Shin Jong-kyun | Mark Hurd |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics agreed to team up with Oracle for mobile cloud services, a move aimed at expanding the Korean tech giant's client profile and help it lead in the race for new ecosystems in the mobile industry.
"Samsung Electronics' mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun discussed issues over mobile cloud computing services with Oracle's co-CEO Mark Hurd on Jan. 22 in Seoul. The meeting place wasn't Samsung Electronics' Seocho office, southern Seoul," said an official directly involved with the matter.
The official, who asked not to be identified, added that the two firms tentatively agreed to broaden their ongoing partnerships on mobile cloud computing service areas as the adoption of hybrid cloud has steadily gained momentum among firms in which Samsung has injected more resources.
"Hurd arrived in Seoul on Jan. 22 via his private jet and left a day after. The meeting was intense," said the official.
The meeting comes a few days after Samsung Electronics said that it will expand partnership with BlackBerry for enterprise mobile management (EMM) solutions.
Samsung is keen to sharpen its mobile security and related solutions for corporate customers.
With Samsung putting a greater focus on cloud computing, it plans to diversify technology-sourcing channels other than Microsoft and SAP for cloud computing and healthcare.
"As Samsung is the global leader in handsets, Oracle needs the Korean company to boost its database cloud solutions, which the U.S. company identified as one of its next engines," the official said. Oracle is the world's largest database software provider and one of the biggest providers of business programs.
For Samsung, it could get substantial help from Oracle to enhance mobile privacy, eventually helping the former get more business opportunities.
The cloud delivery model is expected to go mainstream. The developments in the field of enterprise mobility and cloud computing has transformed the way enterprises undertake their operations.
Retail, healthcare, and government sectors have invested significantly in cloud computing solutions. Samsung also teams up with companies in those areas.
But Hurd failed to meet Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong during his tightly-scheduled business meeting.
In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Hurd said it will expand its cloud computing services in Korea and it is confident about selling more cloud products here.
Hurd said he won't announce any statements about the results of his trip to Korea; however, adding that any official announcements about its latest business updates will be upcoming.