Oracle License Cost Optimisation Frequently Asked Questions
Finding opportunities to reduce costs and avoid unbudgeted spending within your Oracle license estate can be tricky. There are many ways to optimise your ongoing Oracle license costs when you know where to look and what to do.
As Oracle license experts, we have set out to answer the most common Oracle license cost optimisation questions we are asked in our day-to-day customer engagements.
So, let’s get started.
Q — Are there any opportunities to save costs within our license estate?
A — There are potentially many ways in which you can save money, optimise ongoing spending, and avoid unbudgeted costs within your Oracle license estate. This depends very much on the types of software contracts you have in place, your technology platforms, how you are managing your license estate and whether you have any business transformation projects or M&A activities planned.
Given any of these circumstances, our license experts can identify areas of potential cost-saving and/or cost avoidance and illustrate how we can help with further analysis.
Watch our short video on optimising software costs.
Q — As Oracle is a large cost item in the budget, we have a strong desire to reduce the cost in line with reduced usage and unused products. How can we achieve this?
A — There are a number of challenges involved in this, often organisations are subjected to repricing, where a reduction of volume or products associated with a single order means that the same price will be paid: i.e. there’s no point in doing this. There are some techniques which can be used to achieve a reduction but it is not a simple process. The solution requires an understanding of the types of software contracts you have in place, your technology platforms, how you are managing your license estate and whether you have any business transformation projects or M&A activities planned — amongst other considerations.
Without careful planning and consideration, cancelling Oracle support contracts is a fast way to cause compliance issues. Our license experts can assess and advise on strategies to retire licenses and/or reduce the number of licenses under support as appropriate.
Learn more in our Oracle Support & Maintenance FAQ
Q — Will moving my technology platforms to the cloud reduce my Oracle license and support costs?
A — Not necessarily. Depending on which cloud platform you move to, it may well increase your license liability creating a compliance problem for you. Careful selection of your public cloud provider should be a process that includes an assessment of your Oracle technology needs, the licensing entitlements you currently hold and an understanding of the licensing requirements in your ‘to be’ cloud environment.
It may be possible to restructure your architecture in the cloud to make sure you do not exceed your entitlements or to open up optimisation opportunities. Our license experts can assess and advise on suitable public cloud platforms and how each one affects your licensing needs. A move to the cloud can be a good chance to change and optimise your estate — having a direct impact on licensing and support costs.
Q — How do we make full use of the special software agreements that are in place for the purchase of Oracle licenses?
A — There are a number of procurement frameworks that have negotiated special terms and concessions with Oracle. Depending on your eligibility for these programmes we can advise you on the implications and best use of purchasing frameworks with Oracle.
Read our blog on moving Oracle Workloads to the cloud.
Q — How can our business avoid unbudgeted spending in our Oracle software estate?
A — Avoiding unbudgeted spending is a key target for any license management activity. As an organisation concerned about license compliance and unbudgeted spending, you should be assessing your current SAM capabilities and the existing management methods in place for your Oracle license estate.
Our Oracle license experts can advise on the maturity of your existing approach, help you understand your current position and design a future solution based on industry best practices for Oracle license management.
Watch our short video on optimising software costs.
Q — How can we ensure that we are getting value for money when we procure Oracle licenses?
A — Our Oracle license experts have a deep understanding of Oracle license contracts and pricing. Depending on your circumstances and future business plans, we can support your procurement exercise with advice around negotiation strategies and/or validate any proposals presented to you by the vendor.
We are not motivated by license revenue — we can guide you to ensure you buy the right product at the right price at the right time on the best terms for you.
Watch our short video on negotiating with software vendors.
Q — We have just been audited and have been presented with a very large license procurement proposal from Oracle. How can we validate that this is accurate?
A — Our independent Oracle license experts have supported many large enterprises before, during and after an Oracle audit. They can review and assess your audit data to judge its accuracy and validity and make an assessment as to whether the license remediation proposal is optimal.
Watch our short video on preparing for and defending against an audit.
Q — Will buying a SAM tool reduce the ongoing costs within our Oracle License estate?
A — No. It is our judgement that no single tool can manage your Oracle license estate accurately and that leaving this responsibility to a single tool alone could create a compliance concern. The majority of tools on the market focus specifically on Oracle Databases and provide no coverage for the 3000+ products offered by Oracle.
Whilst tools can automate large aspects of the data collection, collation and validation process reducing both the time and effort required to determine usage on large Oracle estates, this approach will still require multiple steps (depending on the tool in use) and manual oversight.
Any use of a tool must be approached with caution and will still require an Oracle license expert to validate that the right information is being collected and how to interpret what the tool is telling you.
Watch our short video on using Tools for software asset management.
Visit our website for more on License Optimisation.
Managing Oracle license compliance is an ongoing, dynamic, complex and challenging concern that raises many questions. Hopefully, we have touched on an issue of interest for you and offered a helpful response, however, if you have a question that we have not covered in this post, please do not hesitate to contact us for a confidential discussion.
About the Author
Paul Bullen is a Principal License Consultant here at Version 1.
