Oracle Support Renewal – Optimization And Lower Costs

What are the best ways to reduce Oracle Support Renewal Fees

• Third-Party Support: Consider providers like Rimini Street for up to 50% savings.
• Terminate Unused Licenses: Stop paying for non-utilized licenses.
• Downgrade Versions: Switch from Enterprise to Standard editions.
• License Optimization: Adjust license models for potential savings.
• Cloud Transition: Migrate to Oracle Cloud or alternatives like AWS or Azure.
• Hardware Changes: Consider platforms like IBM LPAR for cost benefits.
• Negotiate with Oracle: Engage in discussions for potential discounts.
• Stay Updated: Keep software current to avoid higher fees for outdated versions.
• Please read our latest trends for how to reduce Oracle support fees in 2024

Oracle Support Renewal – Optimization And Lower Costs

Oracle’s software support renewals are a significant ongoing cost for organizations.

With annual fees typically ranging from 20% to 22% of the original license price, support contracts for Oracle Database, Middleware, Applications, and Cloud services can consume a significant portion of IT budgets.

For Software Asset Management (SAM) managers, IT leaders, and licensing professionals, optimizing these support renewals is crucial to reducing costs and avoiding unnecessary expenditures.

This article offers an in-depth, advisory look at Oracle’s support renewal structure, explains policies such as “matching service levels,” and provides proven strategies for reducing support expenses.

We also highlight common pitfalls to avoid, especially around partial terminations and repricing, and provide real-world examples. The goal is to empower you with knowledge to manage Oracle support renewals more effectively while advocating for your organization’s best interests.

Read Reducing Oracle On-Premise Support Fees: A CIO’s Guide.

Oracle Support Renewal Structure

Oracle offers technical support for its software products, which is fairly standardized across its portfolio, but there are differences between on-premises software and cloud services.

Understanding how support is structured and priced is the first step in finding optimization opportunities:

• On-Premises Software (Database, Middleware, Applications): For perpetual licenses of Oracle products, such as Oracle Database, Oracle WebLogic/Middleware, or Oracle Applications like E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, and JD Edwards, annual support is typically charged as a percentage of the license fees. The standard rate for Oracle’s Premier Support is about 22% of the yearly license list price. (Often, this ends up being 22% of the net price you paid, but note that if you receive a big license discount, Oracle may calculate support for a higher list price or “undiscounted” price sometimes.) This support provides access to patches, updates, rights to new versions, and Oracle’s technical assistance. Support contracts typically last 12 months and auto-renew unless you cancel. Oracle’s support policy follows a Lifetime Support framework:
  • Premier Support: Full support coverage, typically for five years from a product’s general availability. It includes updates, security patches, bug fixes, and telephone and web support.
  • Extended Support: An optional extension of full support for certain products after Premier Support ends (often available for 3 years). Extended Support usually comes with a surcharge on the annual fee (for example, +10% in the first year of extension, increasing in subsequent years). It continues to provide updates and fixes.
  • Sustaining Support: Ongoing support after a product’s Premier or Extended window has expired. Sustaining Support allows access to existing fixes and knowledge base, but no new patches or updates are created. Interestingly, the cost does not decrease when a product moves to Sustaining Support – you generally continue to pay the same annual fee for maintaining knowledge access.
• Oracle Cloud Services (Cloud Support): Oracle’s cloud offerings, including Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Autonomous Database, and Oracle SaaS applications such as Fusion ERP, are sold through subscriptions. Support for cloud services is typically included in the subscription fee. There isn’t a separate 22% maintenance charge; instead, the subscription covers both the right to use the service and ongoing support, including updates to the cloud service. Oracle offers different tiers of cloud support or SLAs – for example, basic support that comes with all cloud accounts and paid Premier Support for OCI, which may be included after spending a certain amount. When renewing Oracle Cloud subscriptions, the focus is on optimizing the subscription cost (like rightsizing usage or negotiating multi-year terms) since you can’t unbundle support from a cloud service – it’s inherently included.

