Oracle versus Salesforce | Larry Ellison versus Marc Benioff

A lot has been written about the competition and rivalry between Oracle Corporation and Salesforce Corporation, as well as the rivalry between Larry Ellison and Marc Benioff. Check out the two videos below:

Larry Ellison Bashes "Cloud Computing" terminology in September 2009 (not the cloud computing concept) - He something on the lines below (transcript in red color):

"What do you mean by Cloud? Cloud is water vapor. The use of the terminology is nonsense". If there is no hardware or software, we are all so screwed! 

What is Cloud? All that the cloud is:

• A computer attached to a network
• Cloud has software and hardware too
• Databases
• Operating systems
• Memory
• Microprocessors
• Internet

But that does not mean that hardware and software is dead:

• Is Samsung dead? Will there be no memory in the cloud?
• Is Cisco dead? Will there be no network in the cloud?
• Is Intel dead? Will there be no microprocessors in the cloud?
• Is Oracle dead? Will there be no databases, no applications,  and no middleware in the cloud?
• No! A cloud is just computers in a network! 
• In terms of business model, it is RENTAL
• Earlier, Salesforce was SaaS, now it is cloud computing
• They just change a term, and they think they invented technology
• Lets call it cloud -- sure beats innovation"

However, in September 2010, Larry Ellison was more receptive and defined his version of the Cloud:




Marc Benioff says (transcript in blue on the lines below) 

Oracle is a FALSE cloud - He says that  Oracle is:

• not a public cloud - is a ghost
• is a private cloud - is a screen scrapers
• not have automatic upgrades
• not have the scale
• is for the elite
• not democratic
• not elastic
• is more about hardware and software sales
• not have integrated marketplace
• not have apps
• not energy efficient
• not economical
• not environmental