“I think Oracle’s ambitions in the cloud are as broad as Amazon, Microsoft or Google,” says Gartner’s Wright. “But unlike the others, Oracle is comfortable coexisting with other providers in the same account. In some ways, OCI is a means for Oracle of staying relevant to large customers at the infrastructure layer, while it focuses on adding business value through its enterprise applications.”

Oracle seems poised for two things, according to Thompson, one of which is to continue its strategy around healthcare and personal medical records within the cloud.

“The goal is to enable better communication between healthcare providers while giving individuals more control over their historical records,” he says. “The inherent risk is trust. Any misstep or error could bring questions to the overall data quality and see companies withdraw from Oracle Health solutions and services.”

Secondly, the company will continue to invest in SaaS. “Its 2016 acquisition of NetSuite has been extremely beneficial, and the company also recently acquired Cerner, which supports both the healthcare and SaaS strategy,” Thompson says. “I think we’ll continue to see Oracle investing in SaaS applications and acquisitions as the margins are favorable, and this strategy fits the trend of companies looking to purchase applications as opposed to building in-house.”

The partnership with Microsoft is a testament to Oracle’s strategic approach to overcoming its challenges in the cloud market, according to Patlytics.ai’s Lee.

“By enabling interoperability between Oracle Cloud and Azure, Oracle has not only broadened its appeal to businesses that are entrenched in Microsoft’s ecosystem, but also underscored its commitment to flexibility and customer-centric solutions in the cloud,” Lee says. “This move, emblematic of Oracle’s broader strategy, showcases its willingness to forge partnerships that enhance its competitive stance and address areas where it seeks to strengthen its market position.”