Oracle Extends AI Across Its Stack With New GenAI Cloud Features

Oracle announced the general availability of its OCI Generative AI Service, along with several substantial enhancements to its data science and cloud offerings. Let’s take a look at what Oracle announced.

OCI Generative AI Service

The OCI Generative AI service is a managed platform designed to incorporate large language models into various enterprise use cases. The new service supports models like Meta’s Llama 2 and Cohere’s Command 52/6B models, offering a multilingual embedding capability for more than 100 languages.

Enhancements such as LangChain integration, endpoint management, and content moderation make it easier to work with LLMs. The service also includes improved GPU cluster management with multi-endpoint support and endpoint analytics features.

Additionally, it offers flexible fine-tuning options for models, enabling businesses to adapt AI to their specific needs. The OCI Generative AI service aims to address a range of enterprise applications, from customer service automation to personalized marketing and sales support.

OCI Generative AI Agents

The beta release of OCI Generative AI Agents by Oracle is one of the most exciting elements of today’s announcement. These agents are designed to act as intermediaries, translating user queries into specific tasks executed by underlying Generative AI components.

The generative AI agents provide a seamless and intuitive interaction between users and AI systems, greatly enhancing the practical application of AI in business contexts. A key feature of this new service is the inclusion of a Retrieval Augmented Generation agent, which uniquely combines the general knowledge capabilities of LLMs with specific, contextual data drawn from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure OpenSearch.

This integration allows the agents to provide highly relevant and contextual responses to user queries. The agents’ ability to process natural language inputs makes them accessible and user-friendly, catering to a broad range of enterprise use cases without requiring specialized technical skills.

Currently available in beta, OCI Generative AI Agents demonstrate Oracle’s commitment to evolving and enhancing AI utility in business. They offer a versatile and adaptive tool for enterprises looking to leverage AI to automate complex interactions and optimize operational efficiency.

Data Science AI Quick Actions

Oracle is bringing new AI features to its OCI Data Science service to make AI and machine learning more accessible and functional for a broader range of users.

Oracle’s new OCI Data Science AI Quick Actions feature is a key new capability. The no-code service unlocks access to diverse open-source LLMs from providers such as Meta and Mistral AI.

The new quick actions simplify accessing and deploying these advanced models, making it easier for users without deep technical expertise to utilize state-of-the-art AI tools. It offers a user-friendly, no-code interface for model fine-tuning and deployment, reducing the complexity typically associated with these processes.

The service provides a curated list of pre-tested models, including LLMs, allowing users to quickly select and fine-tune the models that best fit their specific requirements. This approach democratizes access to cutting-edge AI technologies and streamlines the workflow, integrating telemetry, visualizations, and execution processes into a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate ecosystem.

Analyst’s Take

Enterprises need capabilities and use cases that impact business outcomes from generative AI, such as models fine-tuned on an organization’s data to deliver unique, organization-specific outputs. This requires a reliable partner to handle various needs like infrastructure configuration and model integration with business applications.

While every major cloud provider offers some AI-as-a-service capability, none provides an experience as broad and deep as Oracle’s. Microsoft comes closest with its various “co-pilot” and Azure AI service offerings, but those are building blocks that still need to be assembled.

Oracle has integrated generative AI into every layer of its stack, offering an end-to-end experience built on high-performing AI infrastructure that integrates generative AI capabilities into its extensive range of databases and cloud applications, including recent updates to Oracle Database 23c with AI Vector Search and MySQL HeatWave with Vector Store.

Oracle’s integration extends to its cloud applications, such as Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, Oracle NetSuite, and industry-specific applications like Oracle Health. These applications now come embedded with generative AI capabilities, focusing on functionalities like summarization and assisted authoring.

Oracle’s approach ensures that generative AI features are not just add-ons but deeply integrated into its technological offerings’ fabric. This gives users a more intuitive experience, making AI more accessible and customizable according to specific business needs. It’s a compelling and powerful enterprise story.

The OCI-focused AI announcements are simply the next step in Oracle’s continuing strategic moves toward enhancing the utility and efficiency of AI-enabled business processes across various Oracle offerings. By embedding AI capabilities directly into its database and cloud applications, Oracle is simplifying the AI integration process and enabling businesses to leverage AI more effectively in their core operations.

For enterprises interested in a carefully thought-out approach to generative AI—with a service designed to provide a wide range of options, from dedicated AI clusters to fine-tuning models and even on-premises cloud deployments—the OCI Generative AI Service sets the stage for AI solutions that put the customer’s needs first.

Disclosure: Steve McDowell is an industry analyst, and NAND Research is an industry analyst firm that engages in, or has engaged in, research, analysis and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. Mr. McDowell does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.