Oracle Support Cost Reduction
We can help you to reduce the escalating costs of Oracle support and maintenance and achieve sustainable savings, including moving to third-party support.
Feeling locked into a cycle of increasing Oracle costs?
Oracle customers world-wide are looking for ways to significantly reduce Oracle support fees, especially for technical support. Oracle, however, will do almost anything to hold on to their maintenance money machine. Support is a $20 billion dollar annual business for Oracle, with more than 90% margins.
To protect this revenue stream, Oracle has created a host of rules, policies, contract terms, business practices and processes all designed to keep you locked in and paying more each year. It’s no wonder you feel frustrated and trapped!
Whether you’re trying to modernize your business and pursue a digital transformation, or are simply looking for ways to reduce costs and survive in the current economic environment, minimizing your Oracle spend is more important than ever.
No one at Oracle will help you with support fee reductions. You must take the lead on your journey to cut unnecessary costs, including considering third-party support providers.
Paying too much for Oracle support?
How to cut Oracle support costs
Stop! Reduce! Protect!
The good news is that there are many ways to reduce your Oracle support bill if you have the right tools, starting with your next Oracle support renewal.
Palisade Compliance has empowered our clients to save millions of dollars in Oracle maintenance fees every year.
Our 3-step Oracle support cost reduction plan is simple:
1. Stop spending more money with Oracle.
2. Reduce your existing support payments to Oracle.
3. Protect your savings from Oracle encroachment.
We believe that all three steps are required to achieve annual savings on Oracle support and maintenance, and retain those savings over the long term.
Oracle support cost analysis and negotiation
Palisade Compliance has created proprietary technologies to analyze your Oracle spend and Oracle software and cloud usage. We take this information and apply our experience to give you options for Oracle support cost reduction, taking into account your specific business challenges and goals.
We have successfully negotiated agreements for Oracle support and maintenance renewals, including:
- Master agreements
- Consulting
- Hardware
We have more than 200 years of experience in Oracle on-staff. Our team of experts worked at Oracle and created and/or implemented many of the Oracle support policies in effect today! No other firm can match our organization’s expertise.
Reach out to us today. Let’s talk about how Palisade Compliance’s approach can help you achieve reduced support fees and maintenance costs.
Reducing Oracle support case study
How we helped Fuji Xerox reduce Oracle support fees
The challenges facing FXDMS in downgrading to SE2
Fuji Xerox Document Management Solutions (FXDMS) provides business communications services to organizations across the Asia Pacific region. FXDMS was faced with aging hardware and their annual Oracle maintenance cost was perpetually high.
FXDMS had a complex Oracle install base of Database Enterprise Edition and Real Application Clusters (RAC) program licenses with various other programs that were either unneeded or underutilized. When it came time for a hardware upgrade, the company decided to seize the opportunity to evaluate their Oracle requirements and look at standardizing down to Oracle Database Standard Edition 2 (SE2).
FXDMS faced the challenge of achieving the downgrade to SE2, and at the same time addressing all their existing contractual license sets and support – all while remaining compliant. The potential for receiving an audit letter as part of Oracle’s response to the downgrade also needed to be factored in.
License negotiations trigger audit
FXDMS was fully aware of the complexities of Oracle contracts and policies, and decided to obtain the services of Palisade Compliance to assist them. We reviewed several years of overlapping contracts to establish a timeline of FXDMS’s Oracle licenses, and then conducted a full evaluation of their future license requirements.
Based on the information gathered, we helped FXDMS migrate a portion of their licenses under terms and conditions that would meet their requirements. We identified which programs were no longer needed, and how to terminate support for them effectively. This resulted in ongoing Oracle maintenance cost savings without damaging other license sets – a major point of concern for FXDMS, and it also opened the door to terminate support where unnecessary. We also created a strategy to achieve this outcome and guided FXDMS through the process of negotiating with Oracle.
As anticipated, the negotiations with the Oracle sales team triggered an audit. We continued to guide FXDMS through the audit, giving them the necessary insights and confidence to understand and pursue their rights under the complex Oracle licensing agreements.
FXDMS reduces Oracle maintenance cost by 75%!
