Oracle ULA

What are the main Objectives of the Oracle Post ULA Strategy

What are the main objectives of the Oracle Post ULA strategy

The Oracle Unlimited License Agreement (ULA) is a cost-effective way for organizations to maximize their Oracle license usage.

However, once the ULA period ends, it’s crucial to have a post-ULA strategy in place to continue optimizing your Oracle deployments and manage costs effectively.

This article will explore the main objectives of the Oracle post-ULA strategy.

Understanding the Oracle ULA

Before diving into the post-ULA strategy, it’s essential to understand what an Oracle ULA is. An Oracle ULA is a contract that allows organizations to use an unlimited number of certain Oracle products for a specified period, typically three years.

At the end of the ULA term, Oracle will certify your ULA, and you will have a fixed number of licenses based on your maximum deployment during the ULA period.

If you’ve maximized your count, you might end up with an oversized ULA, potentially with 5000 processor licenses due to deployment on virtualized environments. However, your real need might be just 20% of that.

It’s important to note that support fees remain the same whether you certify with 50 processor licenses or 50,000, so you want to deploy as much as possible before the ULA ends.

Objectives of the Post-ULA Strategy

Once your Oracle ULA is certified, developing a post-ULA strategy is next. Here are the three main objectives:

1. Optimize Oracle Deployments

The first objective is to optimize your Oracle deployments. The goal here is to have a large surplus of licenses. This surplus can provide a buffer for future growth and changes in your IT environment without additional license purchases.

2. Reduce Support Fees

If you aim to reduce support fees, you can consider third-party support providers. These providers offer Oracle support for as little as 30-50% of what you pay Oracle.

This can result in significant cost savings while ensuring your Oracle deployments are adequately supported.

3. Explore Oracle Cloud-Based Solutions

If third-party support is not feasible, you should look at the possibility of Oracle cloud-based solutions, such as Cloud at Customer. This solution allows you to take advantage of the flexibility and scalability of the cloud while keeping your data on-premises. You could also consider a mix of third-party support and Oracle cloud solutions to optimize your Oracle deployments and manage costs effectively.

Conclusion

The end of an Oracle ULA is not the end of your Oracle license management journey. It’s crucial to have a robust post-ULA strategy to optimize your Oracle deployments, manage costs effectively, and ensure that your organization gets the most value from its Oracle investments.

Whether optimizing Oracle deployments, reducing support fees with third-party providers, or exploring Oracle cloud-based solutions, the right post-ULA strategy can help your organization achieve its Oracle license management goals.

Need Expert Help?

Implementing a post-ULA strategy can be a complex task. If you need expert help to navigate this process, Redress Compliance is here to assist. Our team of Oracle licensing experts can help you develop and implement a post-ULA strategy tailored to your organization’s specific needs.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you optimize your Oracle deployments and manage costs effectively.

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.