C. Dunlap
Summary Bullets:
Oracle aimed to demonstrate its commitment to mobile and platform services.
Oracle has several exciting solutions projects underway, including cognitive analytics, customer engagement services, RAD, container/microservices, and ‘function as a service’ (FaaS).
During last week’s OpenWorld, Oracle hammered home its commitment to mobility. The company rolled out a number of upcoming (some sooner than later) mobile products and features to convince enterprises it will be making significant investments in its mobile and platform services. Oracle has realized that advanced mobile services, cognitive analytics, and new microservices architectures are what’s going to drive and determine the success of its cloud services.
Here are some key recaps around Oracle’s mobile and PaaS offerings:
Oracle is extending Mobile Cloud Service (MCS) to include support for chat bots, abstracting development complexities.
Oracle announced Customer Insights/Engagement Cloud Services to help marketers analyze the success of marketing campaigns.
Project Visual Code, a new low-code platform, is Oracle’s newest RAD story.
Application Container Cloud Service represents Oracle’s microservices strategy, with API services to follow.
App2Cloud helps onramp database and middleware customers to Java Cloud Services.
Of concern is the fact that the company’s mobile standing has lost significant steam following multiple delays around its MADP portfolio in recent years, including the release of MCS (now available) and low-code/RAD offerings. Oracle will need to reinstate customer confidence in its mobile app platform and PaaS cloud, not to mention its licensing scheme.
During the conference, keynote execs spent most of their time onstage highlighting Oracle’s cloud dominance over key rivals versus detailing its platform, mobile, IoT, and container services based on Java Cloud Services. I’d have preferred to get Oracle’s take on its Application Container Cloud Service and its microservices strategy, including innovative new technologies Oracle’s working on around server-less architecture. In an effort to automate and reduce IT operational requirements, a number of application platform vendors are working on this new area of FaaS, including AWS Lambda, IBM OpenWhisk, and Microsoft Azure Functions. Oracle’s efforts will be part of its new Stack Manager, which pulls together multiple services (e.g., database, mobile, SOA, etc.) within a single automated provisioning/operations/patching service (please see Oracle OpenWorld 2016: Oracle’s Mobile and Platform Services to Determine its Cloud Success, September 23, 2016).
Oracle is clearly gaining momentum in the mobile/PaaS market segment, claiming 350 MCS and 11,000 PaaS customers. The company has a staggering R&D budget, so the next 12 months will be an exciting time for Oracle and its app platform competitors moving into the next-generation of mobile app development.
