The cloud is just about everywhere and people are talking about it doing just about everything. So isn’t it about time you find it on your mobile phones?
The good news is that two technology giants, Oracle and Samsung are rumored to be working together to deliver cloud services to mobile devices.
Mark Hurd, Oracle’s co-CEO, has met with Shin Jong Kyun, the head of Samsung Electronics’ mobile unit in Seoul to iron out the details of the joint project. The move is seen to help Oracle fortify their database cloud offerings. Conversely, it will help Samsung with their business customers.
This is not the first time that Samsung has partnered with a software firm. It already has relationships with SAP and Microsoft.
On the other hand, Oracle reported software and cloud revenues of $7.3 billion for fiscal 2015, up around 5 per cent from the previous corresponding period. It also reported infrastructure as a service, platform as a service and cloud software as a service revenues of $516 million, representing an increase of 45 per cent.
On top of strengthening their respective offerings, the partnership between Oracle and Apple could be seen as their version of the Apple and IBM partnership, which was sealed just recently.
Another motivation for Oracle is getting a wider distribution for its software in Samsung’s mobile phones. Oracle would be available in Samsung phones, which are seen to be more accessible to consumers in terms of price. That means that more consumers would be using Oracle products and software, following the tenets of consumerization of technology.
Samsung would go the other way. The partnership will help the electronics giant gain a stronger foothold in the enterprise space. Observers note that this is what Samsung wants, especially with the rumors that it was keenly interested in Blackberry. Blackberry might have floundered in the consumer space, but a lot of organizations and businesses are still using Blackberry. A bigger share in the enterprise market would mean higher margins than the ones that they have seen in the consumer market.
Setting the stage, but the future’s not clear
If this is true, it would set the stage for both companies to benefit from the partnership. But it would depend largely on how good Oracle is in convincing their current customers to use their cloud services on mobile devices. Oracle might have strong showing in traditional software in traditional systems, and these are embedded in many businesses. But the company still has to prove itself when it comes to cloud services. Oracle entered the cloud services market a little too late, especially when compared to its more aggressive competitors.
Nevertheless, having the systems in place is certainly worth a try.
Cloud services and mobile technologies are converging on more and more mobile devices. When two giants work together, it is always very intriguing to see what they can come up with. In no time, you shall be able to access your Oracle cloud services on your smartphone and that is a convenience that you certainly want to have.
Four Cornerstone offers Oracle consulting in Dallas, call us to get in on ground zero before this technology takes off and be one of the first to enjoy its benefits. Our team of Oracle experts can help you get set up and running with Oracle’s cloud services and other products.
Photo by Wikimedia Commons.