Why Understanding the Structure Matters:

Knowing how Oracle structures support for various products helps you identify the levers you can pull. The cost is explicit and tied to the license count, as well as the price for on-premises licenses. Therefore, reducing licenses or renegotiating terms can directly impact support fees.

In the cloud model, cost optimization can be achieved by adjusting usage or service levels, as support is built in. In both cases, Oracle’s contracts have specific policies that can limit cost-cutting approaches, which we’ll explore next in relation to Oracle support costs, which consume a significant portion of their IT budget.

They moved to Rimini Street, which offered equivalent support for half the price Oracle charged. The move saved them over $500,000 annually, funds they could reinvest into upgrading their IT infrastructure, leading to improved productivity across the company.

The “Matching Service Levels” Policy

One critical policy Oracle enforces is the “matching service levels” requirement.

In simple terms, this policy means that if you have a set of Oracle licenses for a given product, Oracle expects you to maintain the same level of support across all those licenses.

You cannot selectively renew subsets of a product’s licenses while letting others lapse, at least not without officially terminating the support for those licenses and possibly the licenses themselves from the agreement.

What this means in practice:

If your company owns 100 Oracle Database Enterprise Edition licenses under a support contract, you can’t renew support on just 50 and drop support for the other 50 while still keeping the licenses. Oracle’s policy requires that all licenses of a given program under a contract have the same support status.

Practically, this means either you renew support for all 100, or you terminate support (i.e., end the support contract) for those 50 licenses you don’t want to cover (and usually, by extension, agree not to use the unsupported licenses, since using them without support could violate the spirit of the agreement).

Oracle tracks support contracts with Customer Support Identifiers (CSIs), and typically, all licenses on a CSI must be at the same support level.

Why Oracle uses matching service levels:

This policy prevents customers from saving money by only paying support on a subset of licenses while benefiting from software updates on all. For example, without this rule, a company might try to support only 50 out of 100 database licenses, apply updates using those 50 supported licenses, and still run all 100 databases.

Oracle wants to close such loopholes. Matching service levels ensures that Oracle maximizes support revenue and simplifies its support administration – it doesn’t have to manage partial entitlements within a single product license pool.

Impact on customers:

The matching service levels rule means you can’t partially cut support costs for a specific product without removing licenses from the support contract entirely.

If you have excess licenses you don’t need, you can terminate their support (and continue using them at your own risk without Oracle support).

But you cannot simply decide to pay for fewer licenses this year unless those licenses are removed from the agreement.

Many organizations have been caught off guard by this when trying to trim budgets. Oracle will require that you either keep all those licenses under support or drop them completely.

It raises the stakes of any decision to cut support: you must be confident you won’t need those licenses (or their updates), because getting them back on support later could be costly.

They would need to reduce the support coverage for all licenses within that set. Therefore, planning terminations is crucial to avoid unexpected compliance issues and ensure compliance with Oracle’s policies.

Oracle’s Support Repricing and Partial Termination Rules

When organizations attempt to reduce their Oracle support bill, a common approach is to terminate (or drop) support for licenses that are no longer needed.

This is a valid strategy, but it comes with a crucial caveat: Oracle will reprice the support for the remaining licenses after a partial termination.

Oracle’s repricing policy can significantly reduce the savings you might expect from dropping a subset of licenses.

Here’s how repricing works:

• Oracle calculates support fees based on the total value of your license purchase, as well as any discounts you may have received. Larger purchases often come with larger discounts on both licenses and support.
• Suppose you later terminate support on some of those licenses. In that case, Oracle will recalculate (reprice) the support fee for the licenses you continue to support as if you had originally bought only that smaller number of licenses. In plainer terms, if you reduce your license count, you may lose volume discounts, so the per-license support cost for the remaining licenses goes up.

Example of repricing:

Suppose you originally purchased 100 processor licenses of an Oracle database product. The list price per license is $100,000, which is $10 million. You negotiated a 50% discount due to the volume and paid $5 million.

