Uber signs a 7-year cloud partnership with Oracle

Uber migrates to Oracle Cloud

Uber Technologies Inc. has made a big move to migrate its information technology from its own data centres to Alphabet Inc. and Oracle's cloud computing platforms after entering into a cloud computing agreement with Oracle. Uber and Oracle have a seven-year agreement that will see Uber leave their own data centres in a few years.

According to Matthew Eastwood, senior vice president and analyst at International Data Corp., Uber has depended mostly on its own server infrastructure since its inception in 2009 rather than the cloud. According to Uber’s senior director of technology strategy, Mr. Zargahi, the Covid-19 pandemic marked a turning point when supply-chain problems lengthened the time it took to provide IT systems to over a year. He claimed that by using a cloud provider, Uber is able to take advantage of the cybersecurity safeguards and compliance with particular data-handling standards that cloud providers give, reducing the company's dependency on the hardware supply chain.

Uber wanted to move its engineers from managing data centres to "areas that make differentiation for our product" and to supporting its cloud move, Mr. Zargahi said. This is similar to some businesses that are reassessing their workforces to place more emphasis on capabilities within artificial intelligence and away from legacy technologies.

Thomas Kurian, chief executive of Google Cloud welcomes the new move: "While Uber and Google have an existing partnership, the new cloud deal brings them closer together in other areas including launching new services. For instance, Uber will tap Google's mapping service for routing its vehicles, and Google's advertising product for its nascent ads business."

According to Oracle Cloud Executive Vice President Clay Magouyrk, Uber is getting ready to integrate its freight company into Oracle's cloud-based enterprise assets readying system, along with other database-related projects.

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