’ve tried to reorientate our entire company around you. The fact you’re all in Las Vegas really means a lot to us. So thank you for everything.

I also want to thank our partners and our sponsors for this event. Again, sharing, learning and collaborating together.  Finally, I want to thank my employees, my team. And as you all know, it’s only the beginning.  Very very exciting.” 

Catz says she'll be joined in her keynote by 5 company execs who she labelled as "truly courageous" adding "They use those things [like change or challenges] as motivation to move forward and advance. And they grab technology and change…"

The first exec Catz is joined by is Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. 

Catz references the fact that Khosrowshahi sometimes gets behind of the wheel himself. 

"In order to understand you have  to put yourself in the shoes of the customer," he says in response. 

"For us really balancing this growth and profitability has been a skill that has been a learned skill. Oracle Cloud has grown with us. Oracle has been a big big part of our transformation to grow, and to grow profitably."

Catz, smiling, responds with " Every time I see an Uber go by I think 'We’re a little part of that."

Khosrowshahi says 35% of brands use Uber Direct. "If you order an iPhone from Apple you can get it same day," he says. 

He adds this is powered by Oracle and Uber technologies.  “It’s one of our most exciting new initiatives."

Closing the first exec chat, Catz talks about the importance of trusted partnerships. Catz: “They can’t tell where we end and you start. That’s the joy for us.”

Next up is Lori Goltermann, Chief Client Officer and CEO, Enterprise Clients at AON. 

Goltermann says the company is driven by client needs and focuses on three key areas: Building customer intimacy and the relationships, being relevant and driving impact. 

Goltermann says: "Time is so valuable, we have to make sure we're building all of our strategies in the areas that matter. By building on Oracle CX Cloud, it’s possible in a way it wasn’t before." 

While technology is a big part of the solution for many companies (whether it's solving issues or driving innovation forward), Catz highlighted that tech alone isn't the whole answer.

"In many ways it’s not the technology that’s hard. It’s the people who say ‘I’ve got to keep using what [I've been using]," adding that change management is a big part of it. 

Talk turns to AI.

Goltermann says: "AI will be one of the biggest topics here. AI for us really starts with industry. When we’re sitting down with financial institutions, that’s very different than a life sciences company that’s using AI to cure cancer. We’re helping [our clients] think through how to build through the staff and skills they need." 

She added that research has shown that only just over one third (35%) of companies have what they need to actually successfully move their strategy from theory to reality. However, the numbers are even less impressive when it comes to AI, falling ti  less than 5%.

Goltermann says when it comes to AI, AON is “Moving fast, but thoughtfully.” 

She continued: "AI will make us wildly more efficient with the basics. What takes weeks now takes seconds. So we’re thrilled to be a part of the AI conversation with leading firms like Oracle.”

Now Catz is joined by David Markwell EVP & Chief Technology & Analytics Officer at Loblaw Companies Limited whose mission, according to Markwell is to 'help Canadians live well."

Markwell says a lot of power lies in the firm's customer loyalty programme, where points can be earned and redeemed. 

He added: "What makes me excited is our focus not just on the products and services we offer but how we operate. We’ve made commitments to reduce food waste from our storees, eliminate non-recyclable plastics from our supply chain and reach net zero all to help Canadians.”

Catz says that Loblaw had "one of the largest SAP databases." 180TBs in fact that have successfully been moved to Oracle Cloud. 

This cloud journey has been a six-year one so far, according to Markwell. Given the size and importance of the data, he says it was not without risk. As such, the company had a very rigorous selection process. 

"Making sure we had a platform in the cloud that was performant enough and cost effective enough to run at the profile we needed it too [was important]," he says. 

"I was also looking for a partner who was in it with us. Who felt as much a part of our success as we did. There were many applicants for the role. Oracle came out on top."

The migration involved just 6 hours of downtime and has been in operation for six months now. 

Now it's time to welcome another exec to the stage on what has been a very interesting relay race of thought leadership so far.

This exec is Leonardo de Carvalho Capdeville, who is Chief Technology Information Officer at TIM SA (Brazil). 

The company has 62 million customers and seems very happy with the work it has done with Oracle so far and is even more excited about what lies ahead given the very recent partnership announcement with Microsoft.

Catz said: “Bringing Microsoft in, working closely with us, is going to meet your needs.

Capdeville responded: To us it was a surprise, it was a gift. Now we can choose the best of each technology. It was amazing.”

Going forward, Capdeville is excited about the potential of moving the business to be a much more data-driven organisation. And it looks like both Microsoft and Oracle will be key to that and what success looks like. 

We make this exec number five, so is possibly the last one to share the stage with Catz. That honour goes to Ram Krishnan, EVP & chief operating officer of Emerson.

Krishnan says the company is very pleased to partner with Oracle in what is a very longstanding relationship. 

He said: “I’ve been with Emerson for 30 years now and started as an engineer.” 11 different roles.... It has taught me truly the bias for action. 

[I'm excited about] the role of technology and how it has helped deliver on that speed and resiliency with that bias for action. [My job is to] convert that vision into results with a bias for action. Vision without execution is hallucination." 

What's better than hearing from five 'courageous execs'? Hearing from six! Catz is now joined on stage by Aaron Bly, CIO of of First Solar. 

Bly provides some company background, saying it doesn’t make sense to make a solar panel that takes years to offset the energy used to produce it. "For us it’s two months," he said. 

He added that they can recycle 90% of a panel and re-use it meaning you can get the benefit of that element for 1,000 years. 

In recent years, the company was at an inflection point. 

'We said 'what are we really good at? We’re good at technology and manufacturing," Bly says, adding they backed out of other areas to ensure focus.

Bly says the firm was left with a lot of technical debt as a result of picking up different technologies for those different non-core areas of business. 

