Flexible cloud infrastructure for ISVs, Vivek Gupta, Oracle India

How is Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) positioned to help Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) take advantage of increasing public cloud spending?

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is strategically positioned to help Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) leverage the growing public cloud market. OCI's approach begins with educating and engaging ISVs on the technical aspects of its offerings. For established ISVs with legacy code, OCI focuses on making their applications available on the cloud, helping them transition from traditional licensing models to cloud-based solutions. 

Oracle also shares its own experience of transforming from a licensed business to a SaaS model, providing insights on the necessary changes in technology, people, and processes. This guidance is particularly valuable for senior executives at ISVs.

For digital-native ISVs, OCI assists with global expansion, performance optimization, cost reduction, and flexible architecture adoption. OCI's extensive global presence, with over 50 regions in 24 countries, is a key factor in helping ISVs achieve their global aspirations.

Additionally, Oracle encourages ISVs to join the Oracle Partner Network (OPN) to access various go-to-market programs, including the Oracle Marketplace, where ISVs can list and sell their applications. OCI also collaborates with ISVs to complement its offerings, such as in areas like corporate treasury management, to enhance customer value.

In summary, OCI's engagement with ISVs starts with technical support and extends to go-to-market strategies and development best practices, enabling ISVs to build robust, scalable applications and succeed in the market.

How does the flexible deployment and scalability of OCI enable ISVs to expand their offerings and meet growing market demands?

OCI provides ISVs with flexible deployment models and scalability options that enable them to expand their offerings and meet growing market demands. OCI offers various deployment options, including public cloud and multiple hybrid cloud configurations such as the Dedicated Region Cloud at Customer (DRCC) and Oracle Alloy. ISVs can choose the most suitable deployment model based on their customer's needs and the speed of deployment required.

OCI's global presence, with over 50 public cloud regions across 24 countries, allows ISVs to expand their reach to new markets. For example, an ISV in India can easily scale and deploy their applications in Saudi Arabia or other regions using OCI's infrastructure, aligning with their global aspirations.

Flexibility is a key advantage of OCI. ISVs have access to any OCI region through the console, and they can choose from various cloud purchasing and consumption models. These include the pay-as-you-go model, which allows ISVs to provision resources on demand without upfront commitments, and the Universal Credits model, which offers predictable spending and potential discounts based on resource consumption.

A unique value proposition of OCI is its consistent pricing across all regions. This consistency simplifies cost management for ISVs looking to go global, as it eliminates the complexities associated with varying cloud costs in different countries. ISVs can predict their SaaS pricing more accurately, ensuring a stable cost structure across their global offerings.

OCI also offers flexible infrastructure, allowing ISVs to create custom instances tailored to their specific needs, unlike the fixed configurations of earlier cloud models. The Universal Credits model further enhances this flexibility, enabling ISVs to use any service within the OCI portfolio under a single contract.

Can you elaborate on how ISVs are integrating AI and machine learning into their solutions using OCI, and what advantages this brings?

ISVs are increasingly integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into their solutions using OCI. This integration helps them stay competitive and meet the growing demand for intelligent and adaptive software solutions. AI is becoming a critical part of ISVs' strategies, driven by the need to create value for their customers through more advanced and responsive applications.

According to Gartner, by 2023, 45% of ISVs will have incorporated AI into their solutions, and this trend is expected to grow as AI technologies become more accessible and integrated into cloud platforms like OCI. IDC projects that AI-related spending by ISVs will exceed $50 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 20%.

ISVs are adopting AI in several key areas:

1. Industry-Specific Use Cases: ISVs are developing AI-driven solutions tailored to specific industry verticals. These include predictive analytics for business intelligence, automated customer service tools, and specialized AI applications for sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail.

2. Generative AI: According to a McKinsey report, around 30% of ISVs have integrated Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities into their solutions, particularly for content creation, personalization, and customer engagement.

3. AI-Driven Code Generation: ISVs are using AI to automate code generation, enhancing the efficiency of their software development processes. This is especially useful for marketing agencies and organizations focused on content creation.

4. Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics: Many ISVs are incorporating ML algorithms into their solutions to offer predictive analytics capabilities. This is particularly prevalent in business intelligence applications.

5. Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP is being integrated into customer support platforms, enabling the use of chatbots and automated responses to improve customer service efficiency.

6. Analytics and Insights: AI is being used to enhance data interpretation and provide deeper insights, particularly in analytics platforms. This helps ISVs deliver more value to their customers through advanced data-driven solutions.

7. Cybersecurity and IoT: AI is also being integrated into cybersecurity solutions to enhance surveillance, detect threats, and secure sensitive data. In the Internet of Things (IoT) domain, AI is used for anomaly detection and other industry-specific use cases like fraud management.

By leveraging OCI, ISVs benefit from the scalability, flexibility, and advanced AI and ML tools that Oracle offers. This enables them to create innovative, industry-specific solutions that address complex problems and deliver significant value to their customers.

What role do ISVs play in the development of tools and platforms on OCI, and how does Oracle support these efforts?

ISVs play a crucial role in developing tools and platforms on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), particularly by leveraging their deep understanding of specific industries or horizontal solutions. Their work is focused on creating specialized applications and platforms that cater to the unique needs of different sectors, such as security, e-commerce, insurance, telecommunications, and more.

Industry-Specific Solutions:

ISVs often focus on creating solutions tailored to specific industry verticals. For example, an ISV might develop a platform for the insurance industry that uses AI to analyze claims data, or for the telecommunications industry to optimize network performance. These industry-specific solutions address distinct problem statements, making them highly valuable to their respective sectors.

Horizontal Solutions:

Some ISVs develop horizontal solutions that are applicable across multiple industries. For instance, security solutions like threat detection systems can be used in various sectors, from finance to healthcare. These solutions address common challenges, such as cybersecurity, that are relevant to many different fields.

AI and Machine Learning Integration:

ISVs are increasingly integrating AI and machine learning (ML) into their platforms to provide more intelligent and adaptive solutions. For example, in e-commerce, ISVs might develop recommendation systems that suggest products to users based on their browsing history, using AI to enhance the shopping experience. In the travel industry, ISVs might use AI to optimize pricing strategies for hotels, ensuring competitive rates are offered to customers.

Data-Driven Insights:

The explosion of data has made it essential for ISVs to develop tools that can effectively analyze and utilize this information. Predictive analytics, powered by machine learning, is one area where ISVs are making significant contributions. By embedding ML algorithms into business intelligence tools, ISVs enable predictive analytics, allowing companies to anticipate trends and make data-driven decisions.

Enhancing Platform Value:

ISVs are not just focused on providing platforms but are increasingly looking to add value by creating intelligent and adaptive software solutions. The integration of Generative AI (GenAI) is a key area where ISVs are driving innovation, opening up new possibilities for creating more responsive and personalized platforms.

Oracle’s Support for ISVs:

Oracle actively supports ISVs in these efforts by providing a robust and flexible cloud infrastructure with OCI. Oracle offers various tools, services, and resources that ISVs can leverage to develop, deploy, and scale their applications. Additionally, Oracle’s global cloud presence and consistent pricing across regions help ISVs expand their offerings globally without the complexity of varying costs.

Oracle’s collaboration with ISVs is also focused on helping them enhance their solutions by integrating advanced technologies like AI, ML, and predictive analytics. By working closely with ISVs, Oracle ensures that these vendors can effectively meet the evolving needs of their customers, ultimately driving innovation and value in the marketplace.

In terms of performance and cost optimization, how does OCI compare to other cloud infrastructure options available to ISVs?

When comparing OCI to other cloud infrastructure options available to ISVs, particularly in terms of performance and cost optimization, OCI's Gen2 Cloud capabilities stand out for several reasons:

1. Flexible Infrastructure:

One of OCI's key advantages is its flexible infrastructure. Unlike many other cloud providers that offer fixed machine configurations (e.g., a set number of cores and CPUs), OCI allows ISVs to pick and choose the exact specifications they need. For example, if an application only requires five cores, OCI enables the ISV to provision exactly that, rather than forcing them to purchase a more expensive eight-core machine. This flexibility leads to cost savings as ISVs only pay for what they actually use.

