Oracle & AWS expand multicloud link with private connection

Oracle and AWS are expanding multicloud networking between Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and AWS, adding a direct private connection between the two cloud environments.

The link will let joint customers run applications and move data across Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or OCI, and AWS through a managed network connection. It is designed to support both full multicloud deployments and split-stack setups, in which different parts of a workload run on different clouds.

The announcement addresses a common challenge for large organisations that use more than one cloud provider: connecting systems across providers without relying on separate network suppliers or installing physical infrastructure. The new connection will link Oracle Interconnect with AWS Interconnect-multicloud.

That would give customers a private route between the two cloud estates instead of sending traffic over the public internet. The offering is aimed at customers that want to combine Oracle database workloads with applications, analytics and artificial intelligence services running on AWS.

The expansion also supports Oracle's broader effort to position OCI as part of mixed cloud environments rather than as a standalone destination. Oracle already offers links with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, and has been pushing database services that sit more directly inside rival cloud platforms.

Nathan Thomas, Senior Vice President of Product Management for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, said the latest step builds on existing work between Oracle and AWS around Oracle AI Database services on AWS.

"Oracle continues to advance multicloud connectivity as part of its commitment to helping customers unlock flexibility, agility, and performance across clouds," Thomas said. "With Oracle AI Database@AWS, we pioneered a simpler way for customers to run Oracle AI Database workloads in AWS with the same features, architecture, and performance as they expect on-premises. We're now building on that by establishing connectivity between our popular cross-cloud interconnect and AWS Interconnect-multicloud. This will help our mutual customers modernize their applications, unify their data, and unlock new generative AI opportunities."

Broader push

Oracle has spent the past several years reshaping its cloud strategy around interoperability with other major providers. That reflects the reality that many large companies do not run all their technology with a single cloud vendor, especially when they are trying to keep existing databases in place while adopting newer tools for data analysis and AI.

By tying OCI more closely to AWS, Oracle is seeking to reduce friction for customers that want Oracle databases and related services alongside AWS infrastructure. In practice, that can mean placing databases in one environment while running business applications, analytics tools or AI models in another.

Oracle says OCI has native interconnect links across 26 partner cloud regions. Its multicloud model is intended to provide secure, highly available cloud-to-cloud connectivity without the manual network configuration often associated with traditional cross-cloud designs.

AWS Interconnect-multicloud, which Oracle described as an open specification, is intended to support a more standardised approach to connecting enterprise workloads across cloud providers. The OCI-AWS connection will become part of Oracle's wider multicloud portfolio, which also includes Oracle AI Database services on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, as well as Oracle HeatWave on AWS and Azure.

Customer demand

The market for multicloud services has grown as companies try to avoid concentrating all critical systems with one provider and as specific workloads increasingly favour different platforms. Database-heavy applications, data processing and AI projects often have distinct technical and cost requirements, pushing companies to spread systems across clouds.

That has created demand for simpler ways to connect those environments with low latency and tighter security controls. Network design can become a practical obstacle when companies need to move data regularly between providers, particularly for AI projects that rely on large datasets and close links between storage, databases and computing resources.

The new arrangement is planned for the AWS US East (N. Virginia) region. Oracle did not disclose pricing.

The development also sits within Oracle's wider distributed cloud model, which spans public cloud regions, dedicated cloud deployments in customer data centres, hybrid services and sovereign cloud offerings for government and regulated sectors. Within that structure, multicloud has become one of Oracle's most visible routes into customers that already rely heavily on another hyperscale provider.

The OCI and AWS connection is intended to let organisations use multiple cloud providers without having to manage multiple network providers or install physical network infrastructure.