Industry Blog

Why Companies Should Beg Oracle For A License Audit

17th Nov 2020

Just kidding! However, not only are formal license audits from Oracle nothing to fear but also the outcome can work to your advantage. If this seems backward to you, then you have not seen Oracle be manipulated as we have. Of course, out-Oracle-ing Oracle at its own game is not easy.

This is where Remend comes in!

First, let’s define winning

Pay market-leading rates:

  • for the software you get quantifiable value from,
  • based on defensible license positions,
  • under flexible terms that hinder vendor lock-in.

There’s a lot to discuss (and write about) playing out in that definition of winning.

In the meantime, here are the top five reasons to either get audited by Oracle or recreate the dynamics that play out within a formal Oracle LMS audit:

1. Oracle does little to protect its own IP so you must. Oracle posts its software online as freely downloadable, requires no license keys, and enables installation at any unencumbered volume. Thus, if you care about IP protection (including your own), then you will work to ensure proper licensing among your publisher partners. While it’s not our job to help Oracle enforce its policies, we are not interested in helping companies steal software. This sentiment aligns with most of Oracle’s customers! The SAM Tools market is hot for this reason, but Oracle presents unique challenges. Our platform, Remender, analyzes Oracle installations as Oracle does, i.e., we help you understand and react to what Oracle cares about.

2. You are probably overpaying AND NO ONE KNOWS IT. Oracle has mastered vendor lock-in, so you must master vendor independence. This requires commercial analysis of (pre)existing software support payments, many of which initiated decades ago. Without a reason to uncover such inefficiency, most companies will continue making their Oracle payments forever and ever. Remend begins its engagements by reverse-engineering support payments into modern metrics, discounts, competitive comparisons, etc., to create a prospective savings strategy.

3. You know you are overpaying BUT DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. Most of Oracle’s customers know they have shelf-ware, use unsupported software versions, have no plans to upgrade, have options for more cost-effective, non-Oracle solutions, etc. Years of being told “no” by an Oracle support renewal representative have trained them to stop asking. Allow Remend to let you in on a secret: everyone at Oracle is trained to say no, but only a few can say yes, and you must find yourself on the phone with that person.

4. You know what to do BUT ARE AFRAID. Many of Oracle’s customers lack the courage to stand up for themselves. Sound dramatic? We see it all the time. What if Oracle audits us? Work with Remend to create a good outcome for yourself. What if Oracle cuts off our access to support? That can be mitigated. What if Oracle terminates our use-rights, issues a cease and desist, litigates, we go bankrupt, and end up homeless? You can always execute the crappy deal Oracle is offering; but in our experience, Oracle will acquiesce to a shrewd and quantifiable value proposition.

5. Get the dreaded audit out of the way so you can make clear-headed business decisions. We find that about 1 in 5 (at best) of our prospects engage us ahead of the audit-driven fire drill Oracle initiates to force itself onto customers. Proactively managing Oracle is simply not a priority and Oracle knows this. This is why Oracle has an audit department. If value-driven sales fail, then send an audit letter. Of course, Oracle LMS has historically struggled to market itself as a value-add because no one trusts the fox to guard the henhouse. The challenge is that Oracle can capitalize on technical complexity, policy-driven ambiguity, and aggressive sales/audits to advance its strategy.

What’s Next?

Remend quantifies your actual usage, interprets contracts and policies, and stands in the gap as an educated vendor manager on your behalf. Let’s chat about how we can optimize Oracle.