A Pair of Aces: Journey from ACE Associate to ACE Director

Authors: Philip Godfrey & Abi Giles-Haigh

You may have never heard of the Oracle ACE program, be a member already, or simply aspire to join the community and want to learn more, well this blog is for you.

It aims to explain the ACE program in simple terms, covering the benefits of joining, and myself and Abi Giles-Haigh discuss progressing from Oracle ACE Associate (Phil) through to Oracle ACE Director (Abi).

What is the Oracle ACE Program?

The Oracle ACE Program is a community that celebrates individuals for their contributions to the Oracle community in two categories: technical contributions and community leadership.

Oracle ACEs have expertise across several areas within the Oracle ecosystem including Analytics and BI, Middleware, Cloud, Database, Community Leadership, Linux and many more. The key here is that each user’s knowledge and expertise is shared with the wider Oracle community. 

There are 3 tiers to the program

•        Oracle ACE Associate
•        Oracle ACE Pro
•        Oracle ACE Director

Oracle ACE Associate is the entry-level of the Oracle ACE program

Benefits

• Recognition and promotion on the Oracle.com website as an ACE member
• Your profile posted online in the Oracle ACE Program Directory
• Promotion of your contributions in Oracle ACE social media accounts including X, LinkedIn, and Facebook and in the ACEs in Action blog
• Oracle Certificate exam credit
• A digital Oracle ACE Associate member certificate
• Invitations to participate in both global and virtual Oracle ACE Program product overviews and networking events
• Access to communication channels specifically for our members to network with each other and Oracle product managers
• Cool AI generated Avatars

What made me want to join?

Phil: My first encounter with the ACE program occurred several years ago at the UKOUG conference, where I noticed the ACE stand and felt a mix of curiosity and uncertainty about what it involved! I was presenting at the conference and enjoyed the networking opportunities for knowledge sharing. A few years later, I was encouraged by Abi to apply for the program after learning about various ways I could contribute to the community. Since I have always enjoyed sharing my expertise through presentations and blogging, I decided to give it a go, and was thrilled to be accepted! I've really enjoyed learning from other's in the community and the advice that is available from other experts is hugely helpful.

Oracle ACE Pro is the second level of the ACE Program

Benefits

• ACE Associate Benefits +
• Oracle ACE member swag
• An Oracle CloudWorld conference pass
• An Oracle Cloud account with US $5K in credits

Oracle ACE Director is the third and top tier of the ACE Program

Benefits

·         ACE Pro Benefits +

·         Oracle ACE Director product briefings with Oracle executives and product management leaders

·         Exclusive testing eligibility

·         Travel support eligibility to speak at tech conferences

 
What made me want to join?

Abi:

The ACE program was always something I wanted to be part of, the community aspect and the ability to combine fun, learning as well as being challenged. There are some amazing female leaders within the ACE program, and I just want to learn from them as much as possible. Once I joined the ACE program, it kind of felt like home. Demonstrating ‘art or possible’ and showing people what they could achieve then just came naturally. The ACE program gave me the opportunity, support and confidence to continue to do that.

How did I progress to ACE Director?

Abi:

"It’s taken time, dedication and work! To be recognised by Product managers and my peers as an expert in my field is an honour that I don’t take lightly. Getting here was through practice, be it presenting, writing blogs, or writing chapters of a book. It’s time-consuming, giving time to the community through volunteering at user groups, meet ups, etc. I also mentored people looking to come into the ACE program, some like Phil made it, others decided it wasn’t for them – and that’s ok too. I guess to get here, dedication, to remain an ACE, dedication. I have also continued to strengthen my knowledge by working alongside other amazing ACE’s, learning and absorbing what they have to say – it’s a rewarding program as well as stretching"