Oracle Unlimited License Agreement certification
CASE
STUDIES
Background
One of the biggest mobile operators in the region* experienced a problem with the ULA
certification. He concluded 2 ULA contracts and had no intention of proceeding with the
renewal. However Oracle Sales Reps insisted on renewing the ULA justifying this with
Oracle evaluation that leads to further growth of Oracle software use in the customer’s
complex environment. In case the customer refuses to renew the ULA, Oracle Reps
threaten a license audit
Challenge
The customer had a confrontation over the first ULA certification, which was challenged
by Oracle. This was getting more complicated with a challenging of VMware
infrastructure licensing. The ULA contract contained Oracle DB and a basic set of DB
options. The customer struggled with a choice:
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To insist on the full licensing of VMware infrastructure (this was challenged by Oracle). Additionally, it could cause problems if the Oracle license audit find nonULA DB options in use, and the customer could have to pay for the whole VMware environment
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To isolate the VMware infrastructure according to the Oracle requirements, that could also bring a potential challenge by the license audit if the customer reconfigured the virtual environment due to the needs of the business
The second ULA consisted of several additional options that were not included in the first ULA and that were required to be licensed at the same level as the DB from the first ULA.
Solution provided
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Usage assessment: Using our knowledge and experience we did the same license audit for the customer as Oracle usually does, identified potential non compliance
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Usage optimization: Based on results of the assessment we provided recommendation to address the non compliance issues to minimize the risks to zero
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VMware isolation: We helped the customer to develop, in agreement with Oracle, the VMware isolation strategy, including description of all the isolated VMware clusters
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Oracle licensing strategy: We planned software licensing within the customer environment for the next 3 years to prove for Oracle and the customer's management that there is no need to renew the ULA contract since the Oracle deployment will stay within the isolated VMware environment
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ULA certification: We helped the customer through the Oracle ULA certification process for both ULAs, filling in all the forms (GDR) and providing Oracle with all the necessary information
Quote from the IT Infrastructure Director:
We would like to express our gratitude to the contractor's team for the high-quality, successful and timely performance of the works on the legal and informational support project in the course of interaction with Oracle while completing the ULA certification over the period of 2014- 2020.
Despite the tight timeline and the complexity of the tasks at hand, the project was successfully completed with the maximum possible result achieved.
We would like to highlight the excellent organization, promptitude, high quality of the works performed, and professionalism of the contractor's specialists with unique expertise in the field of the Oracle software licensing.
The contractor has confirmed its status of a reliable and professional partner who can be entrusted with the implementation of most complex and important projects.
Solution provided (continued)
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License use monitoring system: We developed a monitoring system that provides
real-time information about the Oracle software usage within the VMware clusters
and standalone servers (see screenshots). This allow IT management to see all the
shortfalls and surpluses in a dashboard.
Result
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The customer avoided the payment of $13mln of real money for the ULA renewal
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Successful completion of both of the Oracle ULA certification with confirmation of the number of Oracle software licenses agreed upon by the Customer
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Proved to Oracle his position and built a strategy for Oracle licensing for the next 3 years
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Deployed the real-time software use monitoring system and can anytime demonstrate the usage numbers to Oracle and prove the compliance status
Author
Andrey Khodunov worked for Oracle for more than 15 years, 11 of them in Oracle License Management Services (LMS), an Oracle division that performs license audits and other software licensing services.
Performed hundreds of audits for large and small enterprises. Worked in different
industries, regions and with multiple teams in Oracle and customers.
After Oracle Andrey worked as Director of software licensing in a large company from the financial sector where he obtained a deep understanding of internal customer processes and the place of software license management.
Over 30 years in IT. Professional certifications: ITIL, PRINCE2, PMP, CSAM.
* This document describes a real customer case. To protect sensitive customer's information all direct identifiers, e.g., name, location and other details of the project have been removed.