Businesses today are actively looking to enhance their systems by integrating with new technology, reducing their expenses and simplify their internal activities. Whichever market your business may be in, all industries are trying to manage a range of demands from employees, customers and partners, adding more pressure to deliver strategic and informed decisions quicker than ever before.

Businesses are looking to larger cloud providers like Oracle to streamline IT processes and simplify systems for investors and at the same time provide continuous improvements in the integration of AI and machine learning systems.

Rondy Ng, the senior vice president of applications development at Oracle explains that technology can provide significant support to businesses, not just from a streamlining perspective but improving engagement and transforming internal business activities and models. Many businesses today understand the importance of technology and its role in transforming business functions. Oracle Cloud enables the management of financial processes, HR and other data sources within one simplistic platform, delivering a single source of information to improve business efficiency and generate company insights.

Oracle’s position within the Cloud is highlighted by a recent statement by the CEO, Mark Hurd in the latest earnings report. Hurd refers to the IDC annual market share results, highlighting that Oracle received the highest market share worldwide out of all enterprise applications for the last three years running. Hurd points out that several leading businesses have selected Oracle as their cloud provider, including Ferguson, a wholesale distributor valued at over $20 billion, which have moved to Oracle ERP Cloud, EPM and Supply Chain. Other recent businesses moving to Oracle include Argo Insurance, Experian, Wright Medical and Emerson Electric.

Oracle continues to show success in the enterprise cloud app market through continued results for its customers, delivering solutions to the rising challenges facing many businesses today. According to recent converts, Baylor University, moving their core financial, planning and HR systems to one cloud-based platform enabled the university to enhance business insights and improve their ability to adapt to challenges faced within the education market.

A new report created by Oracle and the WHU suggests that whilst many businesses may have invested in the right technology, they may be lacking the culture, skills and behaviour to really improve business efficiency.

Research by Oracle and the Otto Beisheim School of Management have discovered that business efficiency can improve by over 60% when the correct technology is introduced alongside several vital factors. According to the report, many companies have selected the best technologies, but are showing signs of a lack of focus on culture, skills or the right behaviours to really harness the benefits. The report suggests that without these core factors business efficiency will increase when technology is implemented, but at a much lower level.

The core factors highlighted in the report include:

• Decision making driven by data
• Flexibility and willingness to change
• An entrepreneurial attitude and culture
• A shared approach towards digital technology
• Critical questioning and thinking
• A learning culture
• Open and transparent communication  and collaboration

The report involved studying the opinions of 850 HR Directors and over 5,000 employees spanning 23 nations. Researchers at the WHU highlight that the potential to be adaptable and agile is essential for businesses if they intend to compete in today’s market and provide market-leading propositions. Adaptable represents better support for users and is also an essential factor for any company wanting to attract and retain their employees. Businesses that are not prepared for constant change will not be in a position to compete for the skills required in the current and future digital market.

The rate of progress is an essential driving factor for companies in this marketplace and adaptability and agility should be viewed as essential for technology companies, according to the WHU. Oracle believes that this provides an opportunity for HR teams to manage workforce transformation and really highlight the productivity benefits of technology to a company.

There is still a perception that technology will replace traditional work activities but Oracle believes that business efficiency and further development will only come from the two sides working together. Oracle highlights that with any technology introduction, there needs to be a complete culture change and training of staff to be capable of working with machines and technology. Oracle states that the digital skills from this process that contribute to the seven core factors are essential to really understand the true benefits of any new technology and for a business to become flexible.

In the last week, Oracle released a new customer-focused vision for Oracle Analytics at their latest Analytics Summit. Oracle’s leading data platform, Oracle Analytics is perfectly placed to combine data, analytics and applications and support the requirements of business users, analysts and technology users. Oracle analytics provides customers with leading AI-powered analytic capabilities for preparing data, data visualisation, reporting, augmented analysis and natural language processing.

