Maximizing Value in Oracle Training Budgets Oracle Database Tips by Donald Burleson

Back when I was in MBA school (and Information Technology was called Data Processing) the professors taught that a corporation should be spending at least 15% of their net revenue on information systems.  In the Oracle world, proper spending for Oracle training is essential because the technology changes rapidly and Oracle professionals can quickly loose their productivity without training on Oracle New Features.

Granted, the costs of computer hardware have fallen by orders of magnitude since 1982, but IT salaries (adjusted for inflation) have increased slightly.  Staff costs now make-up the lions share of IT spending:

With  more focus on staff quality and productivity, the Oracle manager now considers better options for keeping their staff up-to-date.

Maximizing Training Budgets for Oracle

For the Oracle manager, maximizing the benefit of their training budget is a major concern.  Traditional Oracle classroom training has some serious shortcomings:

• High Expense - Per seat costs for Oracle training classes range between $400-$600 per day plus travel costs.
   

• Low Take-away - Days of mind-numbing slideshows do little to help Oracle professionals i n their daily tasks.
   

• Poor Instructors - It's not uncommon to hear that traditional Oracle instructors have very little real-world experience, and in some of the worst companies, the instructors knows very little about the topic besides what is on the classroom slides.

With Oracle budgets shrinking and the technology changing quickly, the Oracle manager is seeking a better alternative, and many are looking into on-site training by experienced experts.

A smarter approach to Oracle Training

We now see that savvy Oracle managers are realizing that on-site training provides the best value.  For example, CIO Magazine notes that companies are now using on-site training to reduce travel costs:

"And he urges staff to take local training courses rather than travel."

While every corporation is different, few can afford the luxury of spending thousands of dollars on travel expenses to attending traditional Oracle classroom schools.  Instead we see a shift towards customized on-site Oracle training where an Oracle expert teaches the staff in their own classroom.  This approach has many advantages:

• Customized Content - The Oracle staff can get exactly the training that applies to their shop.
   

• Expert Instructors - You can hire experienced instructors who bring a real-world perspective to your training.  They can also perform follow-up mentoring to ensure that you staff applies the classroom training.
   

• Higher Take-away - Students do not loose productivity from ravel time and the instructor can provide hands-on learning, often using your own database.

In sum, traditional Oracle classroom training is been a cash-drain for many companies and on-site instruction by recognized experts is a wise alternative.

Burleson Consulting offers a full-line of customized on-site training.  Just click here for the full course catalog.