APEX in the real world

Oracle Academy Tech Chat

In this Episode Tyra Peirce speaks with speaks with Oracle ACE Satwik Reddy about how businesses leverage Oracle APEX to build powerful applications without the need for extensive coding.

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Episode Transcript:

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:35:04 Unknown Welcome to the Oracle Academy Tech Chat. This podcast provides educators and students in-depth discussions with thought leaders around computer science, cloud technologies, and software design to help students on their journey to becoming industry ready technology leaders of the future. Let's get started. Welcome to Oracle Academy Tech Chat, where we discuss how Oracle Academy prepares the next generation's workforce.

00:00:35:05 - 00:01:11:14 Unknown I'm your host, Tyra Peirce. In this episode, we dive into the transformative power of low code software development and explore how it's reshaping industries, streamlining workflows, and enabling faster innovation. Our guest, Oracle ace Satwik Reddy, shares his expertise on how businesses leverage Oracle Apex to build powerful applications without the need for extensive coding. Welcome Chadwick or Hyder. To start off, can you give me a bit about your background and your current job role?

00:01:11:16 - 00:01:40:09 Unknown Hey there. Developer tech enthusiast standing around an accidental quarter turn full time epics. Advocate. I have been working with Oracle Apex for over 13 years now. Here, like it's more than a decade deep in the loop code. It all began, back in my grad school. Like, me and my couple of friends, like, we are doing a hackathon and we were dabbling in different programing languages, trying to build a website.

00:01:40:11 - 00:02:11:02 Unknown And that's when, we stumbled across Oracle Apex. And honestly, it just clicked and we loved it. Since then, apex has been my jam and butter. Like, let's say right now I work as an apex technical lead. That means I do a lot of hats, like gathering requirements from stakeholders, designing scalable applications like a team of developers like, and make sure that when built, actually solves the real world problems.

00:02:11:04 - 00:02:37:17 Unknown And think of me as an orchestra conductor, like making sure every piece of the development puzzle fits licensing and hits the right notes in terms of performance, scalability, and reliability. And I also handle the production support and mentor the junior dev developers. Docker reviews write production design documents, and make sure every project stays aligned with the big picture goals of the organization.

00:02:37:17 - 00:03:07:19 Unknown So yeah, like yeah, a lot of moving parts, but with epics things move fast, faster, smoother than we would think. I love that you're so involved in the apex development from the beginning to the end. You're mentoring the junior staff and new apex developers, so you are quite the apex expert. So for my next question, what is low code application and what is low code application development and why should students learn it?

00:03:07:21 - 00:03:39:04 Unknown Great question. Let's start with low code and why it's not just a buzzword but a game changer, especially for students. In the morning the of building software. Right. Like low code. Development doesn't really, rely heavily on manual coding. Instead of writing thousands of lines of code, you visualize tools and like drag and drop interfaces, templates, reusable components, which can help you build apps quickly and efficiently.

00:03:39:06 - 00:04:01:00 Unknown And think of it like this. Like, instead of starting from scratch, low code gives you a toolbox full of ready made pads. You just snap them together, kind of like digital Lego and build what you need. And now, like here, here's where it gets even cooler. A lot of these platforms like Oracle Apex are adding more AI powered features.

00:04:01:02 - 00:04:39:23 Unknown That means you can build apps that analyze data and make predictions, create smart forms that adjust in real time to what the user types are. Even automate workflows like using AI driven decision making. So what used to take weeks or months to code? You can just create in days? Sometimes maybe has help now, like why students? Why should students care like live in break down this and like local development right is in high demand across industries making it a valuable skill that boosts employability for people from all backgrounds.

00:04:40:01 - 00:05:10:11 Unknown Like, you don't need to be a computer science major like any business students or educators, even art students, anyone who can learn low code and use it to solve real world problems. And it also helps in quick prototyping because let's say you want an idea for an app, you can go from concept to working name in a way you can already, or even an idea that's huge for class projects like hackathons or even the startup pitches.

00:05:10:13 - 00:05:43:06 Unknown Or if you're building any, demo or doing something. And it's also budget friendly. I can is doing a great job by giving it for free with Oracle database, which means you don't need to spend a dime to get started. And it also helps when prepping for the future. Like as AI becomes part of our daily digital tool and local platforms, helps build smarter apps without needing to be data cities like.