T.K. Anand, the Senior Vice President of AI, Data Analytics and Cloud at Oracle explained to media that they are dedicated to supporting customers in ensuring they get the highest value from their data and to provide the best analytics experience. At their latest event, Anand highlighted that Oracle was announcing a new vision, a new experience and a higher level of commitment to customer success.

Richard Solar, the MD of Deloitte Consulting explains that clients today are looking for the best analytical solutions available that are created with the enterprise in mind. Business leaders have access to more data than ever and really require platforms that can convert all of this data into insightful information. Deloitte is dedicated to delivering value for businesses, driven by the Oracle Analytics Cloud system. Combining bother systems, Deloitte combines data and information and support leaders with making important decisions using the latest analytics platforms.

Oracle Analytics Cloud

Developed initially for the cloud, Oracle Analytics Cloud is the central part of Oracle Analytics. The system provides businesses with self-service analytics to prepare data, create visualisations, augmented analysis and natural language processing. Oracle Analytics users worldwide can generate quicker insights and improve overall business results.

Oracle Analytics has been essential for many businesses. For Western Digital, Bill Roy, the senior director believes that the cloud is allowing their internal customers to generate their own content and become self-serving. In today’s business environment, disruption is continuous, resulting in a number of new challenges for businesses. To be successful, business leaders must utilise their data to discover real-valued insights and deliver better, informed decisions.

By leveraging Oracle Analytics, businesses are supporting their client in delivering results by enabling them to innovate, automate and enhance business operations through clear insights that generate real business results.

Oracle has been confirmed as a leader in Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Core Financial Management Suites report. Oracle ERP Cloud gained recognition based on its strengths in executing and completion of its vision. This represents the third year in a row that Oracle ERP Cloud has been selected as a leader in Gartner’s report.
The report suggests that leaders prove a ‘market-defining vision’ of how financial management systems and associated processes can be supported and enhanced by moving to the cloud. Leaders display a clear method of delivering this vision through providing a range of products, services and available market strategies. Gartner explains that leaders show consistent results, securing deals with a range of businesses and display wide functionality across all areas of financial management. Gartner highlight that leaders generally cover a wider market audience, which means they may not meet the requirements of some specialised markets, which may be better suited for niche businesses operating in this sector.

Rondy NG, the senior VP for applications development at Oracle explains that Oracle remains very focused on the success of its customers. Oracle is totally committed to considerable investments into innovation that can support over 6000 ERP cloud customers with their financial operations. Oracle has highlighted how happy to be recognised as a leader by Gartner, stating that the report highlights their strengths, investment focus and customer results.
Oracle ERP Cloud consists of a range of ERP capabilities within Financials, Procurement and Project Portfolio Management (PPM), including Enterprise Performance Management, Governance Risk and Compliance.
Combined with Supply Chain Management and its broader range of Oracle Cloud Application products, Oracle enables its customers to stay ahead of potential changes, develop flexible businesses and understand the real potential of new innovations.

Oracle ERP Cloud was selected as a Leader in Gartner’s 2018 Magic Quadrant for Cloud ERP for product-focused mid-sized enterprises. Oracle was also named the leader in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Cloud for Financial Planning and Analysis Solutions and for Cloud Financial Close Solutions.

With a complete autonomous cloud database and other cloud services, Oracle is intending to support customers with new activities, improving operations and at the same time reducing costs and risk to a business.

Oracle cloud senior vice president Steve Daheb recently stated that Oracle is starting to see things at a tipping point stage, a point after which unstoppable changes will happen. Daheb believes businesses are integrating with new emerging technologies at the fastest rate we have ever experienced.

Daheb explains that these new technologies, whether it be AI or blockchain are enabling us to continue innovating in methods that were previously not even considered. This ultimately is the main strategy of the Oracle cloud and its future development plans.

