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Cloud Computing is frequently heralded as the latest innovation to revolutionise the provision of storage, applications and data services. But the concept is far from new. The cloud providers of today were once known as application service providers (ASPs), and later, software as a service (SaaS) vendors. In reality, Cloud Computing has existed, in one guise or another, for almost 10 years. Despite this, there remains significant hype around the cloud as well as confusion as to exactly what it involves.

While there isn’t a universally agreed definition of Cloud Computing, at its most basic level the cloud simply consists of servers attached to a network, delivering storage, applications and hardware as services over the internet. These servers may sit inside an organisation’s firewall and operate as a ‘private Cloud’ or they may run on networks within an external environment, in what’s known as a ‘public Cloud’.  Oracle is the leading provider of the software infrastructure powering these Clouds and is itself the 2nd largest applications on demand vendor.

There are compelling reasons for both enterprise IT departments and mid-sized businesses to be interested in Cloud Computing complimenting their existing IT infrastructure.  For mid-sized businesses, the primary benefit is the ability to achieve the speed, efficiency and functionality normally only associated with large businesses with dedicated IT resources. These smaller firms may not have sophisticated IT departments or the money to invest in upfront capital expenses, so a public Cloud provider of applications can be very attractive.

For larger companies, using an external Cloud vendor may enable small teams or departments to get a new application or a development/test environment running in days rather than months. Alternatively, they may choose a private Cloud model for greater security, control and performance.

For both large enterprises and smaller businesses alike, the value propositions of Cloud Computing can be significant. With the cloud, firms only have to pay for what they use, deploy quickly and consume software innovation as vendors manage the service. Companies can quickly respond to peaks in their business by accessing additional computing power and functionality as and when it’s needed, and then re-provisioning the resource elsewhere once it’s no longer required. 

The provision of hosted, or ‘rented’ applications is perhaps the most recognisable face of Cloud Computing, and Oracle offers a number of applications on a subscription basis, including Beehive On Demand (collaboration), and Sourcing On Demand (procurement).

Oracle CRM On Demand is our fastest growing application business and the fastest growing SaaS business globally.  CRM On Demand can be delivered from Oracle’s data centre, a number of third party data centers and from customer data centres.

CRM On Demand offers customers four unique value propositions:

• Insight. Only Oracle provides customers with a full data warehouse and analytical tools to provide unique insight into data trends over time. For companies looking for more value than simple reporting Oracle Business Intelligence provides action from insight from the data warehouse and its analytical applications.
• Industry. Only Oracle provides deep industry solutions covering the high technology, manufacturing, medical devices, insurance, wealth management, engineering and construction, pharmaceuticals, automotive, banking and media sectors. No other CRM vendor provides such complete application footprints.
  
• Infrastructure. Only Oracle provides customers with the flexibility and choice beyond multi tenancy. Many SaaS vendors only offer multi-tenant applications, which involve them hosting a single mainframe like instance of the application that is used by numerous small customers. In contrast, Oracle CRM On Demand customers can select single tenancy, where they can have their own infrastructure, consume 100% of the CPU not sharing resources with other customers!
• Integration. Only Oracle provides product-based integrations between CRM On Demand to Oracle e-Business Suite, JD Edwards, Siebel On Premise and SAP, ensuring data integrity and data quality from a supported, upgraded and enhanced product, other vendors push costly custom solutions.

With the high adoption of SaaS applications like CRM On Demand, many people mistakenly assume that’s all the cloud has to offer. However, there’s a lot more to Cloud Computing than applications. Businesses can also take advantage of the Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion

Middleware as a ‘platform as a service’. Oracle’s commitment to standards allows its customers to source Oracle products from multiple Clouds and with these standards unmatched portability.  For example, a number of our large enterprise customers build and manage private clouds using Oracle Database products, Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Enterprise Manager.

Meanwhile, numerous mid-market customers run their own applications on Oracle infrastructure software within public clouds, such as the Amazon EC2 Cloud. In addition, over 250 of the world’s top cloud vendors use the Oracle Platform for SaaS to build, deploy and manage their own public Cloud offerings.

Therefore, Oracle is not only a Cloud Computing vendor, but the company that provides the very infrastructure that makes the Cloud possible.

Oracle is a sponsor of the Business Cloud Summit [2] in London on 2nd December. For further information, or to get a free 30-day trial of Oracle CRM On Demand, please visit us at the event.