Top 15 Facts About Moving to Oracle Third-Party Support

Top 15 Facts About Moving to Oracle Third-Party Support

Executive Summary

Oracle’s official support model for enterprise software is notoriously expensive and restrictive. Many CIOs and IT leaders are now exploring third-party support (like Rimini Street) to cut costs by ~50% and extend the life of stable Oracle systems.

This article provides an in-depth advisory on transitioning to Oracle third-party support.

It covers cost savings, risks (audit and upgrade considerations), contract tips, and best practices, culminating in actionable recommendations and an FAQ for enterprise decision-makers.

Read Returning to Oracle Support: 15 Strategic Insights for Enterprise CIOs.

The High Cost of Oracle Support

Oracle charges annual support fees of about 22% of the license price, with typical 8% yearly inflation increases. Support costs can double roughly every 9 years, even if you do not receive new features.

For example, a company paying £401k in Oracle support in Year 1 could pay over £1.2M by Year 10 due to compounded increases and extended support premiums.

Oracle’s “Lifetime Support” policy guarantees support availability, but after the initial 5-year Premier Support period, you start paying more for less:

• Extended Support (years 6-8) adds 10–20% surcharges to the 22% fee for specific products to keep getting patches longer.
• Sustaining Support (year 9 onward) costs 22% (plus inflation) annually but provides no new patches or updates, only access to Oracle’s knowledge base and existing fixes. In short, you keep paying full price even when Oracle stops delivering tangible support.

Figure: Example Oracle support cost escalation for Oracle Database licenses over 10 years. Annual fees more than triple due to the standard 22% fee compounded with ~8% yearly increases and extra Extended Support uplifts in years 6–8.

By year 10 (on Sustaining Support), the company is paying over 200% more than year 1, despite receiving no new updates.

This high-cost trajectory, combined with Oracle’s push toward cloud subscriptions, has IT leaders seeking alternatives.

Third-party support has emerged as the primary way to reclaim the budget from Oracle maintenance and avoid the vendor’s forced upgrade cycle.

Why Enterprises Are Switching to Third-Party Support

Third-party support providers (the leading firms are Rimini Street and Spinnaker Support) offer maintenance services for Oracle databases, applications (E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, etc.), and middleware at a fraction of Oracle’s price.

Key motivations for switching include:

• 50% Cost Savings on Fees: Third-party support typically costs about half of Oracle’s annual support fee. For instance, Rimini Street advertises 50% lower maintenance fees, meaