A New Adventure in Nuremberg: Discovering DOAG 2024!

This year, I traveled to many conferences, such as the PGconf.eu in Athens for example or the P2D2 in Prague. Every conference is a great opportunity to get unique insights and networking possibilities. However, despite its proximity to Austria, I’ve never been able to make it to the DOAG (Deutsche Oracle-Anwendergruppe) conference in recent years. This year, I decided it was finally time to change that!

It took a 5 hour drive on Monday from Vienna to Nuremberg. The car was packed with conference material, personal belongings, some home-baked biscuits and of course a full cup of coffee. 

Arriving at the congress centre, the signs on the road signalled that I was on the right track. But first, hotel check-in. We had opted for the Arvena Messe Hotel an der Nürnberg Messe, which was within walking distance of the congress centre. Jan Karremans joined the trip later in theevening as he flew to Nürnberg. 

In the evening, we had the opportunity to set up our stand. It was raining outside, but luckily we were allowed to park in the garage so that we could bring everything dry upstairs. And what a sight from inside. We walked through a huge entrance area, which was an open space overlooking the upper level, which was connected by escalators. 

The stand was ready. Time to leave the conference centre again. I was so excited to see the whole conference filled with people. 

Get Ready for Three Days of Dynamic Content and Networking!

We had 3 days ahead of us. Packed with exciting presentations and, of course, networking was not to be neglected. 

I don't have deep connections within the Oracle community, but Jan does. Fortunately, he introduced me to many new people. But there was also a good share of familiar faces as we visited our partner booths (Quest & DBvisit) and of course some other PostgreSQL friends. 

We helped our partner DBVisit with their raffle. Participants had to scan a QR code in order to get added to the draw pot to win a lightsabre. Therefore, we’ve received a rollup with one of the lightsabres. 

It was fun to see Jan Karremans having a lightsaber duel with Jan Klinke. 

We didn’t have much time to attend talks but here are two that stood out:

1. Is PostgreSQL catching up with the Oracle Database? By Ludovico Caldara
2. The Battle: Oracle vs. PostgreSQL with - Marco Pachaly-Mischke and Markus Flechtner 

Interesting fact here: PostgreSQL won 😀

Time to go back home…

I must candidly acknowledge that a three-day event can be quite exhausting. However, it also presents a wealth of opportunities for enjoyment, as well as the chance to reconnect with old friends and establish new contacts. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the organizers for their efforts; it was a truly successful event.

As I reflect on my experience at DOAG 2024, I am grateful for the knowledge gained and the connections made. It was a reminder of the importance of continuous learning and collaboration in our fast-paced industry. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event and the chance to deepen these connections and share more insights.