Google and Uber recently announced they will expand their partnership. The rideshare service picked Google to help it modernize its data cloud infrastructure and reimagine the customer experience for Uber users, drivers and merchants. Uber will also enter a seven-year strategic cloud partnership with Oracle to accelerate Uber’s innovation, help bring new products to market and increase profitability.
These partnerships will allow Uber to move on from using its own data centers and operating its own IT infrastructure, Bisnow reports.
Uber will move some of its most critical infrastructure to Google Cloud, allowing it to leverage additional Google capabilities such as Ads and Googles Maps Platform so it can modernize its architecture and accelerate application development. Additionally, the rideshare company will use Google Cloud Spanner to scale faster. The companies also said they plan to deepen their engineering collaboration to deliver new innovations.
“Our partnership with Google centers around a shared commitment to putting customer experience at the forefront of everything we do,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. “It is our job to continually improve and reimagine the types of experiences we’re providing through the Uber platform, exceeding expectations every time someone opens the app to go somewhere or get something delivered. We’re excited to deepen our work with Google to deliver new innovations that push the boundaries of what’s possible for transportation, delivery and more.”
“Cloud migration is often seen as a way of achieving the scale, performance, and security necessary to enable a digital business to thrive,” added Matt Eastwood, SVP, WW Research, IDC. “What is particularly interesting with this partnership is the depth of the co-innovation spanning Google businesses and technologies which are being leveraged in order to deliver the technology innovation and customer experience improvements to further differentiate Uber in the marketplace.”
Meanwhile, Uber will look to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to handle some its more critical workloads. With Oracle’s assistance, Uber hopes it can refresh its infrastructure and quickly become more profitable. The companies hope this partnership will provide the flexibility and “best-in-class price-performance infrastructure” that customers want. Uber will now have the opportunity to take advantage of Oracle’s unique capabilities.
“Uber is revolutionizing the way people, products, and services move across continents and through cities,” Khosrowshahi said. “To deliver on that promise for customers while building value for shareholders, we needed a cloud provider that will help us maximize 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.”
“Uber is expanding into a “go anywhere, get anything” platform, and the company needed a cloud partner that shares a relentless focus on innovation,” said Oracle CEO Safra Catz. “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 recognizing the differentiation of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and experiencing our performance, security, and economic benefits versus other hyper-scalers.”
OCI and Uber’s strategic partnership will include additional collaboration. Oracle will become a global Uber for Business client. The company selected Uber as a preferred rideshare for its employees to travel and eat around the world. Uber and Oracle will also continue to innovate on additional retail and delivery solutions that will evolve from their cloud partnership including consumer experiences with last-mile logistics.