00:05:43:08 - 00:06:18:21 Unknown And it's like having AI as the coding copilot. And when it comes to choosing the platform, Oracle Apex stands out. In that case, it's tightly integrated with the Oracle database. It scales easily from story projects to full enterprise systems. It supports cloud and on premise deployment, and many of the big organizations uses like QR and finance, health, manufacturing or retail and also pharmaceutical and stuff.

00:06:19:00 - 00:06:49:11 Unknown Here, students aren't just learning theory, they're gaining real world resume really skills. So if I sum it up or the bottom line is low code is leveling the playing field locally, it's like leveling the playing field with tools like Oracle, apex, and a bit of creativity. Students go from I have an idea to I built an app faster than I had, and with AI in the mix, they're winning smarter, faster, and with more impact.

00:06:49:12 - 00:07:10:01 Unknown I love that answer because it shows that students don't have to be a computer science major. They can get, they can get ramped up pretty easy. And through Oracle Academy and through Oracle, they can get access to apex for free. So I think that that's a, a really great way to kind of get involved. Which leads to my next question.

00:07:10:03 - 00:07:32:16 Unknown What role does apex play in the broader landscape of cloud computing and enterprise applications? Since Oracle Apex isn't just a developmental, it plays strategic role in the world of cloud computing and in your business. To break it down, in today's digital world, like every company from startups to global chains is moving to the cloud and AI.

00:07:32:18 - 00:08:03:06 Unknown And they're not just storing the data up there. They're building apps, training operations, and making real time decisions all in the cloud. But here's the catch building cloud apps from scratch can be so expensive and complicated. Especially you are dealing with legacy systems or any complex business need. That's where the picks up just as it's a low cloud, low code platform that acts like an accelerator for digital transformation.

00:08:03:08 - 00:08:35:01 Unknown It helps organizations like build secure, scalable, and data driven apps without the heavy lifting. So instead of like spending six months coding a custom dashboard you can build in a week, or you can reuse, market apps or Apex apps, which were inbuilt, given like when we installed Oracle Apex inside the database or connected. And also the apps are directly connected to Oracle Database and they're also hosted in the Oracle Cloud and ready to go live.

00:08:35:03 - 00:09:03:03 Unknown That's huge for enterprise teams who need to move fast and stay secure. And here's a strategy. Like epics, epics plays three big roles in the cloud and enterprise landscape, which acts as a bridge builder. Epics connects users with I.T, helping them build apps together. Hey, you don't want to wait for a development team to free up with low code.

00:09:03:08 - 00:09:36:04 Unknown Business analysts and even power users can start prototyping apps themselves, and it's also a cloud catalyst like for organizations like for moving to the cloud. Epics need some things, so it's already integrated with our cloud infrastructure. Teams can deploy apps without worry about setting up servers, managing databases, or securing the backend. It's all everything is. Building. And then next is a major and it's a cost cutter and enterprise world.

00:09:36:05 - 00:10:11:21 Unknown Like building app apps often means big budgets and a long time that change is that you can get faster development, fewer bugs, and easier maintenance all at a fraction of the cost. And because it's part of the Oracle ecosystem, apex fits seamlessly into the existing enterprise environment. So companies that already rely on Oracle for database or ERP systems or analytics or any other aim, they don't have to reinvent the wheel epics just Plex right in.

00:10:11:23 - 00:10:38:18 Unknown It's like having a custom app factory sitting on top of one of the world's most powerful cloud platforms, and for storing. This is good because landing epics doesn't just teach you to build apps, it teaches how you could first look how cloud first companies think and operate, and innovate. That I love how apex is fully integrated into everything Oracle related.

00:10:38:18 - 00:11:11:10 Unknown And so that leads to my next question. Can you share some examples of how different industries utilize Low-code development? Looker isn't just like for one industry or one kind of app. It's a versatile tool that's being used across the board. And, axes are right at the center of that movement. And let's start with the big picture here has a low code platform that empowers organizations to build scalable web and mobile apps faster and smarter and often like, without needing a full army of data.

00:11:11:10 - 00:11:42:22 Unknown But right now, what makes our epic special is how seaming seamlessly fits into cloud computing and enterprise systems. Yes, in cloud computing, apex is tightly integrated with, our cloud infrastructure, which means it gives gives you a fully managed low code environment right out of the box with supports all the cloud native features like example auto scaling or backup to patching so it doesn't have to babysit the infrastructure.