Your annual Premier Support is 22% of $5 million (approximately $1.1 million annually). Now you have decided to drop support for 50 licenses because your usage has decreased.

You might expect your support cost to drop to about $550,000 (half).

However, Oracle will likely reduce the applicable discount now that you only have 50 licenses under support. Perhaps 50 licenses would normally only get a 30% discount. So, Oracle recalculates your support as 22% of the new net price (list price of $5M minus 30% = $3.5M net). That comes to about $770,000 per year for the remaining 50 licenses.

In this scenario, instead of saving $550k, you save only $330k. You’re paying $770k instead of $1.1M—a savings of 30% instead of 50%. The lost discount, from 50% to 30%, caused the support to be repriced higher for the remaining licenses.

To summarize that example in a table:

As you see, the company removed 40% of the licenses from support but realized only a ~28% reduction in cost. Oracle’s official support policies do outline this repricing behavior.

The important takeaway is never assuming a linear cost drop when reducing licenses under support. The more licenses you drop, the more likely your remaining licenses fall into a smaller discount bracket.

Another related rule: Oracle typically requires that you terminate support on licenses that are effective as of your renewal date. You usually can’t drop support mid-contract; you have to give notice before renewal, and those licenses will not be renewed.

If you miss the window, support will continue (and you’ll be billed) for all licenses for the next term.

Additionally, suppose you ever need to reinstate support for licenses that you dropped. In that case, Oracle will charge back support fees for the lapsed period, plus a penalty (for example, 150% of the fees for the period off support).

This effectively discourages dropping support unless you’re sure you won’t need Oracle’s services for those licenses in the future.

Strategies to Lower Oracle Support Costs

Despite Oracle’s restrictive policies, there are strategies that SAM managers and IT leaders can use to optimize support renewals and reduce costs.

Here are some practical approaches:

