Oracle · Scaling Social
Oracle · Scaling Social
Case Study · Oracle
Led a year-long platform modernization, doubling social network coverage and shipping 36 features across UI, performance, and internationalization.
2×
Social Networks Supported
36
Features in 12 Months
30+
Languages Supported
Context & Mission
I was promoted to lead Oracle Social Cloud's Engage product through a full platform modernization. The mission: double supported social networks, ship a year-long series of upgrades across UI, performance, and workflow design, and expand the platform's global reach. I led two agile teams and collaborated with three UX/UI designers across Austin (Platform), Atlanta (Frontend and Design), and India (Engineering) to deliver a more scalable, internationally-ready platform.
Oracle Social Cloud's Engage product was the company's social media management platform, enabling enterprise customers to monitor, engage, and publish across social networks. As the product matured, customer demand grew for more network integrations, better performance, and support for global teams operating in multiple languages.
This work aligned with Oracle's broader cloud strategy to deliver enterprise-grade social tools that could compete globally. By expanding network coverage and internationalizing the platform, we positioned Engage to serve multinational customers and accelerate adoption in EMEA and APAC markets.
What needed to change
The Engage platform had grown organically but was hitting limits. Customers were asking for networks we didn't support, international teams struggled with English-only UI, and the product needed a UX refresh to stay competitive. We needed a systematic modernization effort.
Four pillars of modernization
We structured the modernization around four pillars: network expansion, product overhaul, internationalization, and go-to-market coordination. Each pillar had clear goals, dedicated resources, and a roadmap that balanced quick wins with foundational investments.
Worked directly with social network partners to add LinkedIn, Instagram, Sina Weibo, and Tumblr across the entire suite (Admin, Publish, Engage, Analyze), doubling supported networks.
Launched a full Engage refresh with 36 new features in 12 months. Guided by beta testing, customer feedback, and UX research to ensure we were solving real problems.
Internationalized the platform across 30+ languages, working with localization teams to ensure quality translations and culturally appropriate UX patterns.
Led coordinated rollouts with Customer Success, Marketing, and Sales to ensure alignment, smooth adoption, and strong market penetration across regions.
What we shipped
Over 12 months, we delivered a comprehensive set of capabilities that transformed the Engage platform:
Full LinkedIn company page support including publishing, engagement tracking, and analytics. One of the most requested enterprise integrations.
Instagram business profile support for monitoring and engagement. Critical for brands with visual-first social strategies.
China's largest microblogging platform integrated for APAC customers. Essential for multinational brands operating in the Chinese market.
Tumblr publishing and engagement support for brands targeting younger demographics and creative communities.
Modernized interface with improved information density, faster navigation, and streamlined workflows for high-volume social teams.
Full internationalization with quality translations, RTL support, and locale-aware formatting for global enterprise teams.
The evolution of Engage
Working closely with customers and UX, we redesigned Engage from an inbox experience to a column-based experience. The v1 interface served customers well, but the v2 refresh improved information density, streamlined workflows, and modernized the visual design for enterprise social teams.
How we delivered
Delivering a platform modernization of this scope required careful coordination across teams, time zones, and competing priorities. We made deliberate choices about sequencing, beta testing, and cross-functional alignment.
Led two agile teams across Austin (Platform), Atlanta (Frontend), and India (Engineering), plus three UX/UI designers. Clear documentation and async practices kept everyone aligned across time zones.
Led a "war room" to flatten communication and accelerate delivery, completing and demoing 5 epics in a single week. This intensive collaboration model helped us hit critical milestones.
Worked closely with Customer Success, Marketing, and Sales on each release. This ensured customers were prepared, support teams were trained, and sales had updated positioning.
What we delivered
Expanded from 4 to 8 supported social networks by integrating LinkedIn, Instagram, Sina Weibo, and Tumblr. Addressed the #1 customer feature request.
Delivered a full product overhaul with 36 new features in 12 months, driven by beta testing, customer feedback, and UX improvements.
Internationalized the platform across 30+ languages, improving usability and accelerating adoption in EMEA and APAC regions.
Coordinated rollouts with Customer Success, Marketing, and Sales created a repeatable launch playbook and improved market penetration.
Where the work was hardest
Modernizing an enterprise platform while keeping it running for customers required navigating technical constraints, coordination complexity, and competing priorities.
Early Phase
The existing platform had technical debt that made some integrations harder than expected. We had to balance modernization with keeping the system stable for current customers.
Mid Phase
Teams in Austin, Atlanta, and India meant limited overlapping hours. We invested in documentation, async practices, and strategic sync meetings to keep everyone aligned.
Late Phase
Shipping 36 features in 12 months created pressure on quality. Beta testing and phased rollouts helped us catch issues early, but it required discipline to not cut corners.
Ongoing
Coordinating releases across Customer Success, Marketing, and Sales meant managing different priorities and timelines. Building a repeatable playbook took iteration.
How this shaped my approach
True i18n requires thinking about RTL layouts, locale-aware formatting, and cultural context. It's a product investment, not just a localization task.
Customers who participate in betas become advocates. They feel ownership over the product and provide better feedback than any survey could.
Async-first documentation, recorded decisions, and strategic sync meetings are essential when teams span time zones. Over-communication beats under-communication.
A great feature with poor rollout coordination underperforms. Investing in CS, Marketing, and Sales alignment ensures customers actually adopt what you ship.
What colleagues said
Feedback from teammates and coverage of the network expansion work.
"Kevin is a go-to PM. Not all heroes wear capes. Not all success stories start with the best-laid plans. Start with the right people. Kevin is the right people."
"Kevin has the unique ability to get people excited about his projects and keep momentum going all the way to launch. Adding new social networks to SRM was something many saw as either too complex to think about doing well, or too simplistic to think about at all. Kevin quickly learned each new network (often in non-English interfaces), brought that learning to the team, and fought for the best possible experience."
"Kevin and I worked closely for two years at Oracle. We were both product managers overseeing portions of Oracle's Social Cloud that spanned enterprise integrations to specific UI/UX tweaks. He has a combination of passion and a commitment to quality that I miss being around. Above all, our projects were always made fun, which requires an outlook I haven't seen much in my professional career."
"His product leadership has doubled the social networks available within the Oracle Social Relationship Management platform, yet you'd never know it from his humble, hardworking attitude. He has built a number of internal and client facing processes to ensure our teams have all the information and training needed to succeed."
