Why You Should Work with Independent Oracle Licensing Experts for an Oracle License Review
- Unbiased Advice: No ties to Oracle, focusing only on your needs.
- Cost Savings: Aim to minimize unnecessary licensing expenses.
- Privacy: No obligation to report compliance gaps to Oracle.
- Balanced Interpretation: Provide perspectives beyond Oracle’s favor.
When conducting an Oracle licensing review, partnering with the right experts can make all the difference between paying unnecessarily high fees and optimizing your licensing costs. Oracle licensing is complex and filled with ambiguity.
Different types of experts are available to assist you: Oracle resellers/partners, Verified by Oracle SAM partners, and independent licensing consultants.
Each option has distinct motivations and biases that can significantly affect your licensing outcome. This article will explore why you should choose independent Oracle licensing experts for your review and avoid common pitfalls associated with other types of partners.
Oracle Resellers and Partners: Hidden Incentives that Work Against You
Many organizations might be tempted to work with Oracle resellers or Oracle partners because of their apparent expertise.
However, most companies don’t know that these resellers are incentivized not just to assist but also to sell Oracle products, often at your expense.
Conflicts of Interest
- Incentivized to Sell: Oracle resellers and partners have signed agreements with Oracle to promote Oracle products. They are incentivized to sell Oracle licenses and subscriptions, which creates an inherent conflict of interest. Their primary motivation is not to minimize your licensing costs but to sell more licenses or move you to Oracle Cloud.
- Sharing Business Opportunities: Many of these partners are required to share any business opportunities they identify with Oracle. In other words, if they discover you are non-compliant during a review, they must inform Oracle about it. This means that any licensing gap or non-compliance issue becomes a sales opportunity for Oracle.
- Stories of Resellers Informing Oracle: Numerous stories exist about resellers informing Oracle when they discover compliance gaps, leading to audits or “friendly” sales discussions. Working with these partners may leave you vulnerable to increased scrutiny and higher costs.
Discounted or Free License Reviews
- License Reviews at a Discount: These resellers often offer heavily discounted, or even free, Oracle license reviews. This might seem like a great deal, but the reality is that they make their money by selling more licenses. The review is just a way to identify areas where they can sell you additional Oracle products.
- Bonuses for Reporting Opportunities: Some partners even receive bonuses for informing Oracle about non-compliant organizations. This creates a misalignment between their interests and yours, as their aim becomes to generate opportunities for Oracle rather than genuinely reduce your licensing costs.
Verified by Oracle SAM Partners: The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Many organizations also consider working with firms that participate in Oracle’s Verified by Oracle Software Asset Management (SAM) program. These firms position themselves as neutral licensing experts, but they are just another extension of Oracle’s influence.
Former Oracle Audit Partners
- Audit Experience Turned SAM Partners: Many firms in the Verified by Oracle SAM program used to conduct audits on behalf of Oracle. Oracle created this SAM program to continue generating revenue for these firms, but under the guise of Software Asset Management instead of direct audits.
- Oracle-Aligned Policies: These SAM partners are fully committed to following Oracle’s view on licensing matters. They are expected to interpret licensing rules in Oracle’s favor, often resulting in organizations overpaying for Oracle licenses.
Overpaying for Compliance
- Oracle’s Perspective Only: If you engage one of these SAM partners, you can expect the license review to reflect Oracle’s best interests rather than yours. These firms tend to be overly conservative and always err on the side of over-licensing to avoid disputes with Oracle. This means that you may end up buying more licenses than you need.
- An Extension of the Audit Process: The SAM program effectively extends the Oracle audit process. By working with these partners, you may inadvertently prepare for a future audit in which Oracle will enforce compliance in their favor, not yours.
Independent Oracle Licensing Experts: Your True Advocates
Independent Oracle licensing experts are different because they are not tied to Oracle or receive incentives from Oracle to sell licenses or report on non-compliance.
Their only motivation is to save your organization money and provide you with the best possible licensing strategy.
Unbiased and Focused on Savings
- No Ties to Oracle: Independent firms are not associated with Oracle in any way. They don’t have agreements requiring them to report non-compliance, nor do they profit from selling Oracle licenses. Their sole focus is to provide unbiased licensing advice that benefits your organization.
- Cost Optimization Focus: Unlike Oracle partners or SAM firms, independent consultants work to minimize your costs. They help you understand your options and find your organization’s most cost-effective licensing structure.
Licensing Expertise that Works for You
- Experience with Licensing Complexity: Oracle licensing is notoriously gray, with complex rules and various interpretations depending on the situation. Independent experts have experience dealing with these complexities and can provide different interpretations of licensing policies—not just the interpretation that suits Oracle.
- Examples of Grey Areas:
- Virtualization: Oracle has very specific rules that often work in Oracle’s favor. Independent experts can help you understand how to structure your virtualization environment to minimize licensing impact.
- Cloud Licensing: Moving to Oracle Cloud can be costly if not done correctly. Independent experts can guide you through the process while ensuring you are not paying for unnecessary licenses.
- Product Usage: Some Oracle products have additional features requiring separate licensing. Independent experts will assess your environment to determine if you are using features that could be interpreted differently and help you avoid paying for features you don’t need.
