What is your perception of how economic factors are affecting members now?
Clark: The economy is improving. I have seen a lot of members that are trying to hire and having problems getting the talent that they need – not just Oracle DBAs, but business analysts and developers as well. And so I think for many folks, it is a tight market. It is good that they are trying to hire, but also frustrating for them because for many of them it takes a long time to fill their open positions.
Looking ahead, what are the immediate areas of focus for the OAUG?
Clark: We view the value we provide to our members in three areas. There is the education we provide, and there are opportunities for networking with OAUG Connection Point events and COLLABORATE.
The third is in providing a member voice to Oracle. Our OAUG Customer Support Council has been working closely with Oracle for example on changes to support policies to the benefit of members and potentially Oracle, and we have also been talking about what members are most interested in, feature- and function-wise, for products. We continue to see improved communication between the OAUG and various areas of Oracle, which I think is a huge positive.
The product managers and folks from Oracle that we talk to really value the input that our members give. It helps them design and build and integrate new requirements into the existing applications. There is nothing like having the real-world person out there explaining the true business requirements.
More information about the OAUG is available at www.oaug.org.