• Inventory and eliminate unused licenses: Conduct a thorough review of your Oracle deployments to identify and eliminate any unused licenses. Identify any “shelfware” – licenses or modules your organization owns but isn’t actively using. If you have Oracle products or features that provide no business value, consider removing or disabling them to optimize your system. You can then terminate support for those unused licenses at the time of renewal. For example, if you have a pack of Oracle Database Options (such as Partitioning or Advanced Security) that are not being used, you can drop them from support. This must be done carefully to comply with matching service levels, meaning you likely remove all licenses for that unused option rather than just a partial drop. Even with repricing, eliminating an entire unused product or module from support will save money because you’re completely removing that cost line.
• Consolidate and optimize environments: Oracle licensing often depends on the hardware and deployment footprint, such as database licenses per processor core. By consolidating databases or applications onto fewer servers – for example, utilizing larger servers more efficiently or archiving outdated data and retiring instances – you can reduce the number of licenses required. If you can retire some licenses, you can then cut their support. Virtualization and cloud infrastructure can sometimes help, but be cautious: Oracle has specific rules for virtualization, especially with VMware, that can complicate license counts and calculations. Nonetheless, an infrastructure optimization project can have a side benefit of lowering Oracle support costs by shrinking the licensed footprint.
• Negotiate co-terming and multi-year agreements: If you have multiple Oracle support contracts with different end dates, consider aligning them (co-terming) so they all renew simultaneously. A larger, single renewal can give you more leverage in negotiations. You can ask Oracle for a multi-year commitment with a known price escalation (or even a freeze) instead of facing annual increases. Oracle typically has a standard annual uplift of 3–4%, but large customers have negotiated caps or freezes, especially when they commit to multi-year renewals or additional purchases. While Oracle won’t usually outright discount the 22% rate, they might agree to hold prices steady for a period or throw in extra support services if you negotiate as part of a bigger deal.
• Leverage third-party support providers: Third-party support firms, such as Rimini Street or Spinnaker Support, can replace Oracle’s support at a fraction of the cost (often 50% of Oracle’s fees). This option is viable if you run stable, mature systems without upgrading to the latest versions. These providers will give you access to technical help and can create fixes or workarounds for you, but they do not have the source code like Oracle does, and you won’t get official patches. Many companies use third-party support for Oracle applications, such as E-Business Suite or PeopleSoft, that they don’t plan to upgrade for a while. If you choose this route, it’s typically best to do it after you’re off Premier Support (e.g., in the Sustaining Support period) or if Oracle’s support doesn’t provide much ongoing value. Always factor in the risk: you are essentially forgoing Oracle’s updates and engineering support. You won’t have access if Oracle releases a critical patch (such as one addressing a security vulnerability) after you leave. The cost savings can be substantial, though, and some third-party providers even offer support for customizations and performance that Oracle might not cover.
• Consider Oracle Support Rewards (with Oracle Cloud): Oracle’s Support Rewards program, introduced in 2021, allows customers using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to earn credits that can offset their on-premises support bills. For example, for every $1 spent on OCI, you may receive $0.25 in support credits, and even more if you have certain agreements, such as a ULA. If your organization is moving workloads to Oracle Cloud or already has significant OCI spend, ensure you enroll in this program. Those credits can accumulate and reduce the net support cost you pay Oracle. It’s a way Oracle incentivizes cloud adoption by returning value to you through support savings. Note that this isn’t a direct discount on your support invoice; you apply earned credits to pay part of that invoice. Still, it’s real money saved if you were going to use OCI anyway.
• Optimize license editions or configurations: You can sometimes reduce support costs by switching to a more affordable Oracle software or a different configuration. For instance, Oracle Database Standard Edition has a lower license cost (and thus lower support) than Enterprise Edition, though it has limitations. If some systems can use the Standard Edition instead of the Enterprise edition, that’s a long-term savings (but it may require re-architecting those systems). Another example is using named user licensing instead of per-processor licensing if you have a small user count – the licenses and support could be more cost-effective under a named user metric. These changes often require purchasing new licenses or trading in old ones (Oracle doesn’t allow you to convert them freely). Still, it’s worth exploring as a strategy during a major renegotiation or architecture change.
• Monitor support usage and value: Track how often you use Oracle’s support services. Are you generating a high volume of service requests? Are you applying every quarterly patch, or hardly any at all? If you rarely use Oracle’s support (maybe your systems are stable and your DBAs handle most issues), that can embolden a strategy like third-party support or dropping some products from support. Conversely, if you heavily rely on Oracle’s help, that needs to be factored into your decisions. Sometimes, showing Oracle that “we hardly ever use your support” can be part of an argument (not always successful) to negotiate some concession.
• Engage Oracle account management strategically: If your account team knows you are considering dropping support or moving to third-party support, they may become more flexible. Oracle’s salespeople are motivated to keep your support revenue. They might offer alternatives, such as exchanging unused licenses for other products, providing cloud credits, or, as a last resort, offering a one-time discount. Be cautious: Oracle may offer a deal that involves purchasing additional software or cloud services in exchange for some support relief. Ensure that any proposal is beneficial in the long run, not just shifting costs around.

Download Procurement Advisory Playbook: Transitioning from Oracle Support to Third‑Party Support.

💸 Realize Tangible Financial Benefits Beyond Just Cost Savings

• Save 50 %+ annually on Oracle support fees — and avoid costly forced upgrades.
• Extend the life of stable systems without paying for software you don’t need.
• Understand the total cost reduction: license optimization + deferred hardware/software spend.
• Learn how third-party support frees up budget for innovation, not just maintenance.

