What are Oracle OCI Support Rewards?
- Incentive Program: Rewards customers for using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
- Eligibility: An active support contract for on-premise software and an OCI annual flex contract is required.
- Savings: Earn 25% of every dollar spent on OCI towards reducing on-premise support fees.
- Management: Customers must actively claim and apply rewards.
Oracle Support Rewards
Oracle Support Rewards is a program that reduces Oracle on-premises support costs when customers use Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). For every dollar spent on OCI, customers earn credits (25% or 33% of that spend) to offset their support fees.
This article explains how the program works, its key benefits and pitfalls, and offers guidance on maximizing its value.
Oracle Support Rewards Overview
Oracle created Support Rewards to encourage cloud adoption by giving back some of the money you spend on support. The idea is simple: use OCI more, and you save more on your Oracle support bills.
Customers with active Oracle support are eligible by signing an OCI Universal Credits cloud contract. As you consume OCI services, you earn reward credits based on that usage.
You can then apply those credits to future Oracle support renewal invoices for your on-premises software. It’s essentially a cloud-spend rebate on support fees to incentivize moving workloads to OCI.
How It Works
To use Support Rewards, you must be on an OCI Universal Credits plan (not a pay-as-you-go plan) and have Oracle include the program in your cloud contract. Once that’s in place, you earn credits for your OCI usage at a fixed rate: $0.25 per $1 of OCI spend (25% back), or $0.33 per $1 if you have an Unlimited License Agreement. These rewards accumulate on nearly all OCI services (except Oracle SaaS).
Credits accrue automatically each month and expire 12 months after they are issued.
You can apply them to upcoming Oracle support renewal invoices for your on-premises software. In practice, you subtract the credits from the amount due on your support bill at the time of renewal. (Note: Credits can’t be used to pay taxes on the invoice.)
Benefits
- Lower Support Costs: Every dollar earned in rewards is a dollar less paid for support, effectively returning some of your OCI spending to your IT budget.
- Significant Savings: With sufficient OCI use, some organizations have reduced their support bills by 50% or even eliminated them for a year.
Caveats and Limitations
- Requires OCI Investment: This isn’t a free discount – you must spend on OCI to get rewards. If you weren’t planning to use Oracle Cloud, you would simply be incurring additional costs.
- Only for Tech Support: Credits apply only to Oracle technology license support (database, middleware, etc.), and they have no value outside of paying support bills. They can’t be used for Oracle application support (ERP/CRM) or other services.
- Credits Expire: Rewards expire 12 months after they’re earned, so timing is important. Plan to use them by your next support renewal; otherwise, expired credits provide no value.
- Contract Trade-offs: You have to include this program in your OCI contract. Oracle may adjust your OCI discount when adding Support Rewards, so always evaluate the net effect. Also, some special Oracle agreements (like a ULA-to-cloud conversion) can’t overlap with Support Rewards.
Recommendations
- Enroll to Offset Support Costs: If you have large Oracle support bills and plan to use OCI, enroll in Support Rewards to reclaim some of that spend.
- Align Cloud Use with Renewals: Schedule OCI projects or ramp-ups before your support renewal dates so you have credits available when your support fees are due.
- Negotiate Upfront: Include Support Rewards in your OCI contract and confirm your accrual rate. Keep your existing OCI discounts intact so the credits are pure gain.
- Track and Redeem Credits: Monitor your accrued rewards and apply them to support invoices before they expire. Don’t let any credits go unused.
- Review Yearly: Each year, assess your savings. If your Oracle usage or cloud plans change, determine if the program remains viable.
Checklist
- Check Eligibility: Confirm you have Oracle tech licenses under support and an OCI Universal Credits plan. Ensure no contract or policy restrictions prevent you from participating.
- Estimate Credits: Forecast your OCI usage and calculate 25% (or 33%) of that spend to estimate how much support cost you could offset.
- Talk to Oracle: Ask your Oracle account manager to add Support Rewards to your OCI contract. Clarify how it works and if it affects any existing discounts or commitments.
- Choose Workloads for OCI: Identify which on-prem systems you can move to OCI, focusing on those that would consume significant OCI resources. Plan these migrations to maximize reward accrual before support renewal deadlines.
- Monitor and Apply Rewards: Track your Support Rewards balance in the OCI console. Before each support renewal, ensure you apply the credits you’ve earned so that none expire unused.
FAQ
Q: What are Oracle Support Rewards?
A: It’s a program where Oracle gives you credits toward your software support fees based on how much you spend on Oracle Cloud (OCI).
Q: How do we enroll and earn these rewards?
A: You enroll by signing an OCI Universal Credits agreement that includes Support Rewards; after that, as you use OCI, you automatically earn credits that you can apply to your support renewal bill.
Q: How much can we save with Support Rewards?
A: For every $1 spent on OCI, you get $0.25 off your support bill (or $0.33 if you have an unlimited license agreement). With heavy OCI use, some companies have even reduced their Oracle support costs to $0 for a year.
Q: Do the credits expire or have restrictions?
A: Yes. Credits expire 12 months after they’re earned, and they can only be used for Oracle technology support renewals, not for other services or any cash value. You need to use them promptly on eligible support bills.
Q: What are the downsides to this program?
A: The biggest is that you have to spend on OCI to get the benefit – if you weren’t going to use Oracle’s cloud, you’d just be adding cost. Oracle may also reduce other discounts when enrolling you, thereby reducing the net gain. And if you don’t use the credits before they expire, the savings vanish.
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