Global database software giant Oracle has formally announced its entrance into the blockchain space.
The company unveiled an enterprise-grade blockchain cloud platform at its Openworld 2017 conference. Called Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service, the distributed ledger cloud platform aims at securely extending businesses ERP, supply chain, enterprise SaaS and on-premises applications through tamper-resistant transactions on a trusted network.
While the platform is aimed at businesses of all sizes, the company sees it as being particularly useful for smaller companies and startups. Those looking to test a smart contract or blockchain-based application will arguably be able to do so much more cheaply on a cloud platform due to pricing being based on transaction volume.
Oracle’s move into the blockchain space is an interesting one. As one of the world’s largest providers of databases, there is a view that by embracing blockchain the company could be damaging its core business segment. Blockchain, by its nature, enables informational distribution without the need for a trusted central administrator.
However, Frank Xiong, vice president of the blockchain service, told CoinDesk that blockchain adoption will actually create further demand of the company’s traditional data storage:
“In traditional computer science, there is just one copy of the database. In blockchain, all ledgers are distributed, so actually everybody gets of a copy [of the data]. So this is only going to expand that data storage [requirement].”
A big new player
Oracle has been making its intentions towards blockchain increasingly clear over the last few months. Last month the company announced that it had joined Hyperledger in order to enable its customers to benefit from all open-source innovations.
In a statement to the press, senior vice president of product development at Oracle Cloud Platform, Amit zavery, said:
“Blockchain holds the promise to fundamentally transform how business is done, making business-to-business interactions more secure, transparent, and efficient.”
“Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service provides enterprise-grade blockchain capabilities and is able to accelerate innovation for on-premises ERP and cloud-based SaaS and PaaS customers. Enterprises can now streamline operations across their ecosystem and expand their market reach with new revenue streams, sharing data and transacting within and outside the Oracle Cloud.”
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