Oracle debuts massive end-to-end cloud strategy

In an event announcing Oracle's cloud strategy, CEO Larry Ellison stressed that his company's efforts were a long time coming and that Oracle had no interest in being a "niche" provider. "Very few companies can cross the chasm from one research to the then and there" like Oracle has, he told attendees.

Number of competitors -- most notably SAP

He did not shy away from taking shots at a number of competitors -- most notably SAP, Salesforce.com, and Workday. These are favorite targets of Ellison over the past few years as his company made a slow and steady march to the cloud, even as its outspoken leader openly derided the term cloud computing as "complete gibberish".