Oracle negotiation

Oracle negotiation experts share four negotiation strategies

Oracle Negotiation Experts Providing Insights

Here are the key points to simplify your Oracle negotiations and optimize your outcomes:

  1. Negotiating with an Individual: In Oracle negotiations, you engage with an individual rather than the company itself. Understanding the person’s role and influence is crucial for negotiation success.
  2. Compensation Awareness: Knowing how the individual is compensated is vital. Their compensation structure can impact their willingness to provide favorable terms and discounts.
  3. Diverse Sales Representatives: Oracle assigns different sales representatives for different products. Discounts are often based on negotiation skills rather than company size or spending. Be prepared to negotiate with different reps depending on the products you are interested in.
  4. Customized Contracts: Oracle contracts are highly tailored, and there may be terms not included in the standard contract. Familiarize yourself with these additional terms and negotiate accordingly.
  5. Leveraging Timing: Take advantage of Oracle’s year-end and quarterly cycles. These periods can provide opportunities for securing the best deals and incentives.

By keeping these key points in mind, you can navigate Oracle negotiations more effectively, leverage favorable terms, and optimize your outcomes.

Oracle Negotiation – Four tips that will help.

  1. Identify Competitive Alternatives: Make Oracle aware that they are not your only option. Even if Oracle is your preferred solution, making them believe you’re considering alternatives creates a competitive environment that can lead to better discounts.
  2. Do Your Homework: Conduct market research to understand the typical discounts you should aim for in your negotiation. Determine which contractual terms will be most beneficial for you. Consider seeking advice from industry experts or analysts such as Gartner. The question isn’t whether they can assist but how much value they can add to your negotiation.
  3. Utilize Oracle’s Fiscal Calendar: Take advantage of Oracle’s fiscal year, which ends in May. Historically, Oracle is more likely to offer substantial discounts to close deals before the fiscal year ends. On average, organizations receive 35% more discounts when finalizing their May purchases.
  4. Understand Your Oracle Representative: Recognize that the negotiation is ultimately between you and the Oracle sales representative, who is motivated by commission, just like a real estate agent. Understand their compensation structure and ask if purchasing certain products could reduce your deal’s overall cost.

Oracle Negotiation Experts Insights

Oracle Negotiation ABC

Oracle Negotiation Experts – 6 Steps How to Negotiate Oracle software license agreements

oracle negotiation experts

Step-by-Step Guide to Oracle Negotiations: Key Considerations

Follow this step-by-step guide to navigate Oracle negotiations successfully, keeping these key points in mind:

  1. Referencing the Oracle OMA: Ensure that your Ordering Document references your Oracle OMA (Oracle Master Agreement) accurately. Avoid signing new OMAs for subsidiaries instead of utilizing the existing OMA signed by the parent company.
  2. Negotiating Customer Definition: Determine which legal entities/companies will use and access Oracle Software now and in the future. Two options are available for negotiation:
    • Option 1: List all entities that currently and will potentially require access and use of Oracle Software.
    • Option 2: Leverage Oracle’s standard clause allowing the parent company and majority-owned subsidiaries to be included in the usage rights. This option provides coverage for acquisitions.
  3. Territory Clause: Identify the countries where you plan to deploy Oracle Software servers physically. Negotiate the territory clause in your Ordering Document to expand your usage rights beyond the country of purchase. Request worldwide usage to enable flexibility in server deployment and utilization of cloud data regions.
  4. Oracle Technical Support Increases: Address the annual increase of Oracle support costs, typically 4%. Negotiate the contract term to control or avoid rising costs:
    • Aim for a 0% support cost increase for up to 5 years at purchase.
  5. Merger and Acquisitions Considerations: If divesting a legal entity, negotiate assignment rights in your Ordering Document to allow the divested entity to continue using purchased Oracle licenses for a specified period (e.g., 12-24 months). This grants them time to transition off Oracle or acquire their own licenses. Oracle may require payment to amend or add usage rights without this clause.
  6. Fixed Pricing for Future Purchases: Evaluate the need for fixed pricing to streamline future purchases and avoid renegotiating discounts each time. Be cautious with price holds, as negotiating each purchase as a standalone deal may yield better commercial terms. Also, be aware that price holds can limit the ability to terminate unused licenses and support agreements.

By incorporating these considerations into your Oracle negotiations, you can optimize your agreements, control costs, and ensure a favorable outcome for your organization.

oracle support negotiation

Oracle Cloud Negotiations

oracle cloud negotiations

Step-by-Step Guide to Oracle Cloud Negotiations: Maximizing Your Contract

Follow this simple step-by-step guide to navigate Oracle Cloud negotiations effectively and optimize your contract terms.