00:11:43:00 - 00:12:21:02 Unknown And with other auto deployments across a global regions, it also it's also able to support companies with a wider presence in enterprise applications. Epics connects easily to system like all the e-business suite or even third party tools using RESTful API and orchestrate services like Rich data services. And it can be used to build mission critical apps, things like real time dashboards, complex form workflows, and apps that handle thousands of transactions with zero data lag.

00:12:21:04 - 00:13:17:04 Unknown And it's perfect for extending SaaS platforms or creating custom business tools tailored to company specific needs. And the key here that the key cloud and the end of enterprise features are scalability, which means you can grow with your user base. No need to manually, no need for manual scaling. And the security it's got, it's got built in encryption and many authentication features like up to and it's compliant with standards like PCR and Hepa and integration epics is epics already in the I, and it started to include ad driven tools like auto generating queries or enhancing data visualization, creating apps like this by assistant, like the by the user prompt, and making

00:13:17:04 - 00:13:47:20 Unknown apps even more smarter. And it's also mobile friendly. Design like apps are responsible and mobile ready by default and in the real world. Like example, in case of financial systems or financial services, like one of the global firms where they have a massive program with like comprehensive reporting, it was like manual, slow and using Excel, like with the old, all the way, all the days and no security.

00:13:47:20 - 00:14:17:18 Unknown And there was no audit on there, errors and manual errors, everything. And when they started using Oracle Apex, they built a customer that automated the entire process from pulling data, validating it, generating reports to visualization, security, auditing everything. On a real time. And the result? Reporting time drop from months to days. And the accuracy improved top notch security.

00:14:17:19 - 00:15:00:11 Unknown And they have built the deadline. They have hit the deadlines, like without adding any stress. Like, their industry examples, like building real time inventory tracking systems to avoid the overstock or shortages in the retail or manufacturing in the manufacturing like monitoring production lines, using IoT or Internet of Things and real time data in manufacturing and creating platforms for storing records or grading, academic scheduling or creating question papers, in the education sector or students office portals, or everything from license renewals to tax forms which were made, which can be made accessible online in the government sector, too.

00:15:00:12 - 00:15:37:19 Unknown And why it matters for students like here's what students really get when they learn low code to epics. Is one is the automation scale is like where you can learn how to streamline business processes and cut out the busywork. And, it's also where data like data integration. Right. You get hands on experience connecting APIs and working with real world data sets and scalability thinking like you understand how to design systems that can grow a critical enterprise skill or a rapid prototyping.

00:15:37:19 - 00:16:04:05 Unknown Like you can turn ideas into functional apps quickly. Great for hackathons, cool projects, or even launching your own startups. So yeah, low code with epics isn't just a shortcut, it's a stepping stone into real world enterprise development, and it's a skill that's highly sought after in every major industry. I think you explained that very cleanly and very clearly.

00:16:04:07 - 00:16:44:13 Unknown So here is my last question. If you could give one piece of advice to faculty or students, what would it be? Embrace the power of practical learning for students especially like don't just learn the theory. Get your hands dirty. Build something. Used tools like AR clip X to create real world applications. Whether it's a project idea or a class, or a personal idea or even something for your community, build it because that's how you gain confidence chopping your problem solving and create a portfolio that employs actually notice and for faculty, encourage that kind of learning.

00:16:44:15 - 00:17:09:15 Unknown Integrate real world tools into your teaching. Give students the chance to solve actual problems, not just case studies from the textbook. That's how like we help them bridge the gap between the classroom and the career. In short, learn by doing. Teach by empowering. That's the more rewarding and effective path to the growth. I think that is the perfect answer.

00:17:09:15 - 00:17:37:18 Unknown I really do think, like you said, getting your hands dirty, solving real world problems is the best way to learn something. And I really want to thank you for for this really insightful podcast today. So thank you to Southwick for providing us some additional information about Apex and why it's important to learn it. Visit academy.oracle.com for more information about Oracle Academy and subscribe to our podcast.

00:17:37:21 - 00:17:53:22 Unknown Thanks to Saric once again and thanks for listening. That wraps up this episode. Thanks for listening. And stay tuned for the next Oracle Academy Tech Chat podcast.