Cloud computing and global software giant
Microsoft Corporation and computer hardware systems and enterprise software products provider
Oracle have partnered on cloud computing services. Oracle's database and Java tools will be now offered through Microsoft’s Windows Azure service.
The news was announced last week by Oracle’s co-President Mr. Mark Hurd and Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Steve Ballmer. The corporations have forgone what many regard as a long-standing rivalry in a bid to entice potential customers who might be interested in moving their software to the cloud. The move is also seen as a response to customer demands that the two organizations cooperate, as the web services customers create often need to incorporate technologies from both organizations.
The move is also a response to competition from other cloud computing companies such as Amazon and Google, while the advance of the cloud has disrupted the traditional business models of both parties – as PC demand decreases Microsoft needs to sell online services instead of its traditional software, while Oracle needs to sell business software online for the same reason.
The planned cooperation is clearly intended to be very close. Oracle customers will be able to run its software through Microsoft’s Azure and Hyper-V virtualization software under existing licenses. In addition, customers utilizing Oracle’s database services will be able to continue to use its database software. A new version Oracle’s Linux operating system will also be available through Azure.
Oracle products available through Azure… Will this tip the cloud balance in favor of Microsoft? Let us know your thoughts. Add your comments below.
