Because it was lucrative? Oracle have some expertise handling large amounts of data, and also have easier access to large corporations which other players do not necessarily enjoy. It sort of worked, the revenue was in the billions.
Why didn't they start a streaming TV service or open a chain of fast-food restaurants? Those things are lucrative too, and also benefit from competence at handling large volumes of data.
Those ideas might be missing the networking part. I’m not sure if their people know the right people. I’m also not confident their track record would inspire confidence in their ability to execute on that type of service. It doesn’t seem well aligned. Ads on the other hand aren’t so far fetched.
