> This scenario has played out several times in the past.

What examples come to mind?

VMware

Enterprises tend to buy full IT offerings including apps and services, not just IaaS. Having a big partner network, which VMware does, is a competitive advantage. Amazon and Azure likewise have large partner ecosystems.

Disclaimer: I work for VMware.

Oracle.

That is what makes Oracles cloud play such a mystery. They had a huge asset in a loyal corps of Oracle DBAs embedded in every large organisation on the planet. Now they are saying “fire those guys and we’ll host your databases”. But maybe those guys will say “nah, Postgres is actually all we need, see ya”.

Oracle had no choice. They had to disrupt their own business or someone else would do it to them.

Right, but they could have upskilled/cross-trained the DBAs to be cloud guys, offered training, certificates, conferences, yadda yadda. Instead they chose to stab their strongest advocates in the back!

A smart executive (ha!) would announce that next year’s bonus pool would be funded by savings on Oracle licences then sit back and let nature take its course...

Bloomberg terminals

Netware