What is Oracle Support Rewards Program? 

The Oracle Support Rewards program is a great opportunity for customers to reduce their on-premises Oracle technology license support fees and incentivize the use of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. However, it’s important to carefully review the details of the program to understand how it may or may not apply to your specific needs. Keep in mind that it is only applicable to reducing on-premises Oracle technology license support fees, and cannot be used for on-premises applications such as Peoplesoft. Additionally, rewards are earned based on monthly consumption of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services, and may not be available to all customers. Despite these limitations, the Oracle Support Rewards program is a valuable opportunity for those who are eligible to take advantage of it and can help reduce costs for your organization.

• The Oracle Support Rewards program is a way for customers to earn credits towards their on-premises Oracle technology license support fees based on their consumption of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services.
• Customers can earn a minimum of 25% of their OCI Universal Credits as Support Rewards, with ULA customers earning 33%.
• Rewards can be applied to open invoices for technology support fees and are valid for 12 months from the date they are earned.
• Any workload running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, including non-Oracle applications, can accrue rewards.
• The program is intended to encourage the use of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and is only applicable to reducing on-premises Oracle technology license support fees, not on-premises applications such as Peoplesoft.

The long answer

What are Oracle Support Rewards?

Oracle has introduced a new program called Oracle Support Rewards to encourage customers to migrate to the cloud and save on software license support costs. If you are enrolled in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, you can earn rewards for using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services, which can be used to pay for support contracts for other eligible on-premises Oracle products. The more you use Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, the more rewards you can earn and the more you can save. Oracle Support Rewards are based on your Oracle Cloud Infrastructure subscription, and the rewards are accrued at the rate specified in your universal credits order document. They can be redeemed for support invoices for eligible products.

Under the new program, Oracle will offer a rebate of 25% on License Support for every dollar spent on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with an increased rebate of 33% for Oracle Unlimited License Agreement (ULA) customers. This means that all Oracle technology license support customers can now earn a minimum of 25% of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Universal Credits as Support Rewards, which can be applied to their next annual Oracle technology support bill. ULA customers can save even more, with rewards set at 33% of OCI Universal Credits. For example, a ULA customer with a $500,000 Oracle technology license support bill could completely offset this cost by migrating $1.5 million worth of workloads to OCI. When combined with the OCI Standard Volume Discount, customers can receive a total discount of 50% on their Oracle support fees.

Four things to know about Oracle Support Rewards

1. Oracle Support Rewards can only be used to reduce on-premises Oracle technology license support fees and not for on-premises applications such as Peoplesoft.
2. Oracle Support Rewards are earned based on the monthly consumption of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services and do not accrue until they are consumed.
3. Oracle Support Rewards can be used to pay for Software Update License and Support for Oracle Technology Programs but must be applied to open invoices and are only valid for 12 months from the date they are earned. It is the customer’s responsibility to track and use their rewards before they expire.
4. Any workload running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, including non-Oracle applications, can accrue Oracle Support Rewards that can be applied towards on-premises Oracle technology support fees.
5. Oracle hopes to encourage the use of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure by offering this program, as it has seen increased demand for its cloud services once customers begin using them.

How to redeem Oracle Support Rewards

To view and manage your Oracle Support Rewards as an OCI Administrator:

1. Go to the OCI Console, and under Governance & Administration, click Programs and Rewards.
2. Click Oracle Support Rewards.
3. On this page, you can view your rewards by subscription. The “Available Support Rewards” shows the total amount of accrued rewards you can use, “Redeemed Support Rewards” shows the total amount of rewards you have redeemed, “Current Contractual Rate” shows the rewards accrual rate, and “Expiring Soon” shows the amount of the reward that will expire within 30 days.
4. To authorize users to redeem rewards, click “Manage authorized users” and enter one or more email addresses. Click “Save” to confirm.
5. To redeem rewards, go back to the Oracle Support Rewards page and click “Redeem rewards.” This will redirect you to the Billing Center website.
6. Sign in to the Billing Center and go to the Invoices page. If you are eligible for Oracle Support Rewards, a message at the top of the page will indicate this.
7. To redeem rewards, click “Pay for an invoice” and confirm that you want to redeem rewards. You can choose to redeem all or a portion of your rewards if desired.
8. Click “Continue to Pay” and then “Submit Payment.” A success message will appear indicating the amount of the rewards applied to the invoice.
9. In the Order Summary, you can view the corresponding “Oracle Support Rewards Redeemed” line item amount that was applied to the payment.
10. The “Available Support Rewards,” “Redeemed,” and “Expiring Soon” amounts will update on the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Console’s Oracle Support Rewards page to reflect any redeemed rewards.

Pros and cons of Oracle Support Rewards

Pros of Oracle support Rewards

• If you are an Oracle technology license customer and are at the same time going to buy Oracle Cloud Services (OCI) and sign up for an annual flex, Oracle will give you a 25%/33% reduction of what you pay on your annual support fees.
• Oracle support fees are rising year on year, and it may be difficult to reduce them; this is one way for customers to use Oracle OCI and then reduce their costs for old on-premise licenses. 

Cons of Oracle Support Rewards

• It only applies to Oracle technology products, such as database and middleware licenses. It does not apply to Siebel, EBS, and JD Edwards licenses. 
• You need to consume the cloud services; it is not enough to purchase the cloud services; they must also be consumed.
• You need to do this manually after one year; this is not done automatically. This requires actions from Oracle customers. 

Expert Insight:

In summary, the Oracle Support Rewards program offers a unique opportunity for customers to reduce their on-premises Oracle technology license support fees by using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services. By earning credits based on their monthly consumption of OCI, customers can apply these credits towards their technology support fees, providing potential cost savings for their organization. ULA customers, in particular stand to benefit, as they can earn a higher percentage of their OCI Universal Credits as Support Rewards.

This may lead to more enterprise customers keeping active ULA instead of leaving the agreement, which has been a trend in the past few years.

How we can help:

Our company specializes in helping companies manage their Oracle OCI contract, optimize their consumption, and save money on their Oracle technology license support fees. We offer a range of services to assist with this, including:

1. Contract management: We can help you navigate the Oracle OCI contract process and ensure that you are getting the best deal possible based on your specific needs.
2. Consumption optimization: By analyzing your current Oracle OCI usage, we can identify areas where you may be overspending and provide recommendations on how to optimize your consumption to save money.
3. Support rewards management: If your company is enrolled in the Oracle Support Rewards program, we can help you track your rewards and ensure that they are being applied to your invoices in a timely manner. We can also provide guidance on how to maximize your rewards earnings.
4. Cost savings analysis: We can perform a thorough analysis of your Oracle OCI costs and provide recommendations on how to reduce your spending.

By partnering with us, you can have peace of mind knowing that your Oracle OCI contract, consumption, and support rewards are being properly managed, resulting in cost savings for your organization.