Alphabet deepens cloud competition with Oracle by hiring its former CFO

Alphabet Inc. has made a big move in its bid to bolster its standing in the cloud computing business by hiring Oracle Corp. veteran Kobi Bar-Natan as the new Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Google Cloud.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Bar-Nathan officially took the position in June. He joins Google Cloud from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, where he was CFO and was critical in steering Oracle’s financial strategy in its fast-paced expansion into cloud services. 

Before Oracle, he was in leadership roles at Microsoft, including in cloud finance, affording him a deep perspective on three of the world’s top five clouds.

Alphabet has not posted any formal announcement, but a spokesman for the company confirmed to reporters that Bar-Nathan commenced in the new position in the past two weeks. Oracle declined to comment.

Hiring move intensifies Cloud industry battle

The hire recognizes the high-stakes race in a cloud-computing industry that has become increasingly competitive. Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure are growing competitors in a space still heavily controlled by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

According to a report from Synergy Research Group, the market is currently dominated by Amazon, which has about 1/3 of the market share, followed by Microsoft.

Google is number three, and Oracle is number five. Both companies are behind the top two, but they have made a name for themselves with aggressive pricing, AI integrations, and solutions for particular industries.

Google has a unique advantage in Bar-Nathan’s diverse background. His understanding of Oracle’s internal cloud finance playbook could help Google Cloud fine-tune its pricing models, cost management, and go-to-market strategy.

The move also stokes a rivalry between the two tech giants. It’s worth noting that Thomas Kurian, now CEO of Google Cloud, was a long-time Oracle executive next to Ellison, who left over reported disputes around the Oracle cloud strategy.

Alphabet’s Google Cloud becomes AI growth engine

Google Cloud has become one of Alphabet’s most promising business divisions. The former loss-making division has now posted several consecutive quarters of operating profits against many analysts’ expectations. 

Fuelled by Kurian’s leadership and Alphabet’s growing focus on AI-centric enterprise business segments, the division has become a strategic cornerstone of the company’s future expansion.

The momentum also follows Google Cloud’s recent efforts to expand its AI structures. The company has increasingly been bulking up its AI product and service portfolio, particularly as it courts enterprise customers building large language models and generative AI apps on its cloud.

Alphabet’s commitment to AI is aligned with cloud infrastructure. Over the past year, the company announced new data centers, bespoke AI chips (TPUs), growth, and new business partnerships in healthcare, finance, and retail.

Oracle, meanwhile, has been following the same playbook. Oracle, the software and cloud company, made waves earlier this year with “Project Stargate,” a joint effort to provide OpenAI with enormous computing power. This is a sign that Oracle, too, has aggressive plans in the AI cloud race. The project is meant to strengthen Oracle’s infrastructure offerings and give it exposure to the developers building AI.

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