The Value of Technology for Applications in the Cloud
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer
Almost three years ago, I made a career move that back at that time could’ve been considered as courageous. But besides all other aspects of the move, there is one convincing reason for a change into a job role which is more technology focused than my role in the Applications area before. It is: The Value of Technology for Applications. This article illustrates the value of a Cloud Platform for your Applications in the Cloud and how you can benefit from it.
The Technology I refer to is Platform as a Service (PaaS)
First, let me start off with a quick explanation of what Technology I’m talking about. I refer to the term Platform as a Service (PaaS) which is the underlying technology of your applications. There is plenty of documentation about the Cloud Computing Service Models online, so I will spare you with more details. If you would like a quick overview of “Why, What, and How” PaaS, please take a look at this 2:21 minute video which my colleague Franco Ucci has recorded.
The market in the PaaS Business is dominated by a few players
There are a couple of big vendors that you will come across when looking for a Cloud Platform. These are Oracle, IBM, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and SAP – with Oracle named as Leader for “Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service” by Gartner’s Magic Quadrant in March 2017.
Of course, each vendor has its own approach on how to sell their platform services and the benefits they refer to on what you can get out of their Platform usage:
a. Oracle offers a complete, open, and secure Platform that spans all layers of the Cloud, and provides choice in regards to the deployment as well as entry points, and adoption paths.
Oracle’s Cloud Solutions allow meaningful steps towards a genuine business transformation. This is possible by offering Services for building, running, connecting, managing, securing, and discovering business opportunities with an integrated underlying platform for innovation.
Please, see Dave Donatelli’s Cloud Strategy here.
b. IBM refers to supporting the complete lifecycle of building and delivering web-based (cloud) Applications in order to develop Applications and get to market faster, deploy new web Applications to the Cloud in minutes, and reduce complexity with middleware as a service. (https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/uk-en/what-is-cloud-computing/)
c. Amazon Web Services (aws) promote their Platform by the removal of the need for organizations to manage the underlying infrastructure. This helps customers be more efficient. (https://aws.amazon.com/types-of-cloud-computing/)
d. Microsoft claims to enable you to have the technology you need to be more agile, responsive, and competitive. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/cloud-platform/)
e. SAP on the other hand positions their Cloud Platform as a service for developing modern cloud business apps. (https://www.sap.com/uk/developer/topics/cloud-platform.html)
Choosing the “right” Cloud Technology Platform is important because it increases your companies’ productivity
Each one of the mentioned vendors has in common that they talk about integration and extension of Applications when they are talking about choosing the “right” Cloud Technology Platform.
Let me explain, why the “right” Technology is important beyond integration and extension of Applications and shed some light on Oracle’s Cloud Service offering that goes this step further:
1. Having the “right” underlying Platform is important to enable easier collaboration between customers, partners, as well as employees.
Two Cloud Services that Oracle offers in this area are Content & Experience Cloud Service and Process Cloud Service. Each Service improves the usability of your Applications and accelerates your productivity.
2. In order to get, smart insights into your analytics, Oracle offers Business Analytics Cloud Services. These Services go a step further beyond usability to operate more efficiently by making better decisions.
3. With regards to, making use of your machine data, Oracle offers the Internet of Things Cloud Service which enables you to rapidly manufacture new products, dynamic response to product demands, and real-time optimization of manufacturing production and supply chain networks which in consequence lead to more revenue.
Industry 4.0 is a big automation trend in the manufacturing industry which requires Cloud Computing and IoT (Picture)
Further reading here!
4. Ultimately, Oracle offers several options to secure your environment with additional Cloud Services that are available.
The most recent releases are Identity Cloud Service ( and Cloud Access Security Broker ) that help you administer users and groups as well as provide transparency into your Applications including users, devices, and more.
For further reading about Oracle’s security Solutions that help you address the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance see following white paper.
Leave your security worries with the experts for a Cloud Solution (Picture)
Use Cloud Technology successfully
In summary, one of the reasons why I moved into a different role, is the Value of Technology for Applications. You can benefit from a Platform by:
- Accelerating your productivity through easier collaboration
- Operating more efficiently through smart insights
- Generate more revenue through rapid manufacturing, and
- Better security of your data in the Cloud through additional Cloud Services
If you would like to find out more about what kind of Cloud Services Oracle has to offer, please, sign up for one of Oracle’s FREE Trials here or get in contact with me through LinkedIn to start a conversation!
Get your free Oracle Cloud Trial today and sign up in three easy steps
If you’re interested in taking on a job role in the Cloud Technology area yourself, please, feel free to have a look at Oracle’s current job listings here and get in contact with me through LinkedIn.
Find out more about work at Oracle and explore open positions
I’m looking forward to your responses and stay tuned for more articles!