Oracle and AWS executives have often sparred over Amazon’s use, and eventual abandonment, of Oracle databases in its internal operations. But this public spat is merely a high-profile demonstration of the dilemma that many organizations face. Oracle databases are a ubiquitous part of IT infrastructure, used by nearly all of the world’s largest companies. They are also one of the most expensive, complicated and sticky elements, which makes them hard to optimize or replace. While SQL Server has worked for Windows shops, AWS and cloud computing represent the first truly viable path for many users that have long desired an alternative to Oracle on premises.