Oracle, the cloud provider that recently reported a disappointing Q1 2023 revenue, has announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft Azure. The partnership involves co-locating a portion of Oracle’s database infrastructure in Azure data centers. The joint offering, named Oracle Database@Azure, will provide customers with access to Oracle database services running on Oracle hardware deployed within Azure’s cloud platform.
Key Takeaway
Oracle has partnered with Microsoft Azure to bring its database infrastructure to the cloud. The collaboration, known as Oracle Database@Azure, aims to combine Oracle’s database product with Azure’s services and AI capabilities. This offering will provide customers with more options to migrate their databases to the cloud and a fully integrated experience within Azure. The partnership comes as Oracle seeks to regain market share and compete with subscription-based solutions.
Bringing Together Oracle and Azure
Oracle Database@Azure aims to combine Oracle’s robust database product with Azure’s renowned security, flexibility, and best-in-class services. The collaboration will also integrate Azure’s AI capabilities that have been co-developed with OpenAI, Microsoft’s AI collaborator. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison enthusiastically expressed the partnership’s significance, stating that Oracle’s hardware and software would be co-located and physically moved into Azure’s data centers.
The specifics of Oracle Database@Azure are currently limited. However, Oracle stated in a press release that the offering would introduce additional options for customers to migrate their databases to the cloud. It promises a fully integrated experience for deploying, managing, and utilizing Oracle database instances within Azure. Initially, Oracle Database@Azure will support various Oracle database services, including Oracle Exadata Database services, Oracle Autonomous Database services, and Oracle Real Application Clusters. The collaboration will also ensure a joint support guarantee from both Oracle and Microsoft to resolve any issues related to mission-critical workloads.
Expanding Opportunities and Accelerating Cloud Migration
With the introduction of Oracle Database@Azure, customers will have the ability to purchase the service through Azure Marketplace while benefiting from their existing Oracle Database license benefits. Oracle will directly operate and manage its services within Microsoft’s data centers across the globe, beginning with regions in North America and Europe.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized that the partnership with Oracle addresses customers’ requirements for additional options while migrating to the cloud. He believes that this collaboration will significantly accelerate the adoption of cloud solutions for enterprise applications that rely on Oracle Database.
Challenges and Outlook for Oracle
Oracle faces challenges in the highly competitive database market. Over the past few years, the company’s market share has declined, falling from 36.1% in 2017 to 20.6% in 2021, according to Gartner. Despite investing heavily in infrastructure, Oracle has lost customers to various companies that offer subscription-based services for managing open-source database solutions such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and MySQL.
Recognizing the need to regain momentum, Oracle has taken steps to rebuild its customer base. In April, the company made its database software free for developers to encourage goodwill among the database engineering community. The partnership with Azure is another strategic move that could strengthen Oracle’s market position, potentially deterring long-term clients from switching to competing platforms.