Common Pitfalls and Misconceptions

When attempting to optimize Oracle support costs, be mindful of these common pitfalls and misconceptions:

• Assuming proportional savings from termination: Don’t assume that if you cut 20% of your licenses, you’ll save 20% of the cost. As explained, Oracle’s repricing means the savings will usually be less. This misconception can lead to budget shortfalls if you incorrectly forecast savings. Always calculate or request the repriced cost to know the real savings.
• Partial renewal without termination: A dangerous assumption is thinking you can just “not pay” for a few licenses this year and continue using them. If you don’t formally terminate licenses but don’t pay their support, Oracle will consider your entire support contract lapsed (because of the matching service level rule). In other words, you can’t selectively pay for part of a support invoice – it’s all or nothing for that product group. Ensure any reduction is made through a proper contract adjustment.
• Forgetting the notice period: Oracle’s support agreements typically auto-renew. To drop any licenses or cancel support, you must notify Oracle in writing a few days before the renewal date (as specified in your contract, which typically requires 30, 45, or 60 days’ notice). A classic pitfall is missing this window. If you miss it, Oracle has no obligation to let you reduce your licenses for that term, and you will be billed the full amount.
• Thinking “unused” means “not needed forever”: It’s easy to look at a list of licenses and flag some as not in use today. But consider future needs. For example, an unused Oracle application module might be needed next year. If you drop it from support now, you’ll retain licensing rights but lose access to support and upgrades when you need them. You’d have to pay back support or buy new licenses later (both expensive). Therefore, distinguish between truly obsolete licenses and those that could still be reactivated. Only terminate the ones you’re confident you won’t need going forward.
• Underestimating the value of upgrades and patches: Some financial managers view the large support bill and question its value, given that support tickets are rarely opened. However, the value may come from upgrades, security patches, and avoiding compliance issues. For instance, if a critical security patch comes out and you’re off support, you can’t legally apply it. Or if Oracle releases a new version that could improve performance or compatibility, you won’t have access. While cost is important, ensure that the IT team signs off on being able to live without those benefits before you cut support.
• Blindly trusting sales assurances or myths: There are cases where Oracle sales reps or even well-meaning colleagues might spread some myths—e.g., “If you drop support, you’re not allowed to use the software anymore” (false for perpetual licenses), or “Oracle will never notice if we just use those licenses without support” (risky, especially if an audit comes). Make decisions based on written contracts and policies, not verbal assurances. Oracle’s contracts are what matter in the event of a dispute.
• Complex licensing ties: Be cautious if licenses are bundled or if you have migration rights. For instance, Oracle sometimes provides customers with license upgrades, such as moving from an older product to a newer one, as part of their support. Dropping support might nullify some rights to migrate or utilize certain offers. Check if any support agreement includes more than the support service, such as cloud trial credits or other bundled benefits.
• Not exploring alternatives: A pitfall is resigning to high costs without checking alternatives. Even if you stay with Oracle support, knowing that third-party support or other database options exist can provide leverage and backup plans. Sometimes, evaluating those options can highlight internal inefficiencies or lead Oracle to offer a better deal to retain your business.

Avoiding these pitfalls largely comes down to due diligence: read your contracts, forecast scenarios, and involve all relevant stakeholders (such as IT, procurement, and legal) before making moves that seem purely cost-driven.

Example: Partial Termination and Repricing in Action

To cement these concepts, consider a simplified real-world scenario:

Company A’s Oracle Database Support:

Company A acquired 100 Oracle Database Enterprise Edition processor licenses years ago. They pay $1.1 million annually in support for these (aligning with our earlier example numbers).

Due to a recent data center consolidation, they plan to decommission several servers and estimate they will only need 60 licenses. They aim to reduce support costs by dropping 40 licenses from support at renewal.

• Plan: Company A gives Oracle 45 days’ notice before renewal that they will terminate support on 40 database licenses. They ensure that those 40 licenses correspond to databases they are retiring, so they will not continue using them to maintain compliance and safety.
• Oracle’s Response: Oracle processes the termination of those 40 licenses from the support contract. When sending the renewal quote for the remaining 60 licenses, Oracle adjusts the pricing. Originally, 100 licenses were available with a 50% discount. For 60 licenses, Oracle uses a 40% discount in its pricing model.
• The resulting quote: The new annual support cost for 60 licenses is around $792,000 (not $660,000, which would be 60% of $1.1 million). The company saves $308,000 per year instead of $440,000. This is still a significant saving, but less than anticipated before understanding repricing.