Oracle Autonomous Databases

Oracle offers a mix of leading cloud services, high potential extensions and further long term plan to develop innovative ways to compete with the big players, Amazon and Microsoft. One particular service is the Oracle Autonomous Database which launches, manages and upgrades itself with no human activity required, covering tasks that are generally done by skill data professionals.

Daheb believes that businesses are actively looking for new technologies to support business development, how they can innovate and create varied experiences for employees and customers. Daheb refers to their customer Hertz and how their process of creating a provision for a database would generally take them up to ten weeks to complete. The Autonomous Database, however, allows Hertz to complete the same process in under ten minutes, freeing up significant time and resources.

Daheb also refers to another client call QMP that specialises in laboratory management and we’re looking to improve the response in getting lab results more efficiently. With the Autonomous Database, an average two-week wait for blood results now takes under 40 minutes. This time reduction creates multiple benefits to prescribing quicker, reacting to problems faster and most importantly improving the service for patients.

According to Oracle, Autonomous Databases are saving nearly 80% of the time a business would spend on provisioning a database. The time saved from using this service is then applied to more meaningful and insightful actions and fine-tuning certain parts of the business. Innovation is sparking significant changes in the business in terms of speed and response and providing quicker access to insights.

In a recent report, Melissa Boxer, the VP of Oracle explains how Oracle Adaptive Intelligent Applications can remove the repetitive and tedious ERP and supply chain jobs from people’s work.

Over the last few years, Oracle has increased its investment into implementing AI and Machine Learning capabilities within a range of their applications, in particular, the Oracle Adaptive Intelligent Applications. Boxer explains that its Adaptive Intelligent Apps are focused on creating next-generation smart innovative applications based on big data generated within the Oracle Cloud. Boxer highlights that AI and ML can be integrated into Oracle Cloud-based applications in various methods. She explains how the automation of tedious and repetitive jobs such as invoice matching or approving expenses are tasks that can be handled by AI/ML tools within the cloud today.

Boxer explains that ML can manage specific users cases within conventional business activities, such as procurement and accounts payable. Oracle then expand on this potential by using Oracle’s ML algorithms to enhance the entire process.

For Oracle, ML requires accurate and relevant data to generate the best results. It’s quite clear that relying on poor data for ML models will mean poor quality results. Data fed to the Oracle Adaptive Intelligent Apps utilises a blend of first and third party data pools. Oracle uses tuning processes, using training data and ML algorithms ensuring customers receive the benefits of instant value when the application is activated. The data records are consistently added to the Oracle ML learning systems, enabling models to be constantly refined based on customer data. The concept behind these models is to reduce the reliance on having a pool of data scientists, which for many businesses is simply not economically viable.

Boxer points out that there is no assumption that the AI developed for standard projects will work for all. The system needs to gain an understanding of the customer business, which involves learning from customer actions and their response to recommendations. Through each recommendation, the system learns from the customer response. The information generated supports ML algorithms and ensuring they are continuously improved.

For Oracle, AI is integrated into applications that existing customers use, meaning they don’t have to become familiar with another platform. Chabot engagement is a growing system that is developed to provide an enhanced mobile experience and enable people to perform a task by responding to several simple questions. In terms of expense reporting, this applied process can save thousands of hours for both the employee and managers, who presumably have better things to be doing than collating expense reports.

Many CIOs and IT professionals are completely aware that they need to invest in artificial intelligence and other similar technologies to ensure they continue to be competitive for the future. Research shows, however, that the transition takes exceptionally longer than expected.

A recent study released at the Gartner Data and Analytics Conference stated that 30% of audience participants were planning to develop AI capabilities themselves. A further 50% of the audience said that planned to use applications with AI capabilities built-in.

At this month’s SAPPHIRE Now event in Florida, SAP confirmed a number of innovations to the SAP s/4HANA ERP platform to make it simpler to integrate artificial intelligence and robotics to transform applications.

