Oracle has strengthened its partnership with Microsoft Corporation by announcing the general availability of its Autonomous Database on Microsoft Azure. This move marks the second Oracle database service to run on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) within Azure data centers. The Oracle Autonomous Database is a fully managed database-as-a-service that offers elastic scaling and high query performance, leveraging Real Application Clusters on Exadata Cloud Infrastructure for robust performance, availability, security, and scalability.
Integrated with Azure’s portal and APIs, the Oracle Autonomous Database facilitates accelerated application development and supports migration from existing Oracle Databases to the cloud. It enables seamless workload migration and operation between Oracle Cloud and Azure, enhancing flexibility for users.
Key benefits include resource efficiency, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes. It starts with a minimal entry point of two ECPUs and can scale up to manage large databases efficiently. Initially available in Azure’s East U.S. region through the Oracle Database@Azure program, it will expand to more data centers in 2024.
This announcement builds on the partnership established in December last year, aiming to meet growing multi-cloud demands globally. Oracle and Microsoft have been collaborating for nearly five years to improve interoperability between their cloud offerings, amidst competition from major players like Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The industry trend is shifting towards greater openness and flexibility in cloud computing, moving away from the traditional “walled garden” approach. The Autonomous Database on OCI in Azure data centers enhances performance, simplicity, and low latency for developers. It includes features like Oracle Application Express (APEX) for low-code development, machine learning capabilities, and support for various data formats and AI models.
Pricing for the Autonomous Database on Azure mirrors that on OCI, available through a “private offer” in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. This strategic move aims to empower organizations with unified, scalable database solutions to accelerate application innovation and meet evolving business needs.
