Oracle and AT&T Enter into Strategic Agreement
A key customer win for Oracle, as AT&T is staying with Oracle going forward for the foreseeable future. It can be found here.The agreement gives AT&T global access to Oracle’s cloud portfolio offerings both in the public cloud and on AT&T’s Integrated Cloud. This includes Oracle’s IaaS, PaaS, Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) which will help increase productivity, reduce IT costs and enable AT&T to gain new flexibility in how it implements SaaS applications across its global enterprise. AT&T has also agreed to implement Oracle’s Field Service Cloud (OFSC) to further optimize its scheduling and dispatching for its more than 70,000 field technicians. With OFSC, for example, AT&T will combine its existing machine learning and big data capabilities with Oracle’s technology to increase the productivity, on-time arrivals and job duration accuracy of AT&T’s field technicians.MyPOV – This is an impressive demonstration of the ‘chip to click’ Oracle stack creating value from the IaaS layer all the way to SaaS. For AT&T to throw in critical Field Service into the overall mega deal is a key sign that the Oracle synergies across the stack work. The AT&T machine learning and big data capabilities relied on Oracle and with that move with the Oracle systems. Industry rumors were that AT&T had tried a number (or even any) alternative to stay with Oracle, but could not find anything fitting capabilities as well as TCO. This is a key lighthouse deal for Oracle. The vendor’s shot to become a key player in cloud infrastructure is to capture more deals like this and the bulk of the load that the Oracle DB carries on premises – for the Oracle cloud / IaaS and Database as a Service business.
Trek Bicycle Shifts to Oracle Cloud to Improve Customer Experience
Another customer press release, always good to see them – it can be found here.As a first step, Trek set out to streamline the customer claims process and engagement with its dealers. Using Oracle Mobile Cloud Service, a key component of Oracle Cloud Platform, Trek developed an innovative new mobile application that enables dealers to submit repair claims using their mobile devices and a few taps of a button. With the new claims application, dealers will simply snap a picture of the customers’ bikes on their mobile device, connect directly to Trek’s supply chain applications through an API, and create a claim in just a couple of minutes. The new claim submission application will also include optical character recognition (OCR) technology that allows service professionals to pull up customer service histories simply by scanning a bike’s serial number. It also allows Trek to better service their bikes and better support existing customers.MyPOV – A good example how enterprises need to build software to truly differentiate. PaaS matters for that and Trek built an application that changes the supply chain from closed to open, making the Trek stories active users of the system. Making claims easier and faster to process is great for customers that get a more hassle-free repair experience, great for the Trek dealer who is more productive and has a happy customer and great for Trek that has happy dealers and customers. And likely a competitive differentiator in the market.
Oracle Announces EU Region Expansion in Germany
New locations for IaaS are key as all vendors are in the monopoly race to plant their flag around the world, read the whole press release here.Continuing its commitment to cloud customers through extensive engineering and infrastructure investments, Oracle today announced enhancements to the Oracle Cloud EU Region in Germany with the addition of modern infrastructure as a service (IaaS) architecture and new IaaS and platform as a service (PaaS) cloud services. German-based modern IaaS will enable organizations to build and move mission-critical workloads to the cloud with uncompromised security and governance at a significant price performance advantage both over existing on-premises infrastructure and competitive cloud offerings. Oracle’s expanded infrastructure footprint is a result of tremendous customer demand with non-GAAP cloud revenue up 71 percent in Q3FY17 to $1.3 billion. The Oracle Cloud EU Region in Germany builds on the previously announced Oracle Cloud UK Region. The Oracle Cloud EU Region in Germany is expected to come online in the second half of this calendar year.MyPOV – Good to see the investment, that is required though to make Oracle a cloud IaaS player. Oracle follows the traditional roll out of the IaaS competitors, starting in the UK and then moving to Europe’s #1 economy, Germany. Frankfurt makes additional sense as it is one of the Internet backbone exchanges, so it makes sense to build data centers there. No surprise this will be a ‘Gen 2’ Oracle region – which usually means 3 data centers (though Oracle would not confirm). That would raise the ‘game’ over the also Germany based IaaS competitors. But then it is half a year out – so many things can change till then. But good to see Oracle spend the CAPEX, which it has to in order to catch up with the ‘Big 3’ of IaaS.
