5 Things We Learned at Oracle’s Ascend Conference

Recently, Oracle users gathered in Orlando, Florida, for Ascend 2025, which brought the Oracle community together for four days of roundtable discussions, education, and networking. We were excited to attend and meet Oracle-driven finance teams to talk about the latest trends and challenges in a year defined by unpredictability.

Here, we discuss the top five things we learned at Ascend.

The Buzz About AI

There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) has made a resounding splash in the finance space. According to insightsoftware and Hanover Research’s latest Finance Team Trends Report, 87% of Oracle users are already using AI at a moderate to high rate.

At Ascend, one of the most frequent conversations we had was about AI. Oracle teams are curious about the practical uses of AI and how they can incorporate it into day-to-day work. Oracle Cloud ERP users can already leverage the ERP’s embedded AI by automating repetitive tasks and analyzing data.

On the other side of the coin, Oracle teams are understandably concerned about data security and the impact AI has on keeping sensitive financial information safe. AI comes with its fair share of risks, from making false statements or “hallucinations” to the risk of internal or proprietary information being fed into an easily accessible system.

How can Oracle finance teams ensure their data remains safe? Oracle says its AI-powered features don’t hold data that can be edited, corrected, or directly accessed. Robust security remains a priority for both Oracle and its users, which is why Oracle Cloud ERP uses multifactor authentication, data encryption, and administrator roles. If you’re looking for technology that integrates with your Oracle ERP and includes AI, seek one out that puts security first.

Navigating Economic Uncertainty

2025 has been rife with market upheaval in the form of tariffs, supply chain disruption, and other challenges. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that one of the trends we saw the most at Ascend was how Oracle users can navigate through uncertain times.

As we continue to face rapid technological evolution, regulatory change, and brace for the impact of global tariffs, finance teams risk floundering as they try to keep up. This strongly impacts important tasks like budgeting and planning. Our Finance Team Trends Report reveals that 98% of Oracle teams face difficulties when making their yearly budgets, leading to 34% suffering from data accuracy difficulties and 28% struggling when integrating data between Oracle and other systems.

At Ascend, attendees were eager to talk about financial reporting, budgeting, and planning solutions that can add clarity when the market outlook is foggy at best.

Excel Is Here to Stay

Even as technology continues to evolve, finance professionals still rely on the industry’s most trusted applications. That’s why it was no surprise to know that Oracle users attending Ascend use Excel for their reporting, budgeting, and planning needs.

When looking for a solution that works with Oracle, finance professionals are just as keen on making sure the technology they invest in integrates seamlessly with Excel. Its familiar interface ensures that users don’t face a steep learning curve when adopting new technology.

Oracle Fusion

Another trend we spotted at Ascend was Oracle Fusion, a portfolio of applications built on Oracle Cloud. Oracle Fusion combines ERP technology, supply chain management (SCM), enterprise performance management (EPM), and customer experience (CX) together to prevent integration challenges and data silos. Currently, 11,000 Oracle customers have already moved to Oracle Fusion.

Oracle customers are eager to cut down on integration challenges. Our Finance Team Trends research shows that 98% of Oracle users struggle when integrating data between multiple systems. Oracle Fusion intends to create a unified system and to eliminate roadblocks to data access, and yet many of the Oracle users we spoke with use a blended system of both Oracle Fusion and Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS). As it stands, Oracle teams still use multiple systems to fulfill business needs.

Cloud Migration

Just as finance users continue to trust Excel for reporting, many remain on EBS instead of adopting a fully cloud-based system like Oracle Cloud ERP. Although both are Oracle systems, migrating from EBS to Oracle Cloud ERP still requires organizations to switch to a new ERP system. This change can be intimidating because it runs the risk of downtime and difficulty accessing legacy data.

Even if an organization’s finance team moves to Oracle Cloud ERP, other departments might decide to remain on-premises. According to our latest Finance Team Trends Report, 27% of Oracle teams have fully moved to the cloud environment while 61% operate in a hybrid setting.

When looking for technology that integrates with your Oracle system, make sure the one you choose can meet you where you are on your cloud journey. Investing in user friendly tools with data warehousing capabilities can help organizations migrating to the cloud or even maintaining a hybrid environment. You want to ensure seamless access to legacy and cloud data, accelerated decision-making, and improved efficiency.

Events like Ascend continue to be both engaging and essential for Oracle teams. We not only can learn from industry sessions, but also can come together to share challenges and advice as the finance world continues to change. A comprehensive reporting solution can help Oracle users navigate difficulties such as economic uncertainty, the leap to a new cloud system, and keeping up with technological advancement.

Reporting for Oracle from insightsoftware delivers a contextual, process-rich business data model, a library of pre-built, no-code business reports, and a high-performance process analytics engine for Oracle Business Applications, OCA, or EBS. This integrated solution supports both Excel and your BI solution to help you unlock your enterprise data in the tool that works for you. You can gain actionable insights to act decisively in a quickly changing world.

Reporting for Oracle is:

• Integrated with accurate, up-to-date data from Oracle to a business user’s tool of choice—Excel, web, or BI.
• Intuitive with pre-built business views for Oracle to answer questions, solve complex business problems, and make better decisions during uncertain times.
• Self-service, allowing you to create, run, and distribute reports with speed, flexibility, and ease, without having to wait for IT.
• Cloud-ready with the ability to seamlessly connect and harmonize data from various sources, including on-premises systems and cloud-based applications.

Ready to learn more? Check out our brochure on navigating economic change with Oracle reporting solutions.

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