Have you ever wondered how to get started with Oracle Analytics? I have addressed this topic in the past, but in the fast-paced world of technology, last year’s information is soon outdated. Many resources on Oracle Analytics exist out there, but to get started, it helps to know where to look. So, consider this the 2020 edition of my guide to the many free resources that will get you on your way. (The resources are listed in the order I recommend following.) 

1. OAC Sandbox – This link will let you use a real live OAC instance so you can try it out without having to sign up for a trial Oracle cloud account. You cannot create your own visualizations, but you can experiment with the visualizations that Oracle has created.
2. Udemy – Oracle has added two free Udemy courses to help people get started with Oracle Analytics. The beginning course is Modern Data Visualization with Oracle Analytics Cloud. Set up a Udemy account and access free material to get started.
3. Download OAD – Want to run Oracle Analytics on your own PC, no server, no cloud? Simply download Oracle Analytics Desktop. The software is free (for non-production use; read the license agreement on Oracle’s web site). This is the same software Oracle sells but configured to run standalone on a desktop computer.
4. OAC Trial – See that button “Start for free”? The 30-day trial gives you 30 days to run full Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC) for free. You won’t come close to burning through the $300 in the first 30 days, so go for it. Yes, some Oracle salesperson will call you – just tell them you’re learning it. Just kill the account before your 30 days is up or create a new account with a new email address, but you’ll need to export out your work to take it to a new environment via a “snapshot”.
5. Synopsis – Oracle Analytics runs on your phone! Think of this as an Excel spreadsheet viewer on your phone that gives you insights about the data in a spreadsheet, Simply open spreadsheet files using Synopsis from your email program. Spreadsheets must be formatted with the first row containing the name of each field/column.
6. Oracle Analytics Library – Oracle has created a library of extensions and demos that they freely give away. There are lots of first-class demonstrations out there and many plugins that you can download to your DVD instance or to your OAC instances.
7. Webcasts on OAC Features – I have recorded a new webinar with just about every significant release of Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) or Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC) since 2011. Want to know when a feature was introduced? Check out the webinar series. Slides are shared and you can watch the videos.
8. Oracle Analytics Web Page – No list would be complete without listing Oracle’s Analytics Sales page. Yup, it’s a bit salesy, but it has good information about the Oracle Analytics offering. It also links to a recently-updated “Statement of Direction” and the recently-recorded Oracle Analytics Summit Live recording that will give you a glimpse of where Oracle is heading.

That wraps up my list of links for getting started. There are of course, lots more resources that you can find by Googling various terms, and tons of resources you can get from Oracle Education, but those will cost some bucks, or via the Oracle Partner Program (email me at dvlamis@vlamis.com for information). If you have a favorite resource, let me know, and I will add it to the next edition. Happy learning!