Uber signs seven-year cloud deal with Oracle

Ride-hailing app Uber has signed a seven-year strategic cloud partnership with database software giant Oracle.

The arrangement will see Uber migrate some of its business-critical workloads to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) as part of a wider push by the firm to modernise its infrastructure and accelerate the time it takes it to bring new products and services to market.

As previously detailed by Computer Weekly, Uber is known to be pursuing a hybrid cloud strategy to ensure its underlying infrastructure has the capacity to cope with its expanding business interests, which in recent years have seen it diversify into offering food deliveries and expand into new geographies.

The company’s hybrid cloud setup is known to feature public cloud services, such as a OCI, as well as on-premise server racks located in colocation facilities.

“As Uber continues to grow and enter new markets, it is increasingly important for the business to focus resources on its core strengths and strategic initiatives. By migrating some of the company’s most critical workloads to OCI, Uber will be in a position to modernise its infrastructure while also accelerating its path to profitability,” the company said in a statement.

Uber’s most recent set of financial results, covering the three months to 31 December 2022, revealed the number of trips booked through Uber grew 19% year on year (YoY) to 2.1bn during the fourth quarter of its financial year, which constitutes an all-time quarterly high. Revenue was also up 49% YoY, hitting $8.6bn, and its net income hit $595m during the fourth quarter.

“Uber is revolutionising the way people, products, and services move across continents and through cities,” said Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi.

“To deliver on that promise for customers while building value for shareholders, we needed a cloud provider that will help us maximise innovation while reducing our overall infrastructure costs. Oracle provides an ideal combination of price, performance, flexibility, and security to help us deliver incredible customer service, build new products and increase profitability.”

As well as providing Uber with the cloud infrastructure it needs to grow its business, the technology tie-up between the two will see Oracle become a member of the global Uber for Business client, making it the tech giant’s preferred rideshare app for its employees to use.  

Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, said: “Uber is expanding into a ‘go anywhere, get anything’ platform, and the company needed a cloud partner that shares a relentless focus on innovation.

“This landmark competitive win for OCI is further validation of the momentum and acceleration we are experiencing in the market. Enterprises, governments, and startups around the world are recognising the differentiation of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and experiencing our performance, security, and economic benefits versus other hyperscalers.”

The pair have also vowed to collaborate on bringing to market additional retail and delivery offerings as part of this partnership, which will include the provision of consumer experiences with last-mile logistics services.