How Redress Compliance helped a global manufacturing company based in Switzerland and the US avoid a $22 million non-compliance risk and reduce Siebel support costs by $6 million over three years by transitioning to third-party support at 30% of Oracle's price.
This case study is part of our Oracle Support Reduction Case Studies series. For Siebel licensing guidance, see our Oracle Siebel CRM Licensing Guide.
A global manufacturing company headquartered in Switzerland with significant US operations sought Redress Compliance's expertise to understand their Oracle Siebel licence compliance position and reduce their escalating support costs. With a complex application environment spanning multiple regions and business units, they needed independent guidance to navigate the intricacies of Siebel licensing and support.
The company faced two critical, interrelated problems: a potential $22 million non-compliance liability and Oracle support costs that were consuming an outsized share of their IT budget.
| Challenge | Detail |
|---|---|
| $22M Non-Compliance Risk | Significant licence shortfalls across the Siebel environment: modules in use without proper entitlements, inactive users still counted as licensed, deployment configurations exceeding contracted rights. |
| Escalating Support Costs | Oracle's annual support fees (typically 22% of licence list price) compounding year-over-year with automatic uplift clauses, consuming budget for strategic initiatives. |
| Complex Application Environment | Siebel deployments spanned multiple business units across Switzerland and the US, with customisations, integrations, and varied usage patterns. |
| Unclear Future Roadmap | The organisation needed to align its Siebel licensing and support strategy with a broader CRM roadmap, weighing continued investment against migration alternatives. |
The hidden risk. Many organisations are unaware that Oracle's Matching Service Levels policy requires all licences in a product set to be maintained at the same support level, making it difficult to selectively reduce support without dropping it entirely. This policy is a key factor in any Siebel support optimisation strategy.
Why compliance before transition matters. Moving to third-party support without first resolving compliance issues is a critical mistake. Oracle may audit customers who leave their support, and any unresolved compliance gaps become immediate financial liabilities. Always remediate first, then transition.
Oracle Support (Annual): ~$2.86M/year based on 22% of licence list price with annual uplift. Third-Party Support (Annual): ~$860K/year at 30% of Oracle's price, flat rate with no annual increases. Annual Savings: ~$2M/year immediate recurring cost reduction. 3-Year Savings: $6M+ as savings compound with Oracle's annual uplift eliminated.
The global manufacturing company avoided a potential $22 million non-compliance liability and reduced its Siebel support costs by $6 million over three years. The compliance remediation ensured the organisation was fully protected before the third-party support transition, eliminating any audit exposure.
The transition to third-party support also delivered operational benefits: the Siebel environment continued to run without disruption, the third-party provider offered faster response times and more personalised support for the client's customised Siebel modules, and the flat-rate pricing model eliminated the unpredictable annual uplift that Oracle imposes on support contracts.
"The strategic insights and deep expertise of Redress Compliance have been instrumental in our Siebel licence compliance and support cost reduction journey. Their comprehensive approach, effective training, and unwavering support were key in navigating the complexities of Siebel licensing and support. They identified and helped us mitigate a substantial non-compliance risk, guiding us in making an informed decision that resulted in significant cost savings. Their contribution has been pivotal in our enterprise application strategy." Head of Enterprise Applications, Global Manufacturing Company