"We were going out and buying the flashiest thing out there. Following the candy. We got to a point where we needed to consolidate. We want to focus our energies on what we do best," he added. 

"The last part of our transformation was minimal viable process. Oracle checked the box on that. I also wanted to get stuff out of the datacentre... We wanted to go to the cloud. It was very important to have a partner we could trust. Oracle listed, they helped, they advised." 

The journey is an ongoing one with FirstSolar going live with HCM around two years ago and ERP having moved just 48 days ago. 

Re AI, Bly says: "We honestly believe we have some of the most leanest, competitive manufacturing processes in the world. AI is cutting edge. We have been using it in our manufatcing processes for the last couple of years. 

"I’m really looking forward to this week, learning how Oracle is going to roll out AI and how I get to take advantage of it."

Catz is equally excited about AI: “We have waited for this moment where the data and the compute and the GPUs and all the technologies have come together. This is probably the single most exciting period in technology for decades.”

The keynote is almost over, with just a few more parting comments from Catz to come.

She says: “Aside form the technology which you will hear about all this week and from Larry Ellison this afternoon... Remember it is about making customers successful and sharing that courage and leadership and having that mindset for action and having th attitude to really use the newest technologies.

"This is a very important time. Things are changing around us and we want to help you move ahead. Thank you for being with us and come back to see Larry." 

And with that keynote one is over. We'll be back in a few hours to hear what Larry himself has to say. Stay tuned - it's going to be an interesting ride! 

An hour and a half until Larry Ellison's keynote. We'll be heading to the main conference room in about 30 minutes so will bring you updates nearer the time. 

Delegates now coming in thick and fast for Oracle chief technology officer and executive chairman Larry Ellison's keynote, which is due to start in half an hour. 

What a sweet touch - some treats to keep the analysts and media occupied while we wait. Thank you! Just 15 minutes to go now...

Some more music pumping to get us in the mood while the stragglers look to find some free seats. Have a feeling it will be standing room only again for this one, much like Catz' opening keynote this morning. 

Just a few moments more before we get to hear “Oracle’s vision for the future.” (which is how this keynote is being billed on the agenda). Always hard to predict which direction Ellison may take so his keynotes always prove very worthwhile listening indeed. 

The main man himself is here! 

"I’m not going to talk about the NFL," he quipped. 

"Generative AI showed up about a year ago now. And it changes everything. It certainly changes Oracle," he added. 

He talked about AI/ChatGPT being a rare event that has captured everyone's attention. 

"Who’s going to write the next great script in Hollygood. Someone you know or a computer you don’t know?."

"Oracle has been using Ai for many years. But generative AI is different," he stresses. 

Ellison now talking about APEX and just how much of a game changer it is for development. 

"This is a very big deal. We've been programming in Java for a long time."

"All of our new aopplications are starting with the Autonmous Database. Everything we have that is current. Everything we built a while ago. Everything that is strategic and in the cloud will be on the Autonmous Database.”

“The only way you can build a truly secure system is to eliminate the human error.”

"You only pay for what you use. This is not how other cloud databases work. You pay for them whether they’re working or not. In our case, you get what you need, return it. It’s much higher performance, much lower in cost and much more secure."

Ellison talked about object databases and relational databases and offering the best fo both worlds for customers. He said: “It’s easier to write programs but the programs are durable. You get the best of both words.”

Ellison now talking about the all-new Cerner HealthIntent and collecting health data at scale. 

"This is like a clinical trial that goes on forever. The answers we get from that model enables detailed personalised medicine," he says, adding it's all about improving outcomes for people. 

"I'm not sure there's anything more important we're working on at Oracle than this."

Now he's talking about using sensors and IoT to capture patient data. 

“We’d like to start permanently recording all of that and ensuring the patient monitoring systems [are doing that].”

He says all of that needs to be captured and used as training data and that Oracle is working with partners on this and announcements will follow. 

It's all about data, data, data.

"There’s enormoius amounts of data we need to collect. There’s an enormous amount of training data we need to use to build these models to provide information and help to people in the healthcare industry."

He talked again about the cost efficiency of the Oracle Cloud when it comes to genomic data not being retained due to the overheads involved. 

"We can digitise this. We can save the genomics data."

Ellison has now turned his attention to being green and doing better by our plaent,

"You save about 90% of the land when you grow indoors. We don’t have to burn down the rain forest to create more arable land for farmers. We have enough arable land to grow all the food we need, but we need a comhination of growing indoors and outdoors," he stresses. 

He says agriculture accounts for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but in addition to reducing land requirements, this approach uses 98% less water. 

“It’s always connected to the cloud. Always gathering data. A modern approach to an industry that’s 10,000 years old," Ellison added.

Although he was keen to flag that there are also challenges to these robotic greenhouses (see slide for detail). 

Ellison also talking about the importance of always-on connection and comms/data collection for first responders so they can do the best job. He says people can make mistakes under pressure, so is looking to help find solutions. 

Now talk has turned to the Microsoft Oracle partnership.

Ellison referenced his recent meeting with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, saying "We agreed on one thing: Clouds should be open. They should not be walled gardens."

"There shouldn't be wall between Microsoft's cloud and Oracle's cloud. There shouldn't be a charge [to move your data]. It is your data."

He added: "The world is going back in that direction [of open systems]. Customers are insistent on it."

Ellison says Oracle has more datacentres than any other Hyperscaler. 

Tokyo Stock Exchange runs on NRI Oracle Cloud. It's the only stock exchange in the world to do so, according to Ellison.

And just like that, it's all over. The crowd leave to an update rendition of the song 'Don't walk away from me." 

Twas a keynote that packed a great deal in so that's a wrap from our live blog. 

Do be sure to check back on the side for our coverage of the news and our exec interviews. Thanks for reading.