Further actions:

Suppose Company A still finds $792k too high.

In that case, they might consider additional steps, such as moving a couple of remaining databases to an alternative platform or Oracle Standard Edition to drop licenses further (with yet another repricing consideration), or they might look at third-party support for those databases if they are not planning to upgrade.

They will also retain the documentation from Oracle showing that those 40 licenses were terminated – this is important for record-keeping purposes.

This example illustrates how a straightforward cost-cutting measure (dropping support for unused licenses) is applied under Oracle’s rules.

The key lesson is the importance of the repricing effect and planning around it.

Recommendations

To optimize Oracle support renewals and lower costs, consider the following recommended practices:

• Regularly review usage: Treat Oracle support renewals not as a rote payment but as a checkpoint. Before each renewal, review what you’re paying for and confirm you still need it. Engage your technical teams to identify unused licenses or features.
• Communicate and plan changes early: Start the conversation with Oracle before the renewal if you plan to reduce or change your support coverage. This gives time to work through Oracle’s internal processes, receive revised quotes, and handle the necessary internal approvals.
• Get detailed quotes for any changes: Whenever you contemplate dropping licenses, ask Oracle for a quote on the reduced scope. Having the official numbers (with repricing) allows you to make an informed decision and adjust the plan if the savings aren’t as high as hoped. It also gives you a document trail of what was requested.
• Use third-party support selectively: If you choose third-party support, do so for stable systems where you can live without new features. Ensure internal alignment—your IT team must be comfortable operating without Oracle’s direct backing. Additionally, you don’t have to switch everything; some companies utilize third-party support for certain Oracle products (e.g., legacy E-Business Suite) while maintaining Oracle support for others (e.g., databases they are actively upgrading).
• Leverage Oracle’s incentives: Take advantage of programs like Support Rewards if you’re investing in Oracle Cloud, or discuss modernizing your license agreements with Oracle. Sometimes, Oracle may allow you to swap some older products you don’t use for newer technology, which could indirectly save support costs on the old products, as part of a broader deal. Just be sure the trade makes financial sense.
• Negotiate support terms in larger deals: If you’re entering a big agreement with Oracle (like a ULA, cloud contract, or purchasing a significant number of new licenses), negotiate support terms as part of that. For instance, try to lock an inflation rate for support, or get Oracle to agree to a larger discount bracket across your whole portfolio. Oracle salespeople have more flexibility during a large sale than during routine support renewal.
• Document and track contracts: Maintain a central repository of your Oracle contracts, including support policies, renewal dates, notice requirements, and the scope of coverage for each support line. This avoids mistakes like paying for support on licenses you no longer deploy or missing a notice deadline. It also facilitates discussions with Oracle regarding disputes over what can be terminated or how.
• Consult experts for complex situations: For complicated environments or when planning a major change (such as discontinuing a large portion of support or switching to a third-party provider), consider seeking an Oracle licensing expert or legal advisor to review your plans. The cost of advice can be tiny compared to potential savings or, conversely, the cost of a mistake.

Reducing Oracle support costs is possible, but it requires a well-informed strategy and careful execution.

Understanding Oracle’s policies, such as matching service levels and repricing, planning, and considering alternative support options, can help you achieve substantial savings while managing risk.

Always approach such optimizations with due diligence and keep all stakeholders, from technical teams to CFOs, informed so there are no surprises down the road.

Case Study: Cost Savings in Oracle Support

Background of the Case

A leading telecommunications giant in Europe faced escalating Oracle support fees threatening to burden its financial operations.

The organization, which heavily relied on Oracle’s software for its IT infrastructure, sought to reduce these substantial costs while continuing to access the essential support needed for its day-to-day operations.

It turned into an expert consulting team specializing in Oracle licensing optimization.