From their work with us, FXDMS gained a strategy that enabled their smooth migration to SE2 and the potential to switch to third-party support for ongoing maintenance. They were able to leverage existing licenses and get the best value from new licenses without any additional compliance impact. Despite the complexity of the transaction, our guidance provided FXDMS with confidence to negotiate with Oracle in order to move, upgrade, or purchase licenses as needed. Also, we provided them with the direction and support to pass the Oracle audit without any compliance exposure.
FXDMS reduced its Oracle maintenance cost by 75%. Reducing the complexity of the Oracle database environment also had the effect of dramatically decreasing the number of database issues in their production environment, which ultimately helped in managing the annual support fee.
Key points about Oracle support cost reduction
A continuing problem: Oracle customers saying their support costs were too high was the number one issue for Palisade Compliance back in 2011, and it remains the leading issue to this day. So managing support costs is obviously a big deal for Oracle customers.
Rise in support costs: Oracle has been raising its support costs by 8% each year for the past few years, forcing customers to seek other options. Support bills can run to millions of dollars annually, and this figure is only increasing.
Mandated updates: There are many different types of Oracle software that Oracle mandates updates for. It can be difficult to update old Oracle systems. Many companies are running other vendor applications on top of the Oracle systems, but that vendor doesn’t allow them to upgrade to the latest version of Oracle database because their software doesn’t work with it. So many end up in a situation where they need to pay for expensive Oracle support.
Cost savings with third-party support: With 3PS, customers can get back in control of their estate. They can move off legacy systems and reinvest savings into new implementations. They can move to solutions that make the most sense for their business, such as cloud.
Big companies moving: Tired of the constant Oracle upgrade cycle, many large global companies and public sector organizations with thousands of systems are moving off Oracle support and onto 3PS. The biggest challenge for companies looking for other options is internal – especially championing at the leadership level.
How might Oracle respond? Oracle will try to argue that it’s not possible to move to third-party support, but in most circumstances this is not the case.
We can help
There is a significant amount of confusion around moving to third-party support, but it can be a great way for companies to save money with Oracle while also keeping their legacy systems, or migrating to different vendors.
Working with Palisade Compliance to optimize your Oracle contracts and maintain compliance when moving to a third-party support vendor will give you the freedom you need to make the best decisions for your company.
Oracle support FAQs
What are the typical Oracle support fees?
Oracle support fees vary based on the specific products and services being utilized. Typically, these fees are calculated as a percentage of the total licensing costs, which can lead to significant annual support costs. Understanding your specific Oracle license management can help you identify the exact amounts you may be paying.
How can I negotiate support fees with Oracle?
Negotiating support fees with Oracle involves preparing a case that outlines your current usage, the value you derive from the services, and any competitive offers you may have received. Engaging with Oracle reps and demonstrating how you can manage and reduce support costs can be effective in lowering your support fees.
What options do I have for third-party support for Oracle products?
Third-party support providers offer alternative solutions that can often cut support costs significantly. These providers may offer flexible support agreements and can help maintain your Oracle workloads without the high costs associated with Oracle’s standard support fees.
How can I reduce the number of Oracle licenses I need?
To reduce the number of Oracle licenses, conduct a thorough analysis of your software usage and identify any unused or unnecessary support. By optimizing your Oracle license management, you can determine if you can consolidate or cancel support on a subset of your licenses, ultimately lowering your overall costs.
What strategies exist to optimize Oracle support contracts?
Strategies to optimize Oracle support contracts include evaluating the support levels you actually need, comparing third-party options, and utilizing Oracle’s extended support for older software versions. By implementing these strategies, thousands of Oracle customers have successfully managed to cut support costs while maintaining access to Oracle patches and necessary updates.
Can I cancel Oracle support and still maintain software functionality?
While you can cancel Oracle support for certain products, it’s essential to consider the implications. Without support, you may miss critical patches and updates, which can impact the functionality and security of your Oracle database licenses. It’s vital to weigh the potential risks against the savings from cutting support.
What are the annual support costs for Oracle software?
Annual support costs for Oracle software can be significant, often amounting to 22% of the software’s list price. These costs can increase over time, so understanding your support agreements and negotiating for better terms can help manage and reduce these expenses effectively.
How does Oracle’s support pricing affect long-term budgeting?
Oracle’s support pricing can have a substantial impact on long-term budgeting. Predictable costs are essential for financial planning, and frequent support fee increases can strain your budget. To mitigate this, consider strategies that allow you to manage ongoing support fees, such as optimizing license usage and exploring third-party support options.
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