Oracle is playing catchup with a number of new cloud initiatives and a Data Visualization Cloud Service that targets a fast-growing market for analytics tools that can be used by non-IT specialists.
The annual OpenWorld conference saw news on new cloud infrastructure (IaaS) services aimed at Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and other rivals whose cloud databases are seen as a real threat to Oracle's core business in the long term.
New offerings include the ability to choose between pay-as-you-go and dedicated compute capacity (long supported by many rivals), storage services focused on file-sharing and archived data, support for Docker containers, and high-performance connectivity options for interacting with customer data centres.
Oracle's IaaS revenue rose 16% yr/yr in the August quarter to $160m, still well behind the $2.09bn in revenue (+78% yr/yr) claimed by IaaS leader Amazon Web Services in Q3. HP recently bowed out of the public IaaS market, while VMware and parent EMC have pooled their IaaS assets into a JV under the Virtustream brand.
Other new cloud offerings: 1) New high-reliability features for Oracle's cloud database services, as well as a service for running databases and data warehouses on Oracle's Exadata systems. 2) Management Cloud, a set of apps for monitoring app performance, analyzing log data, and overseeing a company's IT infrastructure. 3) New services for creating Java-based cloud apps. 4) New apps and features for Oracle's cloud ERP software suite, including three supply chain management apps.
Oracle's cloud app and app platform (SaaS/PaaS) business is much larger than its IaaS business: SaaS/PasS billings rose 70% yr/yr in the August quarter to $592m while traditional software license revenue fell 16% to $1.15bn.