Cloud Database Battle: AWS vs. DIY vs. Oracle

The first premise of this research is that architecting the Oracle Cloud Database service to run on specialized hardware and software, either on-premises or in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), allows the cloud database vendor to reduce costs significantly. This approach also allows the vendor to provide autonomous services based on economies of scale that further reduce the operational support costs. The combination of the two methods leads to halving the cost of running today’s cloud database application suites.

The second premise is that future synchronous automation of business processes will require real-time integration between systems-of-record, advanced analytic/AI inference systems, and other data and cloud database types. This integration can only be achieved by sharing data between database types. Also, the operation of synchronous applications is too complex for traditional operational processes. Therefore, high levels of cloud database and application automation, and machine learning are imperatives for synchronous application deployment.

Oracle Cloud Database is Tier-1 and in a class of its own. Wikibon recommends that larger enterprises with mission-critical workloads should not convert from Oracle to other databases. Instead, Wikibon recommends migrating to Autonomous Cloud Database on Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer X8M, Oracle Exadata Cloud Service on OCI, or other Oracle Database cloud services. Wikibon recommends that enterprises minimize the number of separate databases and data types and use the converged Oracle Cloud Database instead.

At this time, Wikibon cannot recommend running large-scale Oracle Database mission-critical workloads and the surrounding portfolio of applications on AWS. The cost of running Oracle databases in AWS is prohibitive.

Wikibon recommends Microsoft as the best multi-cloud alternative for Oracle mission-critical workloads because of its adjacent Microsoft Azure strategy combined with Oracle Exadata Cloud technology.

Senior executives should press Oracle and AWS to bury the hatchet and develop a win-win-win cost-effective multi-cloud database services strategy for their joint customers.