OBUG Benelux Connect 2011

The OBUG Benelux Connect 2011 conference is almost there. If you want to go to the biggest Oracle conference in the Benelux, you have to be present on March 29 at SQUARE in Brussels, Belgium!

This year it's even better than last year, with top speakers such as Chris Leone, Tom Kyte, Wim Coekaerts, Andrew Sutherland and Peter Gates. There are over 42 different (mostly customer) presentations, User Experience Customer Feedback sessions, an enormous vendor showcase and a large Oracle demo ground.

Also for Oracle Application Express (APEX) there is again a complete track. The APEX sessions are not pure technical, but more case studies. It's a great way to see what others have done with APEX! I'll also do a presentation and this time it will be special for me, as it will be the first time I'll publicly show a product we developed "AE GPS Tracker/Intelligence", which is currently beta-tested by some pre-selected customers.

So I would say, OBUG Benelux 2011 is definitely not to miss! People like Tom Kyte and Wim Coekaerts (a Belgian) are not that much in the Benelux!

You find the complete program in the Program magazine OBUG Benelux Connect 2011.

You can register for the event here.

Hope to see you there!

APEX at OBUG Connect 2010

In November last year I blogged about a new initiative to launch an APEX SIG in the Benelux.
The first results of that you'll see at the biggest Oracle User Group event in the Benelux, called OBUG Benelux Connect. This year it's held in Arnhem, the Netherlands on Tuesday March 23. Every year it changes location between Belgium and the Netherlands.


Where last year there were zero APEX sessions, this year Oracle Application Express became a focus area! There are three APEX sessions planned.

11.30 - 12.15 From subsidy request to payment: fast and flexible with Oracle APEX by Erik van Dongen and Arlette Koeijers is a case study of an app at the Ministry of Agriculture.

14.30 - 15.15 Defending the shores with Oracle Application Express by Arie in't Veld and Bart Meijer is another case study where previous Excel was used and which got replaced by APEX and BI Publisher to print PDF's.

15.45 - 16.30 APEX 4.0 by Dimitri Gielis. I'll speak about the biggest differences in developing in APEX 4.0 compared to earlier versions. Of course I'll demo the coolest APEX 4.0 new features!

You find all information in the program magazine of OBUG Connect 2010 (pdf) or online on the OBUG site.

Hope to see you there!

APEX SIG at OBUG

On Thursday I had a final meeting with the directors of OBUG (Oracle BeNeLux User Group) about setting up an APEX SIG.

Oracle Application Express is getting more popular in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, so it made sense to bring all these people together and talk about it.

So from Thursday onwards in the diagrams of the OBUG you'll see an APEX SIG now. The OBUG has a big one-day event in March called "Benelux Connect", so probably on that day we'll do some APEX sessions there. Next to that, the goal is to have at least two meetings a year with the APEX SIG. Next to the technical presentations, the Use Cases and sharing knowledge, the networking and having fun is an important part.

We are working on a new website for OBUG, which will go live in January and on there you will find more information about the APEX SIG.

We have many more ideas and I hope all of the APEX enthusiasts and people working with this wonderful tool in the BeNeLux will join.

While we wait for the official website to be launched you can register your interest in the APEX SIG here. All registered people will be kept informed... so register now!

PS: For the people thinking the current OBUG site is made in ASP, you are right, but the register section is an iFrame to an APEX app ;-)