Oracle and AWS Join Forces: The Unholy Alliance
In a shocking turn of events, Oracle and AWS have announced a partnership that will allow Oracle’s cloud solutions to be deployed in AWS data centers. The deal, which was announced at the Oracle CloudWorld 2024 event, is a stark departure from the usual cloud wars between the two giants.
A Match Made in Heaven… or Hell?
Oracle’s Chairman and CTO, Larry Ellison, seemed to be embracing the newfound partnership, stating that "the time has come for the largest cloud infrastructure providers to ‘gracefully’ open and integrate their systems." Ellison went on to say that most large enterprises now use two, sometimes three, cloud infrastructures, and that it’s only natural for the industry’s hyperscalers to integrate their offerings.
What’s in it for Me?
The partnership, dubbed Oracle Database@AWS, will allow customers to access Oracle Autonomous Database on dedicated infrastructure and Oracle Exadata Database Service within AWS. This means that customers will be able to provision Oracle databases through the AWS console and pay for them in their AWS bill.
The People’s Champ
AWS customers, including the biggest players in the tech industry, have been begging for this kind of integration. According to Matt Garman, AWS’s head of infrastructure, customers have been asking for a way to run their mission-critical workloads inside of AWS, where their applications are, with low latency to their database.
Market Reactions
Cloud market analysts and social media influencers have been raving about the partnership, calling it a "game-changer" and a "shot in the arm" for the cloud industry. Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, described the value proposition as "dazzlingly simple" and said that it will "set a precedent for future multi-cloud solutions."
The African Perspective
In South Africa, the partnership is expected to have a significant impact on the market. According to Gaurav Bhatnagar, senior director of corporate communications for the MEA region at Oracle, the Africa market will benefit from a unified experience between OCI and AWS. Arthur Goldstuck added that the partnership will "mean they can select the best tools for the best job, with greater confidence of integrating these across platforms, locations and service providers."
The Bottom Line
The Oracle and AWS partnership is a significant development in the cloud industry, and it’s only the beginning. As the industry continues to evolve, we can expect to see more partnerships and collaborations that will benefit customers and the market as a whole. But for now, let’s just say that it’s going to be an interesting ride.
