Oracle Co-founder Larry Ellison, left, and Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates watch a match between Gael Monfils of France and Alexander Zverev of Germany during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Oct. 13, 2021.
Sean M. Haffey | Getty Images
Larry Ellison, the co-founder, chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle, has been competing against Microsoft in the database software market for over 30 years. He has also faced the challenge of clients seeking to integrate Oracle and Microsoft products. However, this week marked his first visit to Microsoft’s headquarters outside Seattle.
Ellison made the trip to join Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in announcing an expansion of the collaboration between the two companies. Oracle’s Exadata hardware, containing servers for databases and storage, will be placed in the data centers used by Microsoft for its Azure public-cloud service.
With this partnership, organizations will have the option to utilize Azure to store data using Oracle’s database software, eliminating the need to install Oracle hardware in their own data centers or rely on Oracle’s public cloud. Placing Oracle equipment in Azure data centers enables applications to rapidly access data from databases.
During a virtual presentation about the announcement, Ellison expressed his excitement about the visit, stating, “It was lovely to come up here. It’s actually my first time in Redmond. It’s hard to believe. I waited till very late in my career to make this trip.” The announcement was teased on Oracle’s earnings call with analysts on Monday.
Nadella highlighted the significance of Microsoft and Oracle working together by recalling a memory from his early years at Microsoft. He mentioned that when he first joined the company, he emphasized the importance of getting Oracle onto Windows NT before convincing ISVs to adopt Windows NT.
Nadella believes that this new collaboration will accelerate companies’ transition from their existing data centers to the public cloud.
While Oracle and Microsoft will still compete in selling cloud-based infrastructure, Azure holds a larger market share and is more established. Oracle aims to retain customers who adopt other clouds while utilizing its products. Longtime Oracle users are free to consider Microsoft’s databases in Azure.
The rivalry between the two companies reached its peak in 2000 when Microsoft faced an antitrust case against the U.S. Justice Department. At that time, Oracle made news headlines by revealing that it had hired a detective firm to obtain trash from a Microsoft-backed trade group’s office.
Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977 and is currently the world’s fifth richest person, while Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft in 1975, ranks fourth, according to Bloomberg. Ellison owns 42% of Oracle’s outstanding shares, while Gates owns just over 1% of Microsoft stock, according to FactSet.
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