ORACLE TO SHOW HOW TO SAVE MILLIONS AT ‘SUMMIT’ SYMPOSIUM

Organisational effectiveness in an e-world tabled at Dubai’s first business symposium – October 22-23 2000

A senior official from Oracle’s executive committee is set to explain how it is possible to shave $1billion from operating costs by adopting e-business solutions at the forthcoming Summit Dubai e-business symposium (October 22-23 2000).

Sergio Giancoletto, Oracle Corporation's executive vice president responsible for managing Europe, Middle East and Africa, will share tactics from the leading software provider’s own e-business solution success story.

According to Giancoletto, Oracle, who provide the software that powers the Internet, enhanced its bottom-line by a billion dollars in twelve months by mapping out and following an e-business blueprint.

"The Oracle E-Business Blueprint comprises four transformation stages that we now consider essential for all businesses wishing to truly embrace e-business," stated Giancoletto.

He said that these are : changes in technology, business structure, processes and culture, singling out the latter as the hardest to implement.

"While all four prongs require a brave management team, it is the change in business roles and responsibilities that is the most difficult."

He said that Oracle saved $100 million from implementing the cultural shift alone, adding that the first-stage billion dollar cost saving is soon to be two: "We are well on our way to eliminating another $1billion," he said.

Giancoletto will be in Dubai for the first time since his appointment to the regional position, considered the third most senior ranking in Oracle. He joined Oracle in 1997 from AT&T. He has served on various company boards and IT industry associations, including the Chairmanship of the Conference Board for Information Management. He is also co-author of the book "Information in the Enterprise: It's more than Technology".

Giancoletto will be joined at Summit Dubai by speakers from nine of the world’s leading companies and consultants, including American Express, Andersen Consulting, Arthur Andersen, Bywater, Cisco Systems, Fusion Consulting, Hay Group, Microsoft and Motorola.

Dubai Internet City (DIC) is the symposium’s patron, with the Department of Economic Development (DED) giving support. While, Dubai FM radio and the region’s leading English-language business publication, Gulf Business, will provide dedicated coverage of the event.

Saira Azhar, chief executive stressed that the symposium is not ‘another IT event’ : "The core objective of the meet is to focus the actual impact of e-business on the day-to-day business operations of companies of all sizes.

"It is not about hardware and systems but about how business can embrace e-business at the ground-level, hence real life e-scenario’s, such as Oracle’s, are key to display the symposium’s differentiation."

The two-day symposium takes a three-prong look at the six essential areas of organisational effectiveness – each placed in the e-environment - by running speaker seminars, product showcases and product presentations in tandem.

The topics under the spotlight aside from e-business strategy are : e-leadership, e-HR, e-information technology, e-finance and administration and e-marketing.

"The forum will suggest strategies and offer methods for their effective implementation," said Azhar. "Specifically, we will spotlight the role of the consultant and how companies can use third-party expertise. The overriding aim here will be to ‘throw out’ the seemingly negative stigma attached to consultants in general."

More than 200 business influencers representing the core of the region’s corporate world are set to attend Summit Dubai which will be held at Emirates Towers Hotel.