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Final Programme l SAOUG Conference 2026

Three days of connection. Two days of insight. One connected Oracle ecosystem.

The SAOUG Conference 2026 brings the Oracle community together in Cape Town for connection, conversation and practical insight into what’s next for business and technology in an AI-driven world.

From global Oracle leadership and Oracle ACEs to African customers, partners and practitioners, the programme connects big-picture thinking with real-world experience.

AI Everywhere comes to life across Applications, Cloud, Data, Database, AI, Finance and Enterprise Transformation, with practical sessions spanning Oracle E-Business Suite, Fusion Applications, JD Edwards, EPM, Hyperion, Oracle Database, OCI, APEX, analytics, Kubernetes and intelligent automation.

But the real hook is the people in the room. Hear directly from customers transforming their organisations. Ask questions and explore what is working in the real world. Meet your peers, build new connections and take practical ideas back into your organisation.

As we look to the future, our dedicated Early Careers Track creates space for the next generation to learn, connect and build practical skills alongside experienced professionals.

Don’t just read about what’s changing. Be part of the conversation. Be in the room.

Notes

  • Venue Breakdown – The Avenue (Welcome Cocktail Evening on 11 Nov, Exhibition, Main Plenary & Tracks 1&2) I Workshop17 (Tracks 3,4&5) I The Aquarium (UBUNTU Celebration Dinner & Party on 12 Nov)
  • Exhibition Showcase – Meet and engage with Oracle Executives, Partners & ACEs. Benefit from a showcase of the latest solutions, demos and customer success stories.
  • Hello Africa News Desk – Catch exclusive insights, product spotlights and behind-the-scenes stories, our way of amplifying Africa’s Cloud and AI voices to the World.
  • UBUNTU Celebration Dinner & Party – Dress with flair and cultural pride - think modern African elegance!
  • Times are in SAST – South Africa Standard Time, UTC+2
  • Keynotes – 45 minutes I Track Sessions – 40 minutes
  • Tracks are in walking distance – Wear comfortable shoes!

CONFERENCE OPENING, WEDNESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER

  • 18h00 – 21h00 Welcome Cocktail Evening - Brought to you by Perforce Delphix & Oracle South Africa
  • Exhibition Opens
  • 07h30 – 08h30 – Registration & Networking - Exhibition Opens
  • 08h30 – 09h00 – SAOUG Conference 2026 Opening by Emcee - Zandile Mbele, Chairperson & Founder, ETS Innovations Group
  • 09h00 – 09h15 – SAOUG Conference 2026 Welcome Address - Michele De Kreek, SAOUG Chair
  • 09h15 – 09h35 – South African Government's Latest Vision and Progress on AI Policy and Strategy - Honourable Mr Solly Malatsi, South Africa’s Minister of Communications & Digital Technologies
  • 09h35 – 10h20 – Oracle AI: At the Speed of Business - Ashley Sanichar, Oracle South Africa Country Leader and Africa Commercial Sales Director
  • 10h20 – 11h05 – The Intelligent Enterprise: Data, AI and the Platform Shift - Sanjay Singh & Bob Thome, VPs of Oracle Product Development & Management, Oracle Corporation
  • 11h05 – 11h30 – Refreshment Break
  • 11h30 – 12h10 – THE SECRET SAUCE: Turning AI, Data and Cloud into Business Magic - Dr Abi Giles-Haigh, Oracle ACE Director
  • 12h10 – 12h25 – Ecosystem Spotlight: Meet New & Emerging Partners - Featuring: Everpure, Dbvisit Software, In2IT, Oracle Open Technologies, BabesGotBytes - Chaired by Zandile Mbele, Chairperson & Founder, ETS Innovations Group
  • 12h25 – 13h00 – INSIDE THE MINDS - ASK ME ANYTHING - An interactive session with global thought leaders and Oracle ACEs open, unscripted and driven by audience questions across applications, technology and human transformation:
    Dr Abi Giles-Haigh, Ron Ekins, Karkuvelraja Thangamariappan, Ahmed Jassat, Omkar Dhanilal, Vijayganesh Sivaprakasam, Francisco Munoz Alvarez, Marcel Giacomini - Chaired by Connor McDonald
  • 13h00 – 13h45 – LUNCH

CONFERENCE DAY 1: THURSDAY, 12 NOVEMBER

TRACK SESSIONS (40min)

Tracks & Venues:

  • Elevate – Business Applications - Track Sponsor: Oracle Corporation - Room: The Avenue
  • Automate – Cloud Platform & Intelligent Automation - Track Sponsor: In2IT - Room: The Avenue
  • Innovate – Data & Developer Platforms - Track Sponsor: Perforce Delphix - Room: Workshop 17
  • Empower – Human-Centric Transformation - Track Sponsor: Up Time Consulting - Room: Workshop 17
  • Accelerate – The Future of Finance - Track Sponsor: Resolve Red - Room: Workshop 17

13h50 – 14h30

  • Elevate – Speed Up Your EBS: Performance Tuning Made Simple - Bosco Kioko, Finance Reporting Specialist, Alexander Pavlik, CTO & Andy Haack Managing Director, Enginatics
  • Automate – OCI and Architecture: How to Choose the Right Database - Connor McDonald, Oracle Database Advocate
  • Innovate – Unlock Oracle AI Database 26ai: Best Practices for Risk-Free Upgrades - Ron Ekins, Director Field Solution Architecture for EMEA & LATAM, Everpure & Oracle ACE Director
  • Empower – The Future of HCM in the AI Era - Ryk Cloete, HCM Consultant, Oracle South Africa
  • Accelerate – From Trend to Traction: The CFO Agenda and Turning AI into Value on Oracle - Tsholo Masakale, Partner, Deloitte

14h40 – 15h20

  • Elevate – When AI Enters Parliament: A New Era of Digital Legislative Governance - Frederic Glenat, Senior Advisor, Spoon Consulting & Saseeta Ramsahye-Rakha Manager of Parliamentary Digital Services & Broadcasts, Mauritius
  • Automate – Oracle Database Diagnostic Agent: Solving Performance Bottlenecks and Database Hangs - Anil Nair, Distinguished Product Manager, Oracle Corporation
  • Innovate – From Experimentation to Production AI: Trusted, Compliant Data at Scale - Gary Hallam, Senior Enterprise Account Executive, Perforce Delphix
  • Empower – Leading Change Through AI Disruption - Nichola Berner, Managing Director, Up Time Consulting & Vincent Marsicano, Adopt It AI
  • Accelerate – AI Meets ERP: AP Automation Solution – Strive for Touchless P2P - Seef Muller, Chief Delivery Officer, APPSolve & Frédéric Billet, Sales Consultant EMEA & APAC, Yooz
  • 15h20 – 15h50 – REFRESHMENT BREAK

15h50 – 16h30

  • Elevate – Fusion Claw: Agentic AI & Autonomous Workflows in Business Applications - Francisco Munoz Alvarez, Global CTO & Oracle Evangelist, Miracle Consulting Group
  • Automate – From Heatmaps to Game IQ: Spatial + Graph Analytics for Match Strategy - Dr Abi Giles-Haigh, Oracle ACE Director
  • Innovate – Oracle Database Deep Dive: Data Integrity 2.0. The Biggest Ever Advancement in Data Quality! - Connor McDonald, Oracle Database Advocate
  • Empower – You've Bought Oracle. Now What?: Turning Technology Investment into Business Adoption - Tony Cook, CEO, Fudgelearn
  • Accelerate – SARS VAT Modernisation: Is Your Oracle ERP Ready? - Warren Gailey, Finance Team Lead, Resolve Red

16h40 – 17h20

  • Elevate – Modernising Oracle Applications: A Smarter Foundation with Oracle Linux and Oracle Virtualization - Hani Barakat, Oracle Linux & Virtualization Sales Director
  • Automate – Interactive Discussion: Oracle MAA For Any Type of Environment (From On-prem to Apps) - Francisco Munoz Alvarez, Global CTO & Oracle Evangelist, Miracle Consulting Group
  • Innovate – What’s New in Oracle APEX 26.1 & How the Oracle APEX Community Helped Shaped Release 26.1 - Karkuvelraja Thangamariappan, Oracle ACE Director
  • Empower – Empowering IT Teams in the Age of AI - Marcel Giacomini, VP, Exadata Platform Solution Engineers
  • Accelerate – Oracle EPM Strategy, Hyperion Modernisation and the Road Ahead - Bruce Viljoen, Country Manager, AMOSCA SA
  • 19h30 – UBUNTU CELEBRATION DINNER & PARTY - Brought to you by In2IT
  • 08h30 – 09h00 – Emcee Welcome & Day 1 Recap - Zandile Mbele, Chairperson & Founder, ETS Innovations Group
  • 09h00 – 09h00 – Leadership, Resilience and Innovation in the AI Era - Francisco Munoz Alvarez, Global CTO & Oracle Evangelist, Miracle Consulting Group
  • 09h30 – 10h15 – Customer Innovation Panel: AI and Cloud Transformation in African Enterprises - Featuring local customer innovation journeys: University of Johannesburg, First National Bank, Old Mutual, TFG, BabesGotBytes - Chaired by Connor McDonald & Dr Abi Giles-Haigh

CONFERENCE DAY 2: FRIDAY, 13 NOVEMBER

TRACK SESSIONS (40min)

Tracks & Venues

  • Elevate – Business Applications - Track Sponsor: Oracle Corporation - Room: The Avenue
  • Automate – Cloud Platform & Intelligent Automation - Track Sponsor: In2IT - Room: The Avenue
  • Innovate – Data & Developer Platforms - Track Sponsor: Perforce Delphix - Room: Workshop 17
  • Industry – Customer Transformation Journeys: From Strategy to Execution - Room: Workshop 17
  • Early Careers – Bridging the Next-Gen Gap - Track Sponsor: Oracle HR - Room: Workshop 17

10h50 – 11h30

  • Elevate – From AI Strategy to AI at Scale: What South African Enterprises Need to Get Right - Rajnish Upadhyay, Business Technology Leader, In2IT
  • Automate – Oracle Disaster Recovery Hosted within South Africa, Ensuring Compliance with POPIA Regulations - Ahmed Jassat, Service Delivery Manager, ETS Innovations & Hasnain Javed, Infrastructure Cloud Solutions – Sovereign Cloud, Oracle Corporation
  • Innovate – Synthetic AND Masked, Still Correct: Trustworthy Data for AI & Analytics - Gary Hallam, Senior Enterprise Account Executive, Perforce Delphix
  • Industry – Old Mutual: OCI Dashboard | Monitor Integrations and Alerts to MS Teams - Rowan Philander & Mumtaz Mohamed, Old Mutual SA & Jan Wizer, Oracle CSS
  • Early Careers – How to Build a Career in the AI Era - Connor McDonald, Oracle Database Advocate & Ron Ekins, Oracle ACE Director

11h40 – 12h20

  • Elevate – SplashAI: Bringing Generative AI to Enterprise Analytics - Sanjay Naithani General Manager MEA, SplashBI
  • Automate – From Alerts to Action: AI-Assisted Operations for the Oracle Enterprise - Rajnish Upadhyay, Business Technology Leader, In2IT
  • Innovate – Securing the AI-Driven Software Supply Chain: From DevSecOps to Enterprise Resilience - Barry De Waal, CEO, 9th BIT Consulting
  • Industry – FNB’s Journey from EBS to Fusion Over a Decade - Paseka Simela, IT Platform Technology Lead, First National Bank
  • Early Careers – From Intern to Impact: Building a Career with Oracle - Boitumelo Lerefolo, Oracle HR & Oracle 2026 Interns

