While the sporting world may be watching the Winter Olympics in Canada the eyes of Oracle were across the Atlantic in Spain, where Larry Ellison piloted his high-tech trimaran to victory in the America's Cup.
Larry's been after the America's Cup for nearly a decade and, as we say in the tech industry, what Larry wants Larry gets. He's poured millions into the attempt, and has fought tooth and nail through the courts for the right to challenge, after the opposition tried to use legal means to bump him from racing.
But it's not just money that Oracle has been using, but compute time too. The team's winning boat uses an innovative fixed wing sale designed by CAD/CAM that has proved to be an absolute marvel. The BMW Oracle racing team romped off during the racing and Larry was at the helm to pilot his baby across the victory line.
Other tech companies were also involved, and are letting the world know. NetSuite's cloud applications were used by the team to handle finances around the world for example.
The news is also great for Silicon Valley because it looks likely that the next race will be held in San Francisco. Ellison was representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club and it is here that the trophy will be stored until the next challenge in 2014.
16 Feb 2010
