Oracle and TikTok: The Combination of Social Media and the Cloud
Oracle has been one of the premier database and enterprise software companies for decades. Organizations around the world have relied on Oracle’s database and applications to run their operations.
In recent years, Oracle has built on that success by branching out in the cloud market, offering customers a viable alternative to the top three: AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Oracle’s cloud features have helped it make significant headway in the market, taking high-profile clients from its larger competitors.
With its emphasis on the enterprise and cloud, it surprised many when Oracle emerged as the frontrunner in a bid to take an ownership stake in TikTok. Many wondered what an enterprise/cloud provider could want with a social media platform.
TikTok’s Rise and Troubles
ByteDance’s TikTok burst on the global scene in 2017 and 2018, quickly becoming one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. Notably, it was also one of China’s big success stories, an app, and a platform that gained widespread traction outside of mainland China.
TikTok’s rise was not without controversy, however. The company was repeatedly accused of violating the privacy and security of its users, including accusations it abused the privacy of underage users. The company was accused of discriminating against those contributors considered “ugly,” “poor” or “disabled,” suppressing their posts.
To make matters even worse for the company, it was accused of uploading videos and information to servers in China, even when the user had not even created an account.
The US/China trade war added further complications, shining a spotlight on TikTok’s ongoing issues. In short order, the Pentagon, as well as a number of government agencies, banned the app from personnel’s phones.
These various factors culminated in President Trump declaring a ban on the app, set to go into effect in September 2020, unless a buyer could be found that would take over US operations. Microsoft, with Walmart backing it, quickly emerged as the frontrunner.
Ultimately, Microsoft lost out when it insulted ByteDance’s CEO by calling TikTok a security risk, handing Oracle the deal. Walmart also managed to switch its support from Microsoft to Oracle. While the details of the deal have yet to be fully worked out, any deal would leave Oracle and Walmart with a significant ownership stake in TikTok, as well as a degree of oversight of US operations.
Why Oracle Wants TikTok
Few were surprised by Microsoft’s attempt to buy TikTok. The company has a long history of offering enterprise, consumer, and advertising products and services. As a result, a successful social media platform would have rounded out its business.
At first glance, Oracle’s interest seemed a bit more of a mystery. Upon further inspection, however, there are a number of reasons why the company is interested in.
The first reason is marketing. Oracle CX Marketing is part of Oracle Cloud CX, and provides “an integrated portfolio of digital marketing solutions that help B2B and B2C marketers use real-time intelligence and customer signals to deliver personalized experiences.”
Combining Oracle’s marketing platform with the insights and data a social media platform could provide would be a big boost to the company’s customers. Especially when considering TikTok’s younger demographic, the data could be invaluable to companies looking to expand their marketing to those demographics.
Another major reason why Oracle likely wants TikTok is for its potential as a cloud partner and customer. While Oracle may not be in the top three cloud providers, it is making significant headway. The company recently inked deals with Zoom, 8x8, Albertsons, Humana, and McDonald’s. Being involved in TikTok would provide an opportunity to help move TikTok’s infrastructure to Oracle’s platform. Having one of the most popular social media platforms running on its cloud would not only help Oracle increase market share but would also be a compelling selling point to similar services.
The deal could significantly benefit TikTok as well. With the company’s history of missteps and security issues, having a company with Oracle’s gravitas could benefit the young social media platform, and bring a degree of “adult oversight” to the business. With its long history of working on US government projects, Oracle also has the security background necessary to help TikTok put those concerns behind it once and for all.
Oracle and TikTok: A Potential Dream Team
While the Oracle TikTok deal is yet to be finalized, at the time of writing, it demonstrates the increased lengths companies are willing to go to diversify and branch out into new markets.
For Oracle, this deal represents an ability to add a major new player to its cloud portfolio, while giving it unrivaled access to valuable consumer data for its marketing platform.
For TikTok, a deal with Oracle may be the only way for it to avoid a shutdown in the US. What’s more, Oracle could bring some maturity and security to the platform that it so desperately needs.
Whatever the outcome of the TikTok/Oracle deal, it’s a safe bet the industry will continue to see deals of this sort.
