Fox Business
AI-assisted summary of Oracle is destined to beat Amazon at cloud database: Larry Ellison — original source. Check the original for full context.
Source published:
Key ideas
- Larry Ellison argues that Amazon still runs its core retail business on Oracle Database, citing an additional $50 million spent on Oracle software despite public plans to migrate off by 2020. (0:01)
- Oracle claims its autonomous cloud database operates 10 times faster and 10 times cheaper than competing database services offered on AWS. (0:01)
- Ellison downplays competitor database offerings, asserting Amazon Aurora is derived from open-source MySQL and noting 95% to 98% of SAP's business remains dependent on Oracle. (3:06)
- Framing the current market as a tech fashion cycle, Ellison states Oracle's primary remaining objective is to dethrone market-leader Amazon in cloud databases. (6:23)
Detailed notes
## Background Published on YouTube by Fox Business on October 27, 2018, this interview features Oracle Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison in conversation with Maria Bartiromo. According to the page description, Ellison discusses how all of the world's important and valuable data is stored in an Oracle database.
## TL;DR Larry Ellison asserts that Oracle holds an enduring technological advantage over Amazon Web Services, revealing that Amazon still spent $50 million in the past year to run its core business on Oracle Database after warehouse migration efforts resulted in major outages. He deconstructs rival architectures, highlighting that Amazon Aurora is built upon Oracle-owned MySQL and noting that between 95% and 98% of SAP's business remains dependent on Oracle databases. Although conceding that Oracle lagged in migrating to the cloud to ensure security, Ellison claims its autonomous database runs workloads ten times faster and ten times cheaper than AWS. Reflecting on his personal rise from the South Side of Chicago and Yosemite Valley, Ellison concludes by defining his ultimate remaining business goal as defeating Amazon in the cloud database market.
## Atmosphere & style The interview exudes an air of calm, seasoned confidence, pairing Bartiromo's respectful framing with Ellison's dry, unapologetic swagger. Ellison delivers sharp corporate critiques of Amazon and SAP with relaxed ease, treating fierce enterprise software rivalries almost like casual sports commentary. The mood transitions naturally between combative market analysis and nostalgic personal reflection, leaving the impression of an elder tech statesman who remains relentlessly competitive and energized by the prospect of toppling the industry's reigning favorites.
## Bulletin - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) Larry Ellison argues that Amazon still runs its core retail business on Oracle Database, citing an additional $50 million spent on Oracle software despite public plans to migrate off by 2020. - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) Oracle claims its autonomous cloud database operates 10 times faster and 10 times cheaper than competing database services offered on AWS. - [03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=186s) Ellison downplays competitor database offerings, asserting Amazon Aurora is derived from open-source MySQL and noting 95% to 98% of SAP's business remains dependent on Oracle. - [06:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=383s) Framing the current market as a tech fashion cycle, Ellison states Oracle's primary remaining objective is to dethrone market-leader Amazon in cloud databases.
## Key takeaways - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) Ellison likens the tech sector to the fashion industry, where brands like IBM previously—and Amazon today—enjoy periods of dominant market popularity. - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) Amazon invested an additional $50 million into Oracle Database capacity in the prior year despite public commitments to fully migrate off Oracle by 2020. - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) An attempted migration of Amazon's warehouse fulfillment operations off Oracle triggered a massive outage documented in an internal incident memo. - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) Ellison concedes Oracle was late in transitioning its database to the cloud, driven by the engineering time needed to architect a secure cloud environment. - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) Oracle claims its autonomous database delivers benchmarks that are 10 times faster and 10 times cheaper than Amazon's database alternatives. - [03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=186s) Ellison maintains Oracle holds a 10- to 20-year technological lead over Amazon in core database software development. - [03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=186s) Amazon Aurora is built upon MySQL, an open-source database engine that Oracle owns and maintains via its Sun Microsystems acquisition. - [03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=186s) Despite a decade of promoting SAP HANA to displace Oracle, between 95% and 98% of SAP's software workloads continue to run on Oracle infrastructure. - [03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=186s) A European Union study revealed that 99 out of the top 100 SAP enterprise corporate customers ran on Oracle databases. - [03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=186s) Ellison cites Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's reported remark naming Oracle Database as the single piece of software he would most want to own. - [06:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=383s) Ellison's early career involved balancing freelance computer programming with working as a rock-climbing and river-rafting guide in Yosemite. - [06:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=383s) Oracle was originally founded with the modest ambition of creating a 50-person company of colleagues who enjoyed working together. - [06:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=383s) Oracle has expanded into an enterprise serving roughly 440,000 customers across 145 countries with approximately 150,000 employees. - [06:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=383s) Ellison defines his ultimate competitive goal as beating Amazon in cloud databases, comparing the pursuit to defeating the Golden State Warriors.
## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) The Tech Fashion Cycle and Amazon's Reliance on Oracle
Maria Bartiromo opens the interview by welcoming Oracle Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, introducing him as one of Silicon Valley’s biggest titans, often called the “godfather of technology” and the “Iron Man of business.” Pointing out his status as an industry statesman who has watched tiny startups grow into giants attempting to unseat him, Bartiromo asks Ellison to assess the current state of technology and describe what strikes him most about the industry’s evolution over recent years. Ellison responds by drawing a comparison between high technology and haute couture: “Sometimes I liken the computer industry to the fashion industry, that certain brands get very, very popular.” When he first broke into computing, IBM held that aura; it was not merely a rival firm, but the overarching environment in which everyone else had to operate. Today, Ellison observes, Amazon has assumed the mantle of the top brand in cloud infrastructure.
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Oracle Cloud Database Cost and Performance Advantage accDescr: Diagram illustrating Oracle's claimed benchmark advantages over AWS.
subgraph AWS["Amazon Web Services (AWS)"] A["Amazon Infrastructure / Databases"] end
subgraph OCI["Oracle Cloud Infrastructure"] B["Oracle Autonomous Database"] end
B -->|"10x Faster Execution"| A B -->|"10x Lower Cost to Run"| A ```
Ellison quickly pivots to what he calls an “interesting fact” that undercuts Amazon’s marketing narrative: Amazon does not actually rely on AWS to run its own retail and operations empire. Instead, Amazon runs its entire business on top of the Oracle Database because its own platform simply is not up to the task. Ellison points out the paradox of Amazon pouring another $50 million into purchasing more Oracle Database capacity just the prior year while simultaneously declaring that they plan to migrate off Oracle completely by 2020. Recounting an internal Amazon memo, Ellison notes that when Amazon attempted to shift several of its major warehouse fulfillment systems away from Oracle, the system collapsed into a massive outage, with the memo stating the failure would not have occurred had they remained on Oracle. Ellison concedes Oracle made a critical strategic error by not bringing its database to the cloud sooner, explaining that engineering a truly secure cloud architecture took considerable time. However, he asserts that Oracle has now arrived with unmatched benchmarks, delivering performance that is ten times faster and ten times cheaper than Amazon.
- Amazon spent an additional $50 million buying Oracle Database software in the preceding year despite publicly stating plans to migrate away by 2020. - An attempt by Amazon to migrate retail warehouse management off Oracle resulted in a major outage, documented in an internal Amazon incident memo. - Ellison claims independent benchmark testing demonstrates the Oracle Database runs identical workloads ten times faster and ten times cheaper than Amazon’s cloud databases. - “Amazon does not use AWS to run their business,” Ellison reveals. “Amazon runs their entire business on top of Oracle, on top of Oracle Database.” - Reflecting on Oracle's past missteps, Ellison acknowledges: “Well, we didn't get our database to cloud quickly enough. So if you wanted a cloud database, you had to go to Amazon for a database, and then you're able to go to Microsoft for a database. It took us a while for us to build a secure cloud.”
---
[03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=186s) Competitors Running on Oracle: Aurora, MySQL, and SAP HANA
Bartiromo expresses astonishment that Amazon remains a paying customer while Oracle continually pokes and challenges them publicly. Ellison dismisses Wall Street skepticism about Oracle's survival, emphasizing that Oracle holds a 10- to 20-year technological lead over Amazon in core database software. To illustrate his point, Ellison deconstructs Amazon Aurora, Amazon's flagship transaction-processing database. He argues that Amazon did not engineer the database from scratch, but rather adapted the open-source MySQL project and closed-sourced it for AWS. Because Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, Oracle owns and maintains the MySQL code base. Ellison mocks the idea that Amazon’s repurposed branch of an open-source tool could displace enterprise Oracle engines: “That’s our small open source database that they claim is their big transaction processing database that’s going to replace Oracle. It’s just preposterous.”
