Every year, I leave OATUG’s Ascend conference deeply energized.
It’s not just because of the great product announcements, the sessions, or the unmatched networking with Oracle executives, ACEs, and partners; it’s because Ascend provides a true snapshot of where the Oracle EBS community is heading.
For years, organizations treated modernization as a “tomorrow problem”, something that would only happen after a massive cloud migration or a multi-year transformation program. Today, the reality is entirely different.
At Ascend 2026, the message was loud and clear: the introduction of AI into enterprise organizations has increased the urgency for modernization. Organizations are no longer waiting. They’re attacking business problems head-on and driving real value right now, all while continuing to run their core Oracle E-Business Suite environments.
In session rooms, the exhibition floor and hallway chats, the debate over whether modernization is worth pursuing has officially ended. The entire focus has shifted to how quickly organizations can leverage their existing investments to deliver AI and automation results today.
Oracle’s Commitment to EBS Removes the Excuse for Standing Still
Between Oracle’s continued investment in EBS, support extending through 2037, and a roadmap that includes ongoing enhancements across security, infrastructure, user experience, and AI, Oracle made one thing very clear: Oracle EBS remains a strategic platform.
That message was reinforced on the opening night of the conference when AuraPlayer hosted more than 40 Oracle EBS thought leaders, customers, and community members at our annual executive dinner. We were honored to be joined by Oracle’s Nadia Bendjedou, and her Oracle colleagues.
The dinner also gave us the opportunity to present our newly established AuraPlayer Innovation Awards, recognizing people and organizations that are redefining what is possible with Oracle EBS through mobility, automation, AI-driven document processing, digital warehousing, and modern integration initiatives. This year’s recipients, Toyota Boshoku America, HDR, New Flyer Industries, Cinch Connectivity Solutions, and Nadia Bendjedou, VP of Oracle E-Business Suite Strategy at Oracle, shared inspiring examples of how innovation on top of Oracle EBS is delivering measurable business value, streamlining operations, and improving productivity across their organizations.
In her keynote the next day, newly appointed Group Vice President of EBS Development at Oracle, Lisa Parekh, reaffirmed Oracle’s long-term commitment to the platform. Including detailing two major initiatives that Oracle is doing for EBS. The first of which is to upgrade the Infrastructure to Oracle Forms 14 and upgrade Weblogic. The second initiative is to harden Security across the board. I think this roadmap shows Oracle’s commitment to ensuring the stability and viability of E-Business Suite for the next decade.
The Cost of Waiting
For years, many companies postponed modernization initiatives because they assumed a cloud migration was just around the corner. In the meantime, employees had to work around system limitations using manual, paper-based processes, and ultimately, operational inefficiencies became accepted as “the way things are.”
But if a migration project could take three to five years, and the technology landscape is changing every six months, what is the cost of waiting?
Ascend 2026 reflected the massive shift in priority: organizations are no longer worrying about what Oracle EBS will look like in five years, they are actively seeking modernization solutions to fix workflow inefficiencies this quarter.
Innovation Without Delay: How EBS Leaders Are Eliminating Inefficiency Today
What makes Ascend the defining event for EBS professionals is that the conversations are entirely grounded in real-world execution. Four customer-led sessions co-presented by AuraPlayer perfectly illustrated how organizations are leveraging focused modernization initiatives that deliver measurable business value within months, without disruptive ERP replacements:
- Frictionless Mobile Experiences (HDR)
Instead of forcing employees through tedious desktop workflows for expenses, HDR implemented AuraPlayer’s LiveExpense mobile template to turn Oracle iExpense into a sleek, modern mobile application that enables automated calculations, itemized receipts, and accelerates approvals across iOS and Android. HDR proved that you don’t have to wait years to drastically improve user experience and compliance.
- Automation as a Launchpad (NFI)
NFI began by automating core EBS processes using AuraPlayer’s RPA solution to extend EBS data into everyday tools like Excel and Power BI. This single use case created an enterprise-wide innovation platform, saving over 130 hours every single month by automating work orders, purchase orders, and bill of materials updates.
- Streamlining Supply Chain Operations (Toyota Boshoku America)
Manufacturing inventory counts are notoriously painful. By replacing manual paper tags with mobile, scanner-enabled workflows integrated directly into EBS, Toyota Boshoku cut their count time by 4 hours, reduced headcount of counters by 50%, and achieved over $75,000 in annual savings per plant.
- Practical AI Execution (Cinch Connectivity Solutions)
Cinch tackled the universal headache of manual purchase order processing. By pairing AI and OCR with data validation and automated workflows, they achieved 75% faster processing, a 90% reduction in errors, and 10x greater capacity. This is a prime example of AI delivering immediate operational impact, not future science fiction.
These success stories represent different industries, business challenges and technologies.Taken individually, each is an impressive example of how “traditional” EBS can be brought into the next generation. Taken together, they reveal something bigger: Measurable business value delivered on top of Oracle E-Business Suite.
What resonated most with attendees was that these weren’t massive transformation projects. These customers successfully solved a single pain point by targeting low-hanging fruit, and they are building strong momentum from there.
Looking Ahead
Every Ascend leaves me optimistic about the future of Oracle E-Business Suite.
I walk away with new ideas, stronger relationships, and renewed confidence in the platform.
This year, more than ever.
Oracle’s commitment remains strong. The customer community is thriving. And organizations are finding practical ways to combine EBS with AI, mobility, automation, analytics, and modern user experiences to solve real business problems.
Not if they move to the cloud. Today, with their existing systems!
Before I close, I want to personally thank Thanh Nguyen and Gagan from HDR, Florida Fuentes and Rick from NFI, Tony Maschinot from Toyota Boshoku America, and Joel Killday and Ron Sohn from Cinch Connectivity Solutions for sharing their experiences with the Oracle community.
Presenting at Ascend can be intimidating, especially for first-time speakers. What impressed me most was not only the quality of each organization’s projects, but the willingness to openly share lessons learned, challenges encountered, and practical guidance for others facing similar business problems.
That spirit of collaboration is what makes the Oracle EBS community so special.
I also want to thank Oracle’s E-Business Suite leadership team, the OATUG board, conference organizers, volunteers, speakers, partners, and attendees who continue to make Ascend the premier event for Oracle EBS professionals.
I’ll see you at Ascend 2027.
There’s a good chance it can be fixed in the next 90 days. Let’s talk.
Mia Urman
AuraPlayer CEO & Oracle ACE Director