2. Performance Optimization:

OCI is designed with high-performance workloads in mind. It offers features such as Remote Direct Memory Access cluster networks, which provide microsecond latency for compute-intensive tasks. This is particularly beneficial for ISVs handling large-scale data processing or high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. Additionally, OCI’s non-blocking network architecture is engineered to match the performance of dedicated on-premise networks, ensuring that ISVs can achieve consistent, high-speed connectivity and reduced latency across their deployments.

3. Enhanced Security with Custom Security Chips:

OCI embeds custom security chips and follows a zero-trust security approach, which is particularly appealing for ISVs handling sensitive data or operating in regulated industries. This architecture ensures that customers are isolated from other tenants, reducing the risk of cross-tenant vulnerabilities. Furthermore, OCI's off-box virtualization provides complete instance isolation, enhancing both security and performance.

4. Cost Efficiency:

The combination of flexible infrastructure and enhanced performance means that ISVs can optimize their costs more effectively on OCI. By provisioning only the necessary resources and benefiting from OCI’s advanced networking and security features, ISVs often find that they can achieve the same or better performance at a lower cost compared to other cloud providers. This is particularly significant for ISVs with fluctuating workloads or those looking to scale their operations globally.

5. Widespread Adoption and Migration:

Due to these benefits, many ISVs are not only adopting OCI for new workloads but are also migrating their existing platforms from other cloud providers to OCI. The combination of performance, flexibility, and cost savings makes OCI an attractive option for ISVs across various industry segments, from startups to large enterprises.

Can you discuss any new ISVs that have recently migrated to OCI and the impact this has had on their business operations?

Several ISVs have recently migrated to OCI, resulting in significant improvements in their business operations. 

For example, Yubi, a digital lending tech unicorn, uses OCI to run its co-lending platform efficiently. Sofcom ERP focused on the pharmaceutical industry, has leveraged Oracle Apex and Oracle Database Cloud services on OCI to power its Pharma Cloud platform, serving numerous customers. Jocata, headquartered in Hyderabad, specializes in anti-money laundering and digital lending solutions and has adopted OCI's Gen2 Cloud infrastructure to enhance its offerings.

Wipro has also integrated OCI into its airline services, specifically using it for two of its IPs, Chromis and Tops. Thomson Reuters has rolled out its "OneSource" offering on OCI with zero downtime, showcasing OCI's reliability. 8x8, another company that migrated to OCI, has experienced exponential growth and a remarkable 80% cost reduction. Lastly, Workforce Software, a global provider of workforce management solutions, reported a 30% increase in performance since moving to OCI. This improvement is attributed to OCI's advanced features, such as off-box virtualization and enhanced security.

These migrations highlight how OCI's capabilities are driving efficiency, cost savings, and performance improvements for a diverse range of ISVs.

How does OCI ensure robust security and compliance with local regulations, particularly for ISVs operating in highly regulated industries?

OCI takes a proactive approach to security, which is always on by default, ensuring maximum protection for ISVs, particularly those in highly regulated industries. OCI offers built-in security features at no extra cost, which is essential for ISVs relying on Oracle to deliver secure and compliant platforms to their customers. OCI supports a shared responsibility model, where Oracle manages the infrastructure-level security, while ISVs handle application-level security. This collaboration ensures a robust security posture for end customers.

OCI is compliant with various third-party standards and regulations, such as SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3, and continually adapts to meet regional and country-specific security requirements. Oracle works closely with ISVs to help them meet these regulatory demands, enabling them to assure their customers of compliance with local and global standards.

What kind of support and resources does Oracle provide to help ISVs succeed in a competitive market?

Oracle provides extensive support to ISVs, particularly those migrating from other cloud platforms, by offering better price performance and enhanced application experience for end customers. OCI’s superior service-level agreements (SLAs) and optimized code architecture contribute to these benefits.

In addition to technical support, Oracle assists ISVs in their go-to-market efforts. ISVs are encouraged to join Oracle’s partner network, where they can gain expertise in specific verticals or horizontals. This partnership grants ISVs access to Oracle’s go-to-market resources, including the Oracle Marketplace, where they can list their solutions for Oracle’s customer base to purchase. Oracle also collaborates with ISVs on custom go-to-market programs, particularly when their solutions complement Oracle’s offerings, thereby delivering additional value to both ISVs and Oracle customers.

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