Bring the Noise
Passion and participation drive the Oracle Technology
Network Architect Community.
In this issue, Bob Rhubart, manager of the architect community on Oracle Technology
Network, provides an update for and about
that community.
Oracle Technology Network is organized around four pillars: Java developers,
database administrators and developers,
system administrators and developers, and
architects. The boundaries between those
community segments are fuzzy and porous,
reflecting the practical reality of enterprise
IT, where individual players often straddle
multiple roles. Each role makes a specific
contribution to the creation, implementation, and maintenance of IT solutions, and
each contribution is an integral piece of the
larger IT puzzle. While each role is essential
to the overall process, it is the architect’s
job to see that all of those pieces fit into a
coherent, fully functioning whole.
That’s not to say that architects stand
above the other roles. But architecture is, by
necessity, the context in which all of the individual roles must operate. This is increasingly true as service orientation, cloud computing, the wildly expanding use of mobile
devices, social computing, and the explosion
of data continue to reshape not just the I T
landscape but the very environment in which
businesses operate.
Architects must be able to clearly communicate how all the pieces fit together within
the solution, and how the solution fits into
the larger enterprise picture. That’s no small
task, which is exactly why Oracle recognizes
the role of the architect.
In supporting the architect community,
Oracle Technology Network draws on the community itself, especially the leaders within
that varied and dynamic network: experienced
I T professionals whose interests center on
Oracle technologies and how they fit into the
enterprise I T ecosystem. Oracle’s own experts
are part of that community, but they are by
CONNECT:
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It is the architect’s
job to see that all
of those pieces fit
into a coherent, fully
functioning whole.
no means the sole source of the architecture content on Oracle Technology Network.
Members of the Oracle ACE and Oracle ACE
Director programs, whose collective expertise
spans a variety of specialties, are high on the
list of contributors. The resulting content
stream draws from articles, blog posts, social
network updates, podcasts, and videos.
Just as architecture itself focuses on
ensuring that the various elements of a solution fit together and act as a cohesive whole,
the architect pillar strives to funnel and filter
the community information stream into a
coherent channel that represents the interests and serves the needs of the architect
community. The focal point of that effort
is the Oracle Technology Network Architect
home page, a portal to a wide variety of
resources for architects.
Among those resources is IT Strategies
from Oracle, an evolving library of reference
architectures and best practices. Another
is the OTN ArchBeat podcast, featuring an
ongoing series of panel discussions in which
subject matter experts and community
leaders share insight in an open forum.
Speaking of open forums, the Architect
home page also includes links to companion
social channels on Facebook and Twitter
where you can track and participate in the
community conversation as it happens.
Moving out of social networks and into
the real world, the events listings on the
Architect home page will keep you up to date
on opportunities to connect with commu-
twitter.com/oracletechnet
linkd.in/otnli
nity leaders and technical experts at a wide
variety of live, in-person events, including
the ongoing series of Oracle Technology
Network Architect Days.
Of course, conversation is a two-way
process. So while we invite you to take
advantage of the stream of architecture
content on Oracle Technology Network
as an information consumer, it is equally
important that you contribute to the stream.
The aforementioned social channels offer
an easy, informal way to participate in the
conversation. But those interested in a more
in-depth, formal approach are encouraged
to submit articles for publication in order to
demonstrate and publicize their architecture
expertise and practical knowledge.
In the end, a community is about more
than shared interests. It is a collection of
individual voices and opinions. True, that can
often be a cacophonous chorus. But that’s
when you know that the participants are passionate about the topic. Oracle Technology
Network is listening, always working to
gather and distill the architecture conversation in a way that makes sense and provides
the greatest value to the community. That’s
our end of the bargain. It’s up to you to add
your voice and your passion.
WEB LOCATOR
Oracle Technology Network Architect
Home Page
oracle.com/technetwork/architect
Article Submission Guidelines
bit.ly/KqsNmM
OTN ArchBeat Podcast
feeds2.feedburner.com/OtnArch2Arch
ArchBeat Blog
blogs.oracle.com/archbeat/
OTN ArchBeat on Twitter
twitter.com/otnarchbeat
OTN ArchBeat Facebook Page
facebook.com/otnarchbeat
