How is the relationship between Oracle and its customers who want to leave Oracle?

Founded in 1977, Oracle Corporation became the world's largest database management company in just 10 years, with $100 million in revenue and over 4,500 users worldwide by 1987. Its leadership in database and cloud infrastructure provision has never been contested as in 2021, the Gartner Magic Quadrant (a reference in technology company analysis) awarded it the title of leader for the 6th consecutive year. But… the rise of new technologies like the cloud challenges the contractual and remuneration models of publishers, deemed archaic, unsuitable, or even abusive. The strategic choices made under shareholder pressure to maintain their position and revenues do not necessarily align with a claimed editor-client partnership, as the installed base can no longer continue to grow.

The cause of discontent

In response to this situation, discontent is organizing with organizations such as Cigref (an association of the 150 largest French companies and public administrations) and its European counterpart, EuroCIO, leading the way. These associations note a continuous deterioration in relations between Oracle and user companies in France and across Europe. The climax of this distrust stems from the lack of response to a letter co-signed by Cigref and EuroCIO to obtain agreements between Oracle and VMware on virtualization. Since then, the community's dissatisfaction has only grown, while the quality of the relationship between publisher and user is crucial, considering the competitiveness, agility, and performance stakes.

Main reasons for user dissatisfaction

Among the practices criticized by users are the "ratchet effect," which consists of ensuring increasing revenues through continuous adaptation of metrics, planned obsolescence of licenses (end of support, upward compatibility issues), tied sales... Another criticized practice is the abusive use of license audits to check license use compliance against contracts, aiming to penalize license decommissioning and third-party maintenance usage. Billing for so-called indirect access is also part of the publishers' arsenal to generate revenue. Oracle has tightened the screws in businesses by integrating Java licenses into its license audits, allowing it to charge fees for previously free Java SE.

What users say

The EuroCIO study conducted in 2016 among CIOs of a hundred major European companies illustrates user dissatisfaction. It reveals that:

• 80% find Oracle's contract models too rigid and unsuitable for market flexibility needs and new uses.
• 75% find the license model also too rigid.
• 60% prefer to have an alternative solution.
• And 50% are working on an exit scenario.

The decline in cloud adoption and the increase in exit strategies were highlighted in a new 2018 EuroCIO survey.

The second-hand license, a sustainable alternative to escape publishers' diktat

Migrating an Oracle IS to an open-source alternative solution is possible. The French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) did it, but it's a massive project. There is another equally effective solution to combat planned obsolescence and the publisher's abusive practices on cloud technologies: the on-premise second-hand license. By relying on an accurate audit of your Oracle licenses and your users' functional needs, you can optimize your software and hardware assets by integrating perfectly compliant second-hand Oracle on-premise licenses.

By joining the Softcorner marketplace, the European leader in the second-hand license market, you can buy your second-hand licenses cheaper and sell your decommissioned Oracle licenses on the secondary market.