Information technology is going through a massive generational shift. The pendulum between multiple and single vendor configurations is swinging back to favor a more vertically-integrated technology stack: the cloud. This transition offers customers of all sizes better security and more innovation all at a lower cost-and it's inevitable.
At Modern Supply Chain Experience 2018, Oracle CEO Mark Hurd asserted that this shift "is generational-you are going to see a complete change in the way IT works." Giving insight into the history of the IT industry, he described how movement in the 1980s from a single vendor to multiple vendors initially offered customers more options. The opportunity to purchase different components from different vendors provided cost savings but increased complexity, giving rise to systems integrators. This complexity created more burdens on security and forced businesses to spend more time and budget on maintenance, limiting capabilities for innovation.
In his Modern Supply Chain Experience keynote, Hurd explained how the cloud changes all of that-it costs less, provides innovative features faster, reduces maintenance through streamlined configurations, and is more secure. Customers don't have to worry about integrating all these moving parts, which means that they are able to spend more time focusing on their business. "There's clearly a pendulum swinging back to more vertically-optimized stacks," said Hurd, and this pendulum offers competitive advantages in today's modern business environment.