Ellison expands on this dynamic by pointing out that SAP—another primary adversary—has spent an entire decade attempting to eliminate Oracle from its stack. Ten years prior, SAP announced it despised Oracle and introduced SAP HANA to eliminate Oracle products entirely. Yet despite those ambitions, virtually all of SAP's core offerings and cloud acquisitions, such as SuccessFactors and Ariba, remain dependent on Oracle infrastructure. Ellison shares that 95% to 98% of SAP’s overall software workload still executes on Oracle. He cites a European Union study examining the top 100 SAP corporate customers across Europe, which found that 99 out of the 100 were running their SAP instances on an Oracle database, while the remaining single customer ran IBM. After spending decades competing against and beating IBM and Microsoft, Oracle has transformed its engine into the world's first autonomous system. Ellison caps the argument by referencing Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who, when asked which piece of software in the world he would want to possess if given only one choice, allegedly picked the Oracle Database due to its monopoly on holding mission-critical global enterprise records.
- Amazon Aurora is built upon MySQL, an open-source database owned, developed, and maintained by Oracle. - An EU regulatory study of the top 100 European SAP enterprise clients found 99 ran on Oracle Database, while 1 ran on IBM. - Despite marketing SAP HANA as an Oracle replacement for a decade, between 95% and 98% of SAP's business and acquisitions (including SuccessFactors and Ariba) still run on Oracle. - “The Oracle Database beat IBM in the database business, beat Microsoft in the database business,” Ellison emphasizes. “We've been in this business for 20 years constantly making our database better. Now it's the world's first autonomous system.” - Underscoring the centrality of the product, Ellison recounts: “Satya Nadella was asked if I could have any piece of software in the world, what would it be, and he said the Oracle Database. Because it's the information age, and all the world's valuable information is stored in an Oracle Database.”
---
[06:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=383s) From Yosemite and the South Side of Chicago to Beating Amazon
Bartiromo transitions the conversation to Ellison’s personal journey, reflecting on his rise from an impoverished upbringing on the South Side of Chicago to dropping out of college and eventually amassing immense wealth—including private jets, car collections, real estate estates, and owning the Hawaiian island of Lanai. She asks him how that background shaped the competitive drive that keeps him hungry decades later. Ellison jokes about his upbringing, explaining, “I had all the disadvantages necessary for success, you know? When you're raised on South Side of Chicago, you probably want to move someplace nicer.” He credits an innate curiosity, ambition, and the resilience forged by hardship for propelling him forward.
Ellison recalls relocating to Northern California right after dropping out of college. He had learned computer programming during his school years, which allowed him to earn a living while spending his early twenties bumming around Yosemite Valley, working as a rock-climbing instructor, and leading whitewater river rafting expeditions. Eventually, programming jobs led him into progressively more intricate technical projects until he decided to launch his own enterprise. His original vision was modest: he merely wanted to build a tight-knit 50-person company where he enjoyed the company of respected colleagues every day. Today, Oracle employs approximately 150,000 workers serving 440,000 customers in 145 countries. Asked what goals remain after conquering every milestone, Ellison makes his current mission plain: he wants to beat Amazon in cloud databases, comparing the fight to an elite basketball team aiming to topple the reigning Golden State Warriors.
- Ellison supported his early lifestyle as a river-rafting guide and rock-climbing instructor in Yosemite Valley through freelance computer programming. - Oracle was originally founded with the singular operational ambition of employing around 50 people who enjoyed collaborating together. - Oracle's enterprise footprint spans over 150,000 employees serving roughly 440,000 customers across 145 countries worldwide. - Framing his ongoing fight against AWS as a sports rivalry, Ellison concludes: “You know, if you're playing basketball, you want to beat the Warriors. You want to win the championship. So our job, we have the best database in the world.”
## Notable quotes > [06:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=383s) I had all the disadvantages necessary for success, you know? When you're raised on South Side of Chicago, you probably want to move someplace nicer. — Larry Ellison
> [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ&t=1s) Sometimes I liken the computer industry to the fashion industry, that certain brands get very, very popular. — Larry Ellison
## Mentioned Oracle, Larry Ellison, Maria Bartiromo, Amazon, AWS, Oracle Database, IBM, Microsoft, Satya Nadella, Amazon Aurora, MySQL, Sun Microsystems, SAP, SAP HANA, SuccessFactors, Ariba, Golden State Warriors, Lanai, Yosemite Valley
## Video description Oracle Co-Founder & Executive Chair Larry Ellison tells FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo that all of the world’s important and valuable data is in an Oracle database.
[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrzMYL901AQ)