Welcome to the Cloud Wars Minute — your daily news and commentary show, hosted by Cloud Wars Founder Bob Evans. Each episode provides insights and perspectives around the “reimagination machine” that is the Cloud.
This episode is sponsored by Acceleration Economy’s Digital CIO Summit, taking place April 4-6. Register for the free event here. Tune in to the event to hear from CIO practitioners discuss their modernization and growth strategies.
In this Cloud Wars Minute, Bob Evans continues reviewing the Uber, Google Cloud, and Oracle deal — but this time, he approaches it from Oracle’s perspective.
Highlights
00:28 — Bob reviews the huge deal involving Uber, Google Cloud, and Oracle. Today, he covers it mostly from the Oracle perspective after sharing the Uber perspective yesterday. Will this big deal with Uber — which involves both Google Cloud and Oracle — be one of Larry Ellison’s $1 billion cloud deals?
01:09 — Looking back to December 12, Oracle had its earnings call for the fiscal Q2 ended November 30. In Ellison’s opening remarks, he talked about the huge growth in Oracle’s cloud infrastructure business. In Q2, he reported that Oracle signed multiple contracts with customers for $1 billion or more of cloud infrastructure. Bob wonders if Uber qualified for that.
01:37 — Earlier this week, Oracle announced a huge seven-year deal with Uber. The deal is all about cloud infrastructure and helping Uber move into new businesses, expand the businesses that it’s currently in, and deliver fantastic customer experiences.
02:06 — From Oracle’s perspective, Bob considers this to be a “huge feat.” CEO Safra Catz called it a landmark competitive win. Yesterday, Bob spoke with Oracle EVP Mark Hura, who is in charge of cloud and technology sales for North America; he reported being thrilled to help Uber through Oracle’s performance, price, and regional presence across the globe.
02:43 — Bob states that “if there was any doubt, this definitely qualifies Oracle as a full hyperscaler.” Oracle now has 22,000 cloud infrastructure customers.
03:21 — Uber could have exclusively chosen any provider, but it chose both Google Cloud and Oracle, Bob highlights. Oracle was selected for heavy infrastructure deals involving some of Uber’s most mission-critical workloads, which Bob considers to be a reminder of a couple of things.
03:48 — Firstly, the CEO of Uber is really using the cloud not so much as new technology replacing old technology. It is a proxy for the mindset the company now has around innovation, growth, dazzling customers, great experiences, expanding into new business, and being a growth company with a growth culture.
04:12 — Secondly, while Uber could have picked anybody, it chose Oracle. There’s competition at the highest level with Oracle joining Google Cloud, Amazon, and Microsoft as a hyperscaler — which Bob says is “terrific news for customers.” He believes it’s going to lead to better leverage, better performance, and better prices for customers.
To hear more data modernization, AI/hyperautomation, cybersecurity, and growth strategies from CIO practitioners, tune into Acceleration Economy’s Digital CIO Summit, which takes place April 4-6. Register for the free event here.