Oracle Cloud Applications Drive Business Transformation Around the World
At the end of the SaaS is an important business for Oracle, so it needed an update as well – it can be found here.The Oracle Cloud delivers nearly 1,000 SaaS applications to customers in more than 195 countries around the world. With NetSuite now part of Oracle, more than 25,000 organizations around the world now leverage Oracle Cloud Applications to transform critical business functions and embrace modern best practices. To accelerate this growth and help organizations of all sizes transform business processes, Oracle recently announced a series of NetSuite expansions and innovations. It is also introducing artificial intelligence-based enterprise applications. Oracle Adaptive Intelligent Apps blends first-party data with third-party data, and then applies Oracle's decision science and machine learning capabilities to create cloud applications that adapt and learn.MyPOV – The NetSuite acquisition is a huge jump in cloud customers for Oracle, albeit on a different and older platform than the rest of the Oracle cloud applications. But it is still an Oracle platform, so a number of investments that Oracle announced at NetSuite’s recent SuiteWorld even (see my take here). And no surprise to see AI mentioned, and Oracle calls them Adaptive Intelligent Apps. The potential of merging third party data with enterprise data is substantial and we will see how well Oracle can exploit this opportunity. In the following list of Oracle Cloud suites, notably CRM was missing – though Oracle CX / HCM / ERP Cloud were mentioned. An unusual omission which begs questions. But overall good traction of the Oracle SaaS portfolio.
VMware and Oracle Collaborate to Enable Advanced Security Features and Streamlined Management of Oracle Mobile Enterprise Applications
Somewhat surprisingly a partnership announcement between VMware and Oracle thrown in the mix.VMware is the first mobile application management provider to manage and secure hundreds of Oracle business applications and custom applications built on the OMCS. As such, enterprise IT organizations can manage their Oracle application suite on a single unified platform together with their other business-critical applications and devices. Users who count on Oracle’s business applications to make better decisions, reduce costs and increase performance can benefit by being able to access these applications through a simple digital workspace environment—be it from a mobile device, laptop or desktop – with VMware Workspace ONE™ and AirWatch.MyPOV – Always good to see when customers can get vendor to partner and bring their offerings closer, here it is Oracle and VMware. VMware Workspace ONE and VMware AirWatch have reached a critical usage level in enterprises, so these enterprises want to use the same pane of glass to manage Oracle mobile applications. Good to see the partnership a win / win / win for customers and both vendor.
Oracle and Partners Make It Easier for Global Organizations to Move to the Cloud
In another partner announcement, Oracle shared that Equinix is joining the FastConnect program – the press release can be found here.Oracle FastConnect addresses one of the most important issues that impacts migration to a cloud service: the unpredictable nature of the Internet. With FastConnect, customers can create a high-throughput and low-latency connection that delivers the benefits of a hybrid cloud setup by providing an easy, cost effective way to create dedicated and private connectivity to Oracle Cloud. In addition, customers can address common concerns with security and performance issues associated with cloud technologies. This is especially true for mission-critical enterprise workloads that frequently demand high levels of availability, security and performance.MyPOV – Network connectivity remains a crucial component for hybrid and migratory scenarios. Good to see Oracle expanding the program with Equinix, joining Megaport, Verizon, BT and NTT Communications.
Overall MyPOV
A good media day with Oracle, showing good traction across its cloud products. Good to see not only customer traction, but (probably well planned) traction on the IaaS, PaaS and SaaS level. As well as partner ecosystem moves that help Oracle customers move to cloud (FastConnect and VMware).On the concern side, Oracle will have to have a few more of similar ‘revolver style’ press events to change perception that its cloud offerings are behind compared to other IaaS / PaaS players. But you have to start with one, so let’s see when the second similar, overall Oracle cloud momentum release will happen. If this will be before Oracle OpenWorld, a good sign, it certainly is expected to repeat itself at OpenWorld.
But for now – good to see the overall traction, with the opening of a region in the 4th largest economy on the planet probably being the most substantial of the 6 press releases.
