Locking customers to our Cloud was not fair

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), the data management giant's Cloud services platform, grew 50 percent in the June-November 2024 period in India, with artificial intelligence (AI) solutions-led wins contributing to roughly 30 percent of bookings during the period. MAHESH THIAGARAJAN, executive vice-president of software development at OCI and the person responsible for Oracle's multi-Cloud strategy, in an interview with Shivani Shinde on the sidelines of the Oracle CloudWorld Tour in Mumbai, talks about the Indian market, Cloud adoption, generative AI (GenAI), and the importance of India. Edited excerpts:

- MAHESH THIAGARAJAN, executive vice-president of software development at OCI

How has India's Cloud adoption or technology trend evolved over the past five/six years?

Fundamentally, the Indian market has evolved significantly over the past five years. The notion of leveraging the latest and best technology to bring new products to market has grown stronger. The number of home-grown firms is much higher here, leading to a greater level of innovation in the Indian tech industry. This is a huge difference compared to other markets in Asia.

Another key trend is the rapid adoption of technology. India has a large number of startups and digital-native companies, and many of them are doing cutting-edge work in agriculture, retail, and payments.

Even long-standing Oracle customers—such as banks and conglomerates—are adopting technology faster than ever before. Of course, cost remains a pressure point, but discussions now focus on cost optimization relative to value rather than just reducing expenses.

Oracle had to play catch-up when it came to Cloud. How has that evolved in India and in general?