Should the Oracle APEX Community Care About Autonomous Database?

This past week, Oracle announced the availability of Oracle APEX, SQL Developer Web and Oracle REST Data Services on Oracle Autonomous Database.  If you're in the APEX community, should you care?  I say "absolutely yes!", but not for the reasons you might suspect.

Autonomous Database is strategic to Oracle.  Just read the transcript from the recent Oracle quarterly earnings conference call and it will be obvious to you.  Autonomous is an advancement in technology that has significant investment from Oracle and very real benefits for customers.  It's a clear market differentiator - I do truly believe this, it's not merely my marketing spin.  And now, with the addition of Oracle APEX & SQL Developer Web & Oracle REST Data Services, I think this combination of technologies provides even more capabilities to this platform and even greater differentiation.  What other service provides elastic, autonomous capabilities, application design and proven low code application development, out-of-the-box?  Did I mention that this also happens to include the world's most popular database, Oracle Database?

The benefits of low code application development are real.  And Low Code + Autonomous Database is the ideal combination.  Low code is about reducing costs, delivering faster, with greater consistency, and being usable by a broader range of skill sets.  Some of the benefits of Autonomous Database are equivalent - less cost, instant availability, usable by others who may not be world-class experts.  It has been a long multi-year confluence of events that has brought us together here.

The APEX community is the envy of others at Oracle.  Even people who aren't APEX fans recognize the APEX community's passion.  But where did this come from?  Do people really get excited about a tool?  No.  They get excited about what they can do with a tool - how it helps them deliver a solution, and be successful.  A carpenter doesn't get passionate about his dual-slide compound miter saw because it's a cool tool.  He gets satisfaction about what he can actually do with that tool versus a hand saw.  When you get a pay raise or praise or a promotion because of what you've been able to deliver with APEX and ORDS and Oracle Database, that's a reason to get excited!  And I think that is ultimately the real story behind the enviable, tangible energy in the APEX community.  Countless people have had many great successes with this combination of technologies, and success begets success.

Let's say you're in the APEX community, you saw this announcement about APEX on Autonomous, but you're not interested in cloud.  Or, as Andre de Souza so eloquently stated on Twitter, "I know it’s big news, just does not affect 99,9% of current #orclapex developers I’m guessing."  Should you care?  I say yes, and here's why.  The great APEX community that I mention above, which has been so successful with APEX & ORDS & Oracle Database over the years, has become very large across the globe, and with not a lot of help from Oracle.  Make no mistake - Oracle does invest in APEX, millions of dollars every year.  But I still come across Oracle Database customers who have simply never heard of APEX.  This is because there has not been much promotion from Oracle marketing or public relations or even sales.  All of this is about to change.  Why?  Because APEX is on Autonomous Database, and Autonomous Database is strategic to Oracle.  You will probably see more communication and discussion from Oracle about APEX than probably the last 20 years combined.  Low code resonates with customers, APEX is proven, and everyone has application development needs.

How does this benefit someone in the APEX community?  Simple:

1. Awareness and interest will rise by people who have never heard about APEX before, both existing on-premises customers and net new customers.
2. There will be greater demand for APEX and database development talent.  If you have experience with APEX, with a proven track record of delivering solutions with APEX, you're a very attractive person.  Perhaps the rate you charge has now gotten a bit higher.  You'll certainly gain upward mobility.
3. You'll no longer have to introduce someone to APEX for the very first time, or counter the claim that "it's not strategic."
4. As our friends from Explorer UK say, with APEX, they "develop cloud ready applications".  And you've been doing this for years.  Don't be afraid to make this claim.  When and if you're ready for cloud, you're already out of the gate.  The same APEX apps you developed on-premises run and look and feel exactly the same in the cloud.  Who has been developing cloud-ready apps for years?  You!

So.  Even if you're not into "cloud" but into APEX, this announcement and these capabilities on Autonomous Database has material impact on you and everyone else in the APEX community.  Your skills and experience will become more valued, and we should expect the market and interest and demand to grow.

Everything is not perfect, and we on the APEX team still have a lot of very hard work ahead of us.  But these are exciting times and it's what we've labored on for the past 20 years, to get to this point.  For those who have been with the APEX community for so many years, congratulations!  You've bet on the right horse.  Just fasten your seat belt.