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Oracle has been one of the premier database and enterprise software companies for decades. Organizations around the world have relied on Oracle’s database and applications to run their operations.
In recent years, Oracle has built on that success by branching out in the cloud market, offering customers a viable alternative to the top three: AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Oracle’s cloud features have helped it make significant headway in the market, taking high-profile clients from its larger competitors.
With its emphasis on the enterprise and cloud, it surprised many when Oracle emerged as the frontrunner in a bid to take an ownership stake in TikTok. Many wondered what an enterprise/cloud provider could want with a social media platform.
TikTok’s Rise and Troubles
ByteDance’s TikTok burst on the global scene in 2017 and 2018, quickly becoming one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. Notably, it was also one of China’s big success stories, an app, and a platform that gained widespread traction outside of mainland China.
TikTok’s rise was not without controversy, however. The company was repeatedly accused of violating the privacy and security of its users, including accusations it abused the privacy of underage users. The company was accused of discriminating against those contributors considered “ugly,” “poor” or “disabled,” suppressing their posts.
To make matters even worse for the company, it was accused of uploading videos and information to servers in China, even when the user had not even created an account.
The US/China trade war added further complications, shining a spotlight on TikTok’s ongoing issues. In short order, the Pentagon, as well as a number of government agencies, banned the app from personnel’s phones.
These various factors culminated in President Trump declaring a ban on the app, set to go into effect in September 2020, unless a buyer could be found that would take over US operations. Microsoft, with Walmart backing it, quickly emerged as the frontrunner.
Ultimately, Microsoft lost out when it insulted ByteDance’s CEO by calling TikTok a security risk, handing Oracle the deal. Walmart also managed to switch its support from Microsoft to Oracle. While the details of the deal have yet to be fully worked out, any deal would leave Oracle and Walmart with a significant ownership stake in TikTok, as well as a degree of oversight of US operations.
Why Oracle Wants TikTok
Few were surprised by Microsoft’s attempt to buy TikTok. The company has a long history of offering enterprise, consumer, and advertising products and services. As a result, a successful social media platform would have rounded out its business.
At first glance, Oracle’s interest seemed a bit more of a mystery. Upon further inspection, however, there are a number of reasons why the company is interested in.
The first reason is marketing. Oracle CX Marketing is part of Oracle Cloud CX, and provides “an integrated portfolio of digital marketing solutions that help B2B and B2C marketers use real-time intelligence and customer signals to deliver personalized experiences.”
Combining Oracle’s marketing platform with the insights and data a social media platform could provide would be a big boost to the company’s customers. Especially when considering TikTok’s younger demographic, the data could be invaluable to companies looking to expand their marketing to those demographics.
Another major reason why Oracle likely wants TikTok is for its potential as a cloud partner and customer. While Oracle may not be in the top three cloud providers, it is making significant headway. The company recently inked deals with Zoom, 8x8, Albertsons, Humana, and McDonald’s. Being involved in TikTok would provide an opportunity to help move TikTok’s infrastructure to Oracle’s platform. Having one of the most popular social media platforms running on its cloud would not only help Oracle increase market share but would also be a compelling selling point to similar services.
The deal could significantly benefit TikTok as well. With the company’s history of missteps and security issues, having a company with Oracle’s gravitas could benefit the young social media platform, and bring a degree of “adult oversight” to the business. With its long history of working on US government projects, Oracle also has the security background necessary to help TikTok put those concerns behind it once and for all.
Oracle and TikTok: A Potential Dream Team
While the Oracle TikTok deal is yet to be finalized, at the time of writing, it demonstrates the increased lengths companies are willing to go to diversify and branch out into new markets.
For Oracle, this deal represents an ability to add a major new player to its cloud portfolio, while giving it unrivaled access to valuable consumer data for its marketing platform.
For TikTok, a deal with Oracle may be the only way for it to avoid a shutdown in the US. What’s more, Oracle could bring some maturity and security to the platform that it so desperately needs.
Whatever the outcome of the TikTok/Oracle deal, it’s a safe bet the industry will continue to see deals of this sort.
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