An explanation of its importance accompanies each step:

  1. Understand Oracle Sales Rep Incentives:
  • Oracle sales reps are compensated based on consumption, which can lead to potential wasted cloud investments for companies.
  • By understanding their incentives, you gain insight into their motivations and can tailor your negotiation strategies accordingly.
  1. Specify Rollout Phase and Contract Term:
  • Many companies overlook the importance of specifying a rollout phase or negotiating a delay in the contract term.
  • Including a rollout, phase ensures a structured deployment plan and allows for better management of resources and costs.
  • Negotiating the contract term provides flexibility and aligns the agreement with your organization’s timeline and needs.
  1. Be Mindful of Price Protection Clauses:
  • Including a price protection clause may seem like a safeguard against future price increases. However, Oracle has methods to circumvent such clauses.
  • It’s crucial to be aware of this and understand that negotiating the best possible pricing upfront is often more effective than relying solely on price protection clauses.
  1. Consider Oracle Sales Rep Incentives:
  • Understanding how Oracle incentivizes its sales reps is essential since they will be the primary individuals you negotiate with.
  • This knowledge allows you to tailor your negotiation approach, leverage their motivations, and potentially secure more favorable terms.
  1. Allocate Time Buffer for Migration:
  • When migrating to Oracle Cloud, it’s crucial to consider potential delays or complexities that may arise.
  • Allocating a time buffer in the contract accounts for any unexpected hurdles during the migration process, ensuring a smoother transition without unnecessary time constraints.

Following these steps, you can easily approach Oracle Cloud negotiations, leverage your understanding of Oracle sales incentives, and secure a contract that aligns with your organization’s goals while optimizing costs and resources.

Oracle cloud contracts - 6 contract terms to negotiate.

FAQs

What is an Oracle negotiation?

Oracle negotiation refers to discussing terms and conditions (such as price, support, and licensing rules) with Oracle to purchase or renew Oracle software licenses.

How can I prepare for an Oracle negotiation?

To prepare for an Oracle negotiation, you should understand your current and future needs, know your existing Oracle contracts in detail, and know Oracle’s business practices and negotiation strategies

Who can help with Oracle negotiations?

Specialized consultants, often called Oracle negotiation experts, can assist with Oracle negotiations. These experts understand Oracle’s pricing, licensing models, and negotiation tactics.

What are some Oracle negotiation strategies?

Some Oracle negotiation strategies include knowing your leverage, understanding Oracle’s sales cycle, preparing a realistic negotiation plan, and considering alternatives to Oracle products.

How can I reduce costs in Oracle negotiations?

Cost reduction can be achieved by accurately assessing your needs, negotiating for only the licenses you need, taking advantage of Oracle’s sales cycle, and potentially considering third-party support or alternative products.

How can I renegotiate an Oracle contract?

Renegotiating an Oracle contract involves a similar process to initial negotiations. Understanding your usage, needs, and Oracle’s negotiation practices is crucial. Expert advice can be valuable in this process.

What discounts can we recieve on Oracle software licenses?

There are no rules on discount; discounts doesn’t depend on the company size or historical spend. It is only based on your negotiation expertise. Discounts range from 0-90%; how much you receive is determined by negotiation strategy, historical discounts, competitive bids, and transaction value.

Can we negotiate the annual Oracle Support Renewal?

Yes, you can negotiate the annual renewal, but it will not be a reduction but only limit the annual support increases.

How to approach Oracle Cloud Negotiations?

Remember that you can never reduce the contract with Oracle SaaS licenses, not even at a renewal. If you try to remove products in the renewal, Oracle will lower the discounts.

Redress Compliance: Unlocking Better Oracle Contracts through Expert Negotiation

Introducing our Oracle Negotiation Service, led by a seasoned professional with over 20 years of Oracle experience. We are here to help you navigate the complexities of Oracle contracts and secure better deals. Here’s how we can assist you:

1. Customized Negotiation Strategy:

  • We collaborate with you to design a negotiation strategy tailored to your requirements, ensuring your goals are realistic and achievable.

2. Benchmarking and Process Improvement:

  • Our team benchmarks your procurement practices against industry standards, identifying areas for improvement and optimizing your negotiation approach.

3. Expert Oracle Pricing Knowledge:

  • With our in-depth understanding of Oracle pricing and discounting strategies, we can guide you in negotiating a favorable deal that reduces overall costs.

4. Strengthen Contract Terms and Reduce Costs:

  • We review your existing contracts, highlighting non-standard concessions that can bolster your contract terms and generate cost savings.

5. Insight into Oracle Negotiation Tactics:

  • Gain valuable insights into Oracle’s negotiation tactics, empowering you to level the playing field and negotiate from a position of strength.

Take the Next Step with Redress Compliance: Let us join your negotiation team and help you achieve the best possible deal with Oracle. Contact us today to learn more about our Oracle Negotiation Service and unlock the potential for improved contracts and reduced costs.

Contact us now to leverage our expertise and secure better Oracle contracts through effective negotiation.

Author

  • Fredrik Filipsson

    Fredrik Filipsson possesses 20 years of experience in Oracle license management. Having worked at Oracle for 9 years, he gained an additional 11 years of expertise in Oracle license consulting projects. Fredrik has provided assistance to over 150 organizations worldwide, ranging in size and tackling various Oracle licensing challenges, including Licensing Assessments, Oracle audits, Oracle ULAs, and more.