Driving Digital Transformation Through the Cloud

Safra Catz took the stage at Oracle CloudWorld 2023 for an inspirational keynote centered around how companies are embracing change and leveraging cloud technology to transform digitally. She engaged in insightful discussions with IT leaders from major organizations like Uber, AON, Loblaw, TIM Brazil, Emerson, and First Solar to uncover how Oracle has helped fuel their innovation and growth.

Uber's Journey to a Super App

First on stage was Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who reflected on his six years leading the ridesharing pioneer. What began in 2010 as an on-demand transportation app has evolved into an expansive "go/get" platform, managing 2 billion trips per quarter.

Khosrowshahi outlined Uber's journey from focusing solely on ridesharing to leveraging its technology stack to expand into meal, grocery, and convenience delivery. Their Uber Eats business now rivals their core ride business in scale. He credited this rapid growth to "incredible innovation" across micromobility offerings like bikes and scooters tailored to local markets worldwide.

This super app vision is powered in the cloud, with Uber committing to run 100% of their global compute on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The unlimited elasticity enables Uber's hypergrowth while driving efficiencies. Khosrowshahi praised the partnership, stating Oracle and Uber "feel like one team" at times. He sees the Oracle relationship as mission-critical in ensuring seamless experiences as Uber moves hundreds of thousands of people and things each minute globally.

Reimagining the Client Experience at AON

Next, Safra sat down with Lori Goltermann, Chief Client Officer of global professional services firm AON. Goltermann explained how AON is reorienting around "building customer intimacy and delivering relevance and impact."

Key to this client focus is consolidating 30 disjointed CRM systems onto a unified Oracle CX platform. This connectivity provides complete client insights that enable highly tailored solutions. Goltermann gave examples across risk, retirement, talent development, and health, where integrated data unlocks more value.

Additionally, AON is leveraging analytics and AI for more proactive, personalized recommendations. By predicting client needs based on aggregated data, they can provide timely, tailored guidance to help mitigate risks and capitalize on opportunities. Goltermann envisions AI driving efficiency on high-volume tasks while freeing up talent to focus on complex consulting.

The cloud transformation has been crucial in enabling this shift to continuous, data-driven customer engagement. Goltermann credits Oracle with providing both the technology capabilities and the strategic guidance to help AON reimagine processes and workflows around the client lifecycle.

Loblaw’s Cloud-Enabled Sap Transformation

In one of the most dramatic migrations revealed, Loblaw CTO David Markwell described moving one of the world's largest SAP environments to OCI. With SAP running all retail, financial, pharmacy, and loyalty systems for the $50 billion revenue Canadian retailer, the risk was high.

By leveraging Oracle's deep SAP expertise, Loblaw completed the migration with just 6 hours of downtime. Markwell cited significantly faster performance, especially on critical workloads like batch transactions. Besides better speed and scalability, OCI also enables tighter integration across Loblaw's healthcare, financial services, and retail operations.

The cloud's agility and security empower Loblaw to rapidly deliver innovations like health management apps for customers. Markwell credited the partnership, saying Oracle brought mission-critical skills while feeling like an embedded part of the Loblaw team. He emphasized the scope of the project, with over 1,500 SAP instances moved, and said it could not have happened without Oracle's experience and around-the-clock support.

Cloud Imperative for Digital Transformation

Leonardo Capdeville, CTO of Brazilian telecom company TIM, provided a vivid example of how cloud is foundational to digital transformation. To gain agility and efficiency as they rolled out 5G and executed aggressive growth plans, TIM opted to migrate all their systems to OCI in 2020.

This first-of-its-kind initiative for a carrier required courage and vision. But Capdeville cited staggering benefits, including a 30% TCO reduction, 50% faster application performance, and rapid innovation across AI-enabled customer experiences. TIM now stands as Brazil's 5G leader and credits the cloud for enabling this while also driving an overall "evolution with courage."

Capdeville revealed lessons that echoed other leaders — success came down to mindset, leadership, and culture change even more than technology. TIM's story showcases how the cloud's scalability, automation, and innovation can fundamentally transform telecommunications to improve customer experiences.

Emerson Automates Innovation in the Cloud

With 140 years of history, Emerson is no stranger to reinvention. EVP/COO Ram Krishnan explained their latest transformation into an industrial automation powerhouse. The key is leveraging cloud technologies to help manufacturers optimize.

Emerson partners with Oracle on a smart factory initiative to connect equipment sensors with cloud-based monitoring, analytics, and machine learning. Krishnan sees this as pushing factories to the next frontier, where cloud orchestration and AI/ML drive autonomous operations.

Emerson also relies on OCI to support their global ERP rollout and emerging IoT capabilities. Krishnan emphasized the cloud's scalability and security as imperative for delivering manufacturing innovations and driving what he calls a "bias for action."

The long-time Oracle customer is now expanding into OCI to accelerate their cloud-first approach. Krishnan highlighted how cloud caters both to stalwarts like Emerson that gradually modernize and disruptive startups embracing cloud from inception.

First Solar Shines Through Consolidation

Cloud often plays a role in post-merger IT transformations. First Solar CIO Aaron Bly explained how Oracle fusion applications enabled them to consolidate systems and renew focus on their core business.

By rebuilding its stack on a single, unified Oracle Cloud ERP and HCM platform, First Solar gained agility and efficiency following recent divestitures. Bly said this "Minimum Viable Process" approach accelerated innovation by allowing them to concentrate resources on their differentiated manufacturing capabilities rather than IT administration.

The results speak volumes, with First Solar better empowered to deliver their responsible solar technology at scale while upholding stringent sustainability standards. Bly sees their partnership with Oracle as transformative in elevating efficiency, insights, and strategic focus.

Architecting Transformation

Stepping back, Catz emphasized how these digital transformations simply would not be possible without cloud infrastructure breakthroughs. She touted OCI's performance, security, and cost savings as critical to empowering customers’ visions. OCI’s next-generation architecture and expansive global footprint provide the engine for modernization.

Equally important is Oracle’s deep expertise in guiding customers through complex transitions. Catz reiterated Oracle’s commitment to transferring knowledge and designing future-proof solutions tailored to each customer’s needs. This consultative approach curates success.

These leaders all reinforced similar points. Cloud and AI solutions allow companies not just to incrementally improve but completely reinvent processes, experiences, and business models. 

Oracle uniquely brings together cutting-edge yet proven technologies with deep domain expertise earned from hundreds of transitions like these. Ultimately, Catz summarized that with Oracle, customers gain a committed partner dedicated to accelerating their success through digital capabilities. CloudWorld 23 made clear that this transformation journey results in competitive advantages and tangible outcomes when guided by the right collaborators.