Upon first speaking to a prospective client, we always pose the question, “Do you know your Oracle license compliance position?” Inevitably, we get one of the following four responses:
· “Kind of”
· “We think we do”
· “I think Joe the DBA knows”
· “Maybe...we have an idea”
None of these answers exhibit the confidence one would expect from a corporation whose investment is in the millions of dollars, as is often the case, with Oracle licensing. Most Oracle customers pay their support bills and assume that they are “good to go” or that things are at least, under control with Oracle. Unfortunately, this is hardly the case. Your payment of Oracle’s high-dollar support invoices, year after year, does not equate to Oracle compliance. You can routinely pay your bills, and still be millions of dollars out of compliance.
Most Oracle clients, especially large organizations, cannot pinpoint precisely where their support spend is going. Most companies don’t even know for certain if they are over-paying, under-paying, or expending exactly the right amount. Oracle support is a complex black box in which Fortune 1000 companies and government entities across the globe contribute each year, and hope the piper never comes knocking. Unfortunately, he always does... the piper will eventually make it to your front door. We know this because the audit clause, found in your Master Agreement(s), grants Oracle the right to audit your compliance at any time (in most cases).
Standard Oracle Audit Clause (recently updated by Oracle):
"Upon 45 days written notice, Oracle may audit Your use of the Programs to ensure Your use of the Programs is in compliance with the terms of the applicable order and the Master Agreement. Any such audit shall not unreasonably interfere with Your normal business operations.
You agree to cooperate with Oracle’s audit and provide reasonable assistance and access to information reasonably requested by Oracle. Such assistance shall include, but shall not be limited to, the running of Oracle data measurement tools on Your servers and providing the resulting data to Oracle. The performance of the audit and non-public data obtained during the audit (including findings or reports that result from the audit) shall be subject to the provisions of section 8 (Nondisclosure) of the General Terms.
If the audit identifies non-compliance, You agree to remedy (which may include, without limitation, the payment of any fees for additional licenses for Programs) such non-compliance within 30 days of written notification of that non-compliance. If You do not remedy the non-compliance, Oracle can end (a) Program- related Service Offerings (including technical support), (b) Program licenses ordered under this Schedule P and related agreements and/or (c) the Master Agreement. You agree that Oracle shall not be responsible for any of Your costs incurred in cooperating with the audit."
Imagine this common scenario:
A CIO gets an audit letter from Oracle. CIO passes it to someone below him, perhaps VP of IT, the VP of IT seeks the guidance of “Joe the DBA,” who he thought knew their Oracle license position. As it turns out Joe doesn’t know and thought “Bob the System Administrator” was the expert in the company's Oracle license position, and Bob thought “Jessica in IT Applications” was managing compliance. As it turns out, in the end, no one truly knew or knows the license position of that organization. This is when sheer panic inevitably sets in, and you now have 12 people of the organization who are all of a sudden, highly concerned about the Oracle license position. Rightfully so, since Oracle will be expecting a response in 45 days.
Here’s the sad truth. You will never accidentally be in compliance with Oracle. It is something that you must consciously plan for and actively manage. There is really no alternative as, literally, millions of dollars are at stake. Don’t allow your organization to reach the point where an Oracle audit is not in your control because no one put the time or resources in to stay on top of your Oracle compliance and results in an overriding, gigantic issue for your organization. Every organization should be able to declare with absolute assurance, “I KNOW my Oracle compliance position” at every moment.
Contact Olitech Solutions today, if your answer to whether you know your Oracle License Position, sounds a little “iffy”. Let us help you reach a level of certainty that affirms confidence in your compliance position with Oracle, reduces your risk of unexpected financial expenditures, and eliminates the headaches most people get when they try to decipher their Oracle license position.
_________________
By Melissa Cortale
Melissa Cortale is a leading global expert in Oracle licensing. Melissa has been working with Oracle licensing for over a decade, half of which she worked for Oracle, where she gained extensive knowledge of Oracle’s licensing, support policies, business practices, and go-to-market strategies. Melissa is a frequent speaker at software asset management industry conferences and trade shows, such as IAITAM ACE and IBSMA SAM Summit, on the topics of Oracle licensing, Oracle contracts, and overall Oracle SAM best practices. Melissa has taught Oracle licensing classes for multiple organizations across the US and abroad.