SAP explained that the new release which is due to be available this month will incorporate 100 AI and robotic automated process capabilities, supporting the business’s aim to automating half of its manual tasks within its ERP platform by 2021. The new system will include features that will enable SAP shops to stimulate new business and commercial processes, so they can measure factors such as the subscription impacts and usage pricing. SAP states that the changes would enable intelligent product design and quicker go-to-market time as improved personalised products and services. Some of the new AI capabilities SAP has highlighted includes intelligent accruals management, financial journal entry and innovative robotic process automation.

Another ERP major, Oracle confirmed a range of new AI releases within its product range, announced at the Modern Customer Experience event in Las Vegas earlier this year. Oracle states that the AI improvements would include expense reporting assistant, project management digital assistant and enhanced financials controls.

Implementing new AI capabilities to the SAP and Oracle platforms are a vital part of long term plans for these major vendors. Amit Zavery, the executive vice president of Oracle Cloud Platform states that every company is now looking into data science and machine learning as a vital method to create a competitive advantage. Zavery points out that lack of tooling and machine learning capabilities can, however, cause many of these projects to be unsuccessful.

According to research by Gartner, many companies start data science and machine learning projects using free or low-cost software and cloud services but generally tend to move onto commercial systems. Gartner predicts that AI technology will be integrated into nearly every new software products by 2020.

The new hub will provide a platform for Oracle customers, partners and other investors, offering a clearer understanding of emerging technologies.

Leading tech company Oracle has announced the launch of its first technology and innovation hub in Saudi Arabia aimed at promoting the development of artificial intelligence, IoT and other emerging technologies within the nation.

The new office in Riyadh was officially opened this week by the Vice Minister at the Ministry of Telecommunications and IT who explained that the hub would represent one of several innovation labs planned to drive digital transformation across Saudi Arabia. The minister referred to the plans as a vital part of the kingdom’s 2030 vision to diversify the economy. The diversification plans show a strong emphasis on digital technology as a key driver of enhancing growth and development within the kingdom. The minister refers to data as the new oil and with continued economic changes, Saudi Arabia is progressing its technology plans to maintain the pace.

The hub will also provide a vital knowledge platform for Oracle customers, partners and stakeholders and provide further innovation with regional companies. Abdul Rahman Al-Thehaiban, the senior vice president for technology in the region at Oracle emphasised that digital transformation was a central piece of new government plans. Al-Thehaiban explains that businesses in Saudi Arabia now really understand the importance of embracing digital technology. He suggests that the innovation hub will promote awareness for key stakeholders, encourage further innovation and support skills development for the next wave of leaders in Saudi Arabia.

Oracle has been active in Saudi Arabia for over 30 years and works with clients and partners such as Saudi Telecom Company, Riyadh Metro and Fitaihi Holding Group.

AirAsia has confirmed that it will partner with Oracle to centralise and enhance its finance operations by utilising Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Cloud.

The new developments support the affordable airline business growth plans and its goal of being the leading travel technology business in Asia.

Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia Groups explains that the business has supported ASEAN connectivity ever since its beginning in 2001. Over the last 18 years, Fernandes explains that AirAsia has expanded its network and launched a number of new routes across Asia Pacific, delivering new services to meet their guest’s needs.

AirAsia now sees this is as the next stage in their journey, enhancing their existing business progress and brand reputation and transforming AirAsia into something more than just an airline. Fernandes explains that AirAsia intends to be the travel technology business for the region and part of this goal involves developing into an intelligent and connected enterprise.

AirAsia has connected with over 6,000 organisations covering multiple location and industries with this development. Oracle ERP Cloud enables businesses of all sizes to effectively make use of the most recent innovations in artificial intelligence, digital assistants, the Internet of Things and other services to enhance overall productivity, reduce costs and improve control.

Pattra Boosarawongse, the CFO of AirAsia Group explains that creating agile finance operations is a vital part of delivering a successful business, creating readily available financial information in real time, which can be used to make strategic business decisions. Boosarawongse highlights that AirAsia now operates in 25 markets across Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the US, making their operations rather complicated. Their finance team needs to be capable of managing a range of data currencies and perform transactions with suppliers in various countries.

