As Larry Ellison, Oracle’s founder, put the finishing touches on his keynote speech at the annual CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas, the company hinted at several significant developments set to be unveiled in the coming days, coinciding with robust quarterly results.
At the forefront is a new partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), along with enhancements to two previously announced collaborations. The Oracle Database@AWS allows customers to utilize the Oracle Autonomous Database on dedicated infrastructure and Oracle Exadata Database Service within the AWS environment. This offering aims to provide users with a “unified experience” that simplifies database administration, billing, and customer support across both Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and AWS.
Additionally, customers will have the capability to transfer data between their Oracle Databases and applications hosted on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) as well as AWS analytics and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) services, including Bedrock. Both companies assert that this partnership will synergize Oracle’s data management expertise with AWS’s security, agility, and flexibility. The new services are anticipated to launch by the end of 2024.
“We see tremendous demand from customers wanting to utilize multiple clouds,” said Ellison. “To satisfy this need and provide customers with choice and flexibility, we’re integrating AWS services with Oracle’s cutting-edge database technology, including the Oracle Autonomous Database. With Oracle Cloud Infrastructure deployed within AWS data centers, we can offer optimal database and network performance,” he added.
AWS CEO Matt Garman commented, “Since as far back as 2008, customers have had the option to run their Oracle workloads in the cloud, and many of the world’s largest organizations have opted to deploy their Oracle software on AWS. This new, deeper partnership will enable Oracle Database services within AWS, allowing customers to leverage the flexibility, reliability, and scalability of the most widely adopted cloud while using their essential enterprise software.”
Among the early adopters is US electronics retailer Best Buy. Their Chief Digital, Analytics, and Technology Officer Brian Tilzer noted the substantial value gained from partnering with AWS, particularly for the company’s transactional platforms. “Our collaboration with AWS provides the technological agility and scalability necessary to create a personalized shopping experience for our customers,” Tilzer remarked. “This announcement facilitates the migration of some of our database workloads to AWS and opens exciting new opportunities to enhance customer satisfaction.”
Scott Petty, CTO of Vodafone, expressed similar sentiments: “The collaboration between industry leaders like AWS and Oracle is fantastic news for our customers. This combination will enhance our capabilities, allowing us to offer secure, innovative services at scale. It gives our developers access to the latest cloud and data technologies while minimizing fragmentation and costs.”
Expanding Collaboration with Google and Microsoft
In addition to the AWS partnership, Oracle announced that Oracle Database@Google, initially revealed in June 2024, is now generally available across four Google Cloud regions: US East (Ashburn, Virginia), US West (Salt Lake City, Utah), UK South (London), and Germany Central (Frankfurt). This offering enables customers to run services such as Oracle Exadata Database Service and Oracle Autonomous Database on OCI within specific Google Cloud data centers.
Additionally, Oracle promotes running applications on Oracle Linux via Google Cloud, along with access to Google’s AI capabilities, providing enhanced data insights by operating two clouds in tandem while maintaining feature and pricing parity with OCI. Carl Olofson, IDC’s Research Vice President of Data Management Software, stated, “This partnership allows Oracle and Google Cloud to expand their multicloud strategy. Customers can leverage the automation of Oracle Autonomous Database and the performance of Exadata running in Google data centers.”
Furthermore, Oracle Database@Azure, first introduced by Ellison and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2023, is now available across six Microsoft Azure regions: Australia East, Canada Central, East US, France Central, Germany West Central, and UK South, with new services added. Among these is the Oracle Database Zero Data Loss Autonomous Recovery Service, which provides managed data protection for Oracle Exadata Database Service, enabling quick recovery from outages or cyber-attacks.
Karan Batta, Senior Vice President of OCI, commented on the significant momentum seen from global organizations speeding up their migrations with Oracle Database@Azure. “By expanding our Azure cloud region footprint, we ensure that even more customers gain access to multicloud capabilities that drive application innovation.”
Brett Tanzer, Microsoft’s Vice President of Product Management, emphasized the need for diverse cloud solutions, stating, “Our partnership with Oracle aims to expand Oracle Database@Azure, helping customers adapt to market changes and maintain a competitive edge as they grow.”
Financial Performance Highlights
In conjunction with these advancements, Oracle’s first-quarter financial results were announced, reflecting a 7% year-on-year revenue increase to $13.3 billion, with cloud services surging by over 20%. The company reported a GAAP net income of $2.9 billion for the quarter. CEO Safra Catz highlighted that cloud services now constitute Oracle’s largest business segment, contributing significantly to the firm’s income and earnings per share. He noted a strong contract backlog expected to spur further growth.
Ellison remarked on Oracle’s expanding cloud capabilities, highlighting 162 cloud data centers, either operational or under construction, one of which is 800 megawatts and houses extensive Nvidia GPU clusters used for training large-scale AI models. “Our database business growth rate is on the rise, thanks to our multicloud agreements with Microsoft and Google. Our recently finalized AWS agreement marks a significant milestone in the multicloud era, allowing customers to access the latest Oracle database technology across all major cloud providers,” he concluded.
