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Oracle is getting ready to officially launch its public cloud service at a media event at its Redwood City, Calif., campus on June 6. The site is already up and running; you can access it here.
Registration requests currently are being taken for the various subscription-based application services, which include Fusion CRM, Fusion HCM (human capital management), and Oracle Social Network–a response to Salesforce’s Chatter.
Platform services include Java and Database. Yes, that’s the heavy-duty Oracle database in the form of a secure cloud service, available for a subscription.
The launch event will be Webcast June 6 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Go here to register.
Oracle has been stockpiling services over the years for on-premises, server-based deployments, such as Seibel Systems, JD Edwards, Hyperion and PeopleSoft. In the last year or so, however, the company has picked up cloud-ready acquisitions such as Taleo (for its HCM), RightNow (CRM) and Endeca (data management) to add to its new arsenal.
Oracle’s Three-Way Cloud Strategy
In an interview last year with eWEEK, Steve Miranda, Oracles senior vice president of application development, said that the company had three different angles in the cloud: one as a cloud-infrastructure provider, another as a cloud-application vendor and a third as a cloud host.
We think where were unique is the ability to provide all three, he said.
Oracle offers Fusion Applications via on-premises, private cloud, public cloud or some combination of those. The applications offer capabilities with more than 100 modules in seven product families, including the aforementioned HCM, CRM and supply chain management.
The company has also introduced cloud-based application programming interfaces (APIs) for interoperability, ensuring that workloads can be moved safely between clouds. The Oracle Cloud Resource Model API, a subset of Cloud API, relies on standard HTTP methods to interact with available resources to provision machines and modify configurations. It encourages standardization across the standard building blocks of the cloud, i.e., machines, storage volumes and networks.
On the cloud hardware side, Oracle also launched in fall 2010 a new system that allows companies to operate a private cloud within a self-contained system. The Exalogic Elastic Compute Cloud, also known as cloud in a box, features 30 servers with 360 cores, in addition to networking and storage, married to Oracle’s virtual machine (VM) technology operating in conjunction with Solaris and Linux assets.
Head-to-Head With IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce
Even as it moves aggressively into the cloud space, Oracle finds itself competing head-to-head for business dollars with IBM, which provides similar services, and smaller companies like Salesforce.com, which have centered their competitive strategy on the cloud. Microsofts increasing interest in providing cloud services for business via Azure is another area of potential concern for Oracle.
Weve been in this situation a long time. Were sometimes a supplier, a customer and a competitor, Miranda said. We know [customers] have a choice, its a highly competitive market, and we have to be best in class.
Editor’s note: Some information in this story was supplied by eWEEK’s Darryl K. Taft.
Chris Preimesberger is eWEEK Editor for Features and Analysis. Twitter: @editingwhiz
