Dear Oracle Cloud…I need my own space

Dear Oracle Cloud Infrastructure,

Look, it’s not you, it’s me. And right now, you need to give me some space. No, not the space in your data center, I’m not quite ready to commit on a deeper level. I need my own space, on my own terms because I need to keep my options open. Let me explain.

I’m not ready to move in with you

We already have a good thing going on, so why mess it up? It feels like only yesterday that I chose Oracle as my ERP system and you said that it was best to keep seeing each other at my place. So, I made considerable on-premises investments in infrastructure and equipment, tuning the setup to the exact specifications that work best for you.

I mean, I put a lot of work into this relationship, spending days and nights fretting over whether I had the best hardware and in-house expertise to keep you happily up and running. But now you’re telling me it’s time to leave that all behind and continue operations at your place? I don’t think so. And I’m not the only one who feels this way.

In fact, a recent survey from Rimini Street on Why Enterprises are Rethinking their Oracle Relationship and Cloud Strategy found that almost half — 46.2% — of enterprises surveyed that have internally deployed Oracle applications feel the same way I do. I’m confident enough to stay put in my own data center because, despite your pleas, I just can’t find a good reason to leave. Maybe we should have had this conversation before I bought all my fancy gear. But we’re here now and I’m not going anywhere.

I don’t like being smothered

I don’t love that you’re trying to be everything to me. On top of offering database and ERP solutions, you’re also offering support and infrastructure. It seems a bit much and like, so exhausting. At one point in the past, the idea of a one-stop shop for my organization’s ERP system would’ve swept me off my feet. But I’ve been around the IT game for too long now and I’m just not willing to accept the potential lock-in associated with your Oracle Cloud service options — and it turns out I’m not alone in this perspective either.

In the same Rimini Street survey, 73% of respondents noted that they are looking at infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) vendors other than Oracle, such as Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. Why? One key reason is that enterprises don’t want to be beholden to a single organization for everything. When one organization has its hands in everything, the risk of creating an imbalance in the relationship rises. Truth be told, I don’t want you to have the power to call all the shots. If that were the case, I would no longer have the freedom to have my own business-driven IT roadmap and I’d suddenly find myself at the mercy of your vendor-dictated roadmap. And that’s like, way too controlling for me right now.

I’m not sure you’re the one

To be honest, I’ve been looking around at other IaaS vendors. I wouldn’t call it cheating as much as exploring my options. And one thing about these other vendors that’s piqued my interest is the amount of communication they allow with their cloud infrastructure via open APIs. This kind of feature would give me the power to choose some of the best tools for the job and give me options for scaling my infrastructure up or down as needs arise.

I mean, you’re great at software and databases, but are you a top industry leader like Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud when it comes to IaaS services? Maybe someday you’ll get there, but right now, if I decide to move to the cloud, I want to do it on my terms.

I’ve got trust issues

Relationships are built on trust, and right now it’s hard for me to trust you on the infrastructure side of things. Do you really have my best interests at heart when it comes to using the cloud to save money during off-peak usage? Or are you looking to lock me into a long-term hosting contract to make sure I don’t leave? I’m just worried that you’re one of those vendors who think scale and pricing only work one way — up.

When it comes to deciding which cloud hosting infrastructure, I want to run my ERP system, I want someone who I believe has my best interests at heart, someone I can trust. Someone like Rimini Street, the market leader in third-party enterprise software support services. I know Rimini Street will give me an unbiased opinion to help me decide which IaaS provider can best meet my needs — and they’ll even help me calculate my potential maintenance savings.

Let’s just be friends

I’m not ready to take our relationship to the next level. While I still like your software, my affection doesn’t keep my head in the clouds. I’ll keep seeing you, but always on my own terms. I hope you can understand and respect my personal boundaries.

Sincerely,
Me

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