Providing Balanced Interpretations
Oracle licensing is open to interpretation in several key areas, and independent experts are valuable because they provide both sides of the story. They will help you understand Oracle’s perspective, but more importantly, they will also provide alternative interpretations that could save your organization a significant amount of money.
- Oracle’s Favor vs. Your Favor: Oracle-associated firms will always interpret the gray areas in Oracle’s favor. On the other hand, independent consultants provide optimized interpretations for your benefit. They can help defend these interpretations if Oracle challenges them, ensuring you are not overpaying.
Case Study Example
Consider a company that has deployed Oracle databases on a virtualized VMware environment. An Oracle reseller might tell them they must license every VMware cluster’s physical server, even if Oracle is only installed on one server.
This would be extremely costly. An independent licensing expert, however, might recommend segmenting the environment or using Oracle-approved tools to limit Oracle’s reach, resulting in significantly lower licensing costs.
Key Reasons to Work with Independent Oracle Licensing Experts
- Unbiased Advice: They work for you, not Oracle, and have no incentive to recommend more licenses than you need.
- Cost Savings Focus: Independent experts focus on reducing costs and optimizing your existing licenses.
- Avoiding Oracle Influence: They are not contractually bound to inform Oracle of your non-compliance, which keeps your review private and reduces audit risk.
- Expertise in Grey Areas: They provide balanced interpretations of Oracle’s policies and help defend those interpretations during Oracle inquiries.
- Audit Defense: Independent experts can also help if Oracle initiates an audit. They know how Oracle operates and can help you navigate the audit process while protecting your interests.
Read about who the best Oracle licensing experts are.
Conclusion: The Choice is Clear
When conducting an Oracle license review, it’s crucial to consider who is truly on your side. Oracle resellers and partners are incentivized to sell more licenses and report compliance issues.
Verified by Oracle SAM partners, they are essentially ex-auditors with a continued vested interest in enforcing Oracle’s licensing policies in Oracle’s favor.
On the other hand, independent Oracle licensing experts have no ties to Oracle and no motivation beyond helping you minimize costs and ensure compliance. They provide a fair assessment of your current licensing position, offer strategies for cost optimization, and help you navigate the complexities of Oracle’s licensing policies in a way that benefits your organization, not Oracle.
Oracle licensing is notoriously complex, but choosing the right partner for your license review can turn complexity into an opportunity for savings and efficiency.
Independent experts are the only true allies in this process. They provide transparency, expertise, and cost-saving strategies that no Oracle-associated entity can match.
Read about what tools to use in an Oracle License Review.
FAQs
What are the main advantages of working with independent licensing experts? Independent experts offer unbiased advice, prioritize your cost savings, and provide licensing recommendations that benefit your organization, not Oracle.
Why should I avoid using Oracle resellers for a licensing review? Oracle resellers are incentivized to sell more licenses and may report compliance issues to Oracle, turning potential gaps into sales opportunities. This creates a conflict of interest.
How do SAM partners differ from independent experts? SAM partners are often ex-auditors working under Oracle’s influence. They align with Oracle’s views, often resulting in overly conservative recommendations and overpaying for licenses.
Independent Oracle licensing experts are motivated primarily by saving money for your organization. Unlike Oracle partners, they do not profit from license sales and must report compliance issues.
How do independent experts handle gray areas in Oracle licensing? Independent experts provide a balanced interpretation of licensing rules. They highlight Oracle’s perspective and show how to minimize costs through alternative, equally valid interpretations.
Are Oracle resellers required to report compliance issues? Yes, many Oracle resellers have agreements that require them to share business opportunities, including compliance gaps, with Oracle, which could lead to audits or license sales.
How can independent experts help in reducing licensing costs? They recommend optimizing your licensing environment, such as rightsizing licenses, removing unnecessary features, and offering cost-effective licensing structures.
Why do resellers offer free or discounted license reviews? Free or discounted reviews are often a strategy to find areas where they can sell more Oracle products, creating a revenue opportunity rather than focusing on reducing your expenses.
Can independent experts provide audit defense? Yes, independent licensing experts have experience defending against Oracle audits. They can help you navigate the audit process while protecting your interests and minimizing unnecessary costs.
How do Oracle licensing experts handle virtualization? Oracle often interprets virtualization rules in their favor, leading to higher licensing requirements. Independent experts can help you optimize your virtual environment to minimize licensing costs.
What is indirect usage, and how does it impact licensing? Indirect usage occurs when third-party applications access Oracle data. Independent experts ensure that all indirect users are accounted for in a way that minimizes licensing obligations.
What are restricted-use licenses, and how do they work? Restricted-use licenses are for specific Oracle technologies used in a limited capacity. Independent experts help ensure these restrictions are met without incurring additional licensing costs.
How do independent experts identify cost-saving opportunities? They thoroughly review your Oracle environment, identify unused or redundant licenses, and propose optimized licensing strategies to lower costs.
What is the Verified by Oracle SAM program? The SAM program comprises Oracle-aligned firms that closely follow Oracle’s licensing views. These firms often make conservative recommendations that lead to over-licensing.
Is it risky to use Oracle’s licensing partners for reviews? Yes, Oracle’s partners are likely to identify compliance gaps that align with Oracle’s financial interests, potentially leading to unnecessary purchases or increased costs.
Read more about our Oracle License Management Services.