12h30 – 13h10

  • 13h15 – 14h00 – LUNCH

14h00 – 14h40

  • Elevate – There Is No AI Without Process Intelligence: Understand How Your Business Actually Runs Before You Deploy AI - Dave Hitt, Regional Vice President, Middle East & Africa, Celonis
  • Automate – From Cloud to Competitive Edge: Getting More Business Value from OCI - Brett Primo, Cloud Engineering Lead, Oracle South Africa
  • Innovate – Minikube Hands On: Bring Your Own Laptop - Kavi Beesoon, Consulting Member of Technical Staff, Oracle Corporation
  • Industry –
  • Early Careers – Get Hired, Get Ready: What Employers Look for in the Real World of Work - KK Diaz, Business & Brand Strategist, Dealmaker, Digital Transformation Expert & Author

14h50 – 15h30

  • Elevate – Ethical AI Governance in SA: Bridging Ubuntu, King IV and Global Frameworks - Mxolisi Madi, Cybersecurity & Cloud Security Leader, iCloudz Africa
  • Automate – Database Modernisation with MySQL – Success Stories - László Imre Ludas, Alliances Director, Open Technologies
  • Innovate – Deliver Developer Agility with Oracle AI Database 26ai RAC on Kubernetes - Anil Nair, Distinguished Product Manager Oracle Corporation & Ron Ekins, Oracle ACE Director
  • Industry – Customer Success: Lessons in Global Cyber Resilience - Marcel Giacomini, VP, Exadata Platform Solution Engineers & Alan Lule Nsubuga, Senior Manager, Exadata Solution Engineers (Africa), Oracle Corporation
  • Early Careers – Live Hands-On Workshop: Oracle APEX 26.1 New Features - Karkuvelraja Thangamariappan, Oracle ACE Director
  • 15h30 – 16h00 – CONFERENCE CLOSING & PRIZE-GIVING

Secure your Spot... this is more than a Conference — it’s a launchpad for your Oracle-powered future in Africa.

Keynote Speaker Bios
Speaker Bios

Conference 2026 Sponsors

Perforce Delphix
Oracle
In2IT Tech
APPSolve
Dbvisit
Deloitte
Enginatics
Everpure
Resolve Red
Spoon Consulting
Up-Time-Consulting

Conference 2026 Contributing Partners

Oracle ACE Program
Java
MySQL
Oracle_Linux
Oracle_Virtualization
Fudgelearn
Waymark

Company Engagements

SARB
WITS
UJ
university-of-pretoria-logo-png_seeklogo-507692
NWU
DFFE
Old Mutual
Adcock Ingram
Old Mutual Insure
SASSA
Tiger Brands
FirstRand Bank
Central Bank Of Lesotho
NWPL
4CG
PwC
NHLS
IDWALA
Picture12
high_gdard_logo_2
University of Zimbabwe
ARM
Bankserv

Zero Data Loss in Oracle Disaster Recovery: What Are Your Options for Enterprise and Standard Edition?

Vijayganesh Sivaprakasam, Oracle ACE Pro, Head of Customer Services at Dbvisit Software

What does “zero data loss” really mean in Oracle disaster recovery, and how do the available approaches compare?

In this technical session, we will follow the journey of a committed transaction through the Oracle redo path to understand where data-loss exposure occurs and how different architectures reduce that risk.

We will look at Oracle Data Guard protection modes, ZDLRA and Oracle cloud recovery options, including the technical, operational and cost considerations behind each approach.

The session will then examine best-practice DR approaches for Oracle Standard Edition. This will also include the new RPO = <1s solution using StandbyMP’s new Zero Data Loss option. 

Key Learning Points:

Attendees will learn –

  • What zero and near-zero data loss mean in practical Oracle disaster recovery terms
  • Where the data-loss window exists between a transaction committing and becoming recoverable
  • How Oracle Data Guard protection modes reduce data-loss exposure
  • Where ZDLRA and Oracle cloud recovery options fit
  • The main technical, operational and cost trade-offs between different approaches
  • Why achieving very low RPO has traditionally been more difficult for Oracle Standard Edition
  • How sub-second RPO can now be achieved on Oracle Standard Edition
  • How to assess which approach best fits a particular Oracle environment