Oracle ULA Case Study: U.S. Insurance Group Successfully Certifies Out of Oracle ULA
Oracle ULA Case Study – How a U.S. Insurance Group Saved $8M by Certifying Instead of Renewing
Background
- Industry & Country: Financial services (insurance), United States
- Oracle Footprint: Hundreds of Oracle Database instances supporting policy management and claims, plus Oracle middleware for integration
- ULA Details: 5-year Oracle Unlimited License Agreement covering Oracle Database Enterprise Edition and WebLogic, nearing its expiration
Challenges
- M&A complexity: The insurer had acquired two smaller companies during the ULA period, bringing Oracle systems not originally in the ULA’s scope. They risked compliance issues if those deployments weren’t addressed before Oracle ULA certification.
- Lack of visibility: With multiple IT teams across divisions, the company had no single inventory of Oracle usage. Undiscovered databases or middleware instances could derail the certification with uncounted licenses.
- Renewal pressure: Oracle’s sales team was urging an Oracle ULA renewal at a steep cost. The CFO, under cost-cutting mandates, wanted to avoid renewing the unlimited license if at all possible.
- Complex environment: Some Oracle workloads ran on VMware clusters and AWS cloud instances. Without careful license management, virtualization and cloud deployments could violate terms and incur huge fees post-ULA.
How Oracle Licensing Experts Helped
- Comprehensive license assessment: Oracle Licensing Experts conducted an enterprise-wide Oracle license audit, cataloging every Oracle database and middleware deployment, including those from acquisitions. This Oracle license optimization review identified all usage that needed to be covered in the certification.
- Remediation of risks: The team pinpointed Oracle products deployed outside the ULA scope (for example, an acquired company’s Oracle Analytics server). They either retired these instances or arranged proper licensing so they wouldn’t jeopardize compliance. In the VMware environment, consultants advised reconfiguring hosts (pinning Oracle workloads to specific servers) to limit the processors requiring licensing. Cloud deployments were reviewed to ensure they met contractual requirements or could be shifted on-premises temporarily.
- ULA certification strategy: With a complete usage map, Oracle Licensing Experts developed a strategy to maximize the insurer’s certified license counts. They recommended the client fully utilize their Oracle ULA rights by expanding certain deployments before the term ended – effectively “locking in” additional licenses at no extra cost. Meanwhile, they prepared all documentation for Oracle ULA certification, including accurate counts of processors and users for each product.
- Negotiation and guidance: Oracle initially suggested a costly renewal as the only safe path, but the team demonstrated that certifying out was viable and far more cost-effective. They resisted Oracle’s push to renew by backing every license claim with hard data, leaving no room for doubt about compliance. Finally, the experts guided the company through the formal certification letter submission and ensured Oracle acknowledged the exit without any fees.
Outcome
- Successful certification: The insurer exited the ULA on schedule, securing perpetual licenses for all in-scope Oracle software. Approximately 15,000 Oracle Database licenses and 5,000 WebLogic licenses were certified, representing an estimated $30 million in Oracle license value at list prices.
- No compliance exposure: All Oracle deployments – including those from acquisitions – were either certified or properly licensed, resulting in zero compliance findings. The feared $5+ million audit exposure was eliminated.
- Cost savings: By avoiding a renewal, the company saved an estimated $8 million over three years in fees and support costs. They also optimized their Oracle support spend by rightsizing licenses and can now explore third-party support for additional savings.
- Improved governance: The project left the insurer with a centralized Oracle asset inventory and stronger internal license management processes, reducing risk going forward.
Executive Quote
“We faced a tangle of Oracle systems after years of growth and acquisitions. The prospect of Oracle ULA certification was intimidating. Oracle Licensing Experts brought order to the chaos. They uncovered every deployment, fixed our compliance issues, and led us through a seamless certification. We ended up saving millions by not renewing. I finally have full confidence that we’re in control of our Oracle licenses.”
— CIO, U.S. Insurance Group
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