Challenges Faced

• Escalating Support Costs: The telecom company’s Oracle support costs ballooned to nearly €10 million annually, becoming a significant financial strain.
• Complex Business Objectives: Beyond the cost, the company needed to ensure that its Oracle software remained current and fully supported to avoid disruptions to critical business services.
• Limited Flexibility: Oracle’s Matching Service Levels Policy prevented them from selectively reducing support without facing penalties, making it challenging to streamline costs effectively.

Solution Implemented

The consulting team devised a two-pronged approach to addressing the situation, combining third-party support with contract optimization.

1. Shifting to Third-Party Support:
   • After careful analysis, the company switched a substantial portion of its Oracle support to Spinnaker Support, a third-party provider. This alternative enabled the company to utilize Oracle software while benefiting from cost-effective support services.
   • Third-party support meant the company could no longer access Oracle patches and updates. However, they managed this by analyzing their needs and deciding which software versions could be kept without further Oracle-provided updates.
2. Conducting Oracle Contract Analysis:
   • A thorough review of Oracle contracts was conducted to identify licenses that were no longer being utilized or could be optimized.
   • They used Oracle licensing experts to negotiate directly with Oracle, waiving certain annual uplift fees and restructuring existing agreements to make them more cost-effective.

Outcomes

• Savings Achieved:
  • Immediate Cost Reduction: The telecom giant saved approximately €5 million in its first year alone by switching to third-party support and optimizing its Oracle contracts.
  • Future Savings Projection: Over the next three years, projected savings are estimated to reach €15 million, significantly relieving the company’s IT budget.
• CIO’s Feedback:
  • Reflecting on the cost reduction measures, the company’s CIO shared:”Redress Compliance’s excellent analysis made us confident in our decision to move to third-party support. The strategy saved us millions without compromising service quality. I highly recommend them for an external expert view to validate our Oracle strategy.”

Summary and Final Recommendations

Summarize the Key Steps for Oracle Support Optimization

Optimizing Oracle support costs can lead to significant financial savings while maintaining the necessary level of service.

Here are the key steps and strategies discussed:

• Third-Party Support:
  • When the value of new patches and updates from Oracle is not critical for your current setup, switching to a third-party support provider can offer substantial savings. However, careful consideration should ensure that ongoing software requirements are adequately met without Oracle’s direct support.
• Terminating Unused Licenses:
  • Assess all Oracle licenses periodically to identify which licenses are active and required, and terminate any unused ones. This step is crucial for reducing unnecessary support payments and managing resources efficiently.
  • Regular assessments help ensure you’re not paying for any longer adding value licenses.
• Hardware and License Model Adjustments:
  • Switch to More Efficient Hardware Platforms: Consider switching to more efficient hardware platforms, such as IBM LPAR, which can significantly reduce licensing requirements.
  • Adjust License Models: Depending on how Oracle software is utilized within your organization, switching from a processor to a user-based license can yield significant cost savings.

Final Advice

• Regular Assessment:
  • Conduct regular reviews to identify opportunities to reduce support costs, terminate inactive licenses, and ensure compliance with Oracle’s licensing policies.
  • These assessments should be done proactively before Oracle supports renewals to position your organization for effective negotiations.
• Expert Guidance:
  • Engage Licensing Experts: Oracle’s licensing agreements and policies can be complex, with details that significantly impact cost. Engaging external experts with experience in Oracle licensing can help you navigate these intricacies, secure favorable terms, and make well-informed decisions that reduce costs.
  • Negotiation Leverage: Use external expertise to identify leverage points during Oracle negotiations. They can help secure discounts, waive uplift fees, and negotiate favorable contract terms.

Optimizing Oracle support contracts involves saving costs and making smart, informed choices that benefit the organization’s long-term IT strategy.

Whether through switching to third-party support, negotiating directly with Oracle, or optimizing licenses and hardware, each action requires a thoughtful approach backed by a clear understanding of the Oracle ecosystem.

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