Oracle ERP Cloud provides an opportunity for AirAsia to simplify, standardise and automate all financial operations within the group and allow their finance teams more time to focus on important tasks that will expand the business.

Summary of Benefits of Oracle to AirAsia:

Align chart of accounts and enterprise structure modelling: Oracle ERP Cloud integrates the business activities of AirAsia, enabling efficient operations and enhance decision making. The cloud solution provides the latest best practices and the implementation partner TransSys supports the standardising of business activities within finance and procurement.

Revenue accounting and integration of operational systems: Oracle ERP Cloud is combined with the current business systems at AirAsia delivering a single channel across all financial and procurement functions.

Direct cost and operation control: Oracle EPM Cloud will support AirAsia with global account reconciliation, enabling the business to define, review and produce financial and management reports.

Reliable data models for profit analysis: Oracle ERP and EPM cloud can support core business models and reporting, enabling AirAsia to enhance its decision making processes.

Mark Hurd, the CEO of Oracle believes AirAsia is leading innovation in their industry and provides a fine example of how technology can improve both costs and overall customer experience. Hurd explains that the Oracle systems will provide a valuable tool to enable continued development at AirAsia and strengthen their position within the ASEAN travel market.

The new developments support the affordable airline business growth plans and its goal of being the leading travel technology business in Asia.

Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia Groups explains that the business has supported ASEAN connectivity ever since its beginning in 2001. Over the last 18 years, Fernandes explains that AirAsia has expanded its network and launched a number of new routes across Asia Pacific, delivering new services to meet their guest’s needs.

AirAsia now sees this is as the next stage in their journey, enhancing their existing business progress and brand reputation and transforming AirAsia into something more than just an airline. Fernandes explains that AirAsia intends to be the travel technology business for the region and part of this goal involves developing into an intelligent and connected enterprise.

AirAsia has connected with over 6,000 organisations covering multiple location and industries with this development. Oracle ERP Cloud enables businesses of all sizes to effectively make use of the most recent innovations in artificial intelligence, digital assistants, the Internet of Things and other services to enhance overall productivity, reduce costs and improve control.

Pattra Boosarawongse, the CFO of AirAsia Group explains that creating agile finance operations is a vital part of delivering a successful business, creating readily available financial information in real time, which can be used to make strategic business decisions. Boosarawongse highlights that AirAsia now operates in 25 markets across Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the US, making their operations rather complicated. Their finance team needs to be capable of managing a range of data currencies and perform transactions with suppliers in various countries.

Oracle ERP Cloud provides an opportunity for AirAsia to simplify, standardise and automate all financial operations within the group and allow their finance teams more time to focus on important tasks that will expand the business.

Summary of Benefits of Oracle to AirAsia:

Align chart of accounts and enterprise structure modelling: Oracle ERP Cloud integrates the business activities of AirAsia, enabling efficient operations and enhance decision making. The cloud solution provides the latest best practices and the implementation partner TransSys supports the standardising of business activities within finance and procurement.

Revenue accounting and integration of operational systems: Oracle ERP Cloud is combined with the current business systems at AirAsia delivering a single channel across all financial and procurement functions.

Direct cost and operation control: Oracle EPM Cloud will support AirAsia with global account reconciliation, enabling the business to define, review and produce financial and management reports.

Reliable data models for profit analysis: Oracle ERP and EPM cloud can support core business models and reporting, enabling AirAsia to enhance its decision making processes.

Mark Hurd, the CEO of Oracle believes AirAsia is leading innovation in their industry and provides a fine example of how technology can improve both costs and overall customer experience. Hurd explains that the Oracle systems will provide a valuable tool to enable continued development at AirAsia and strengthen their position within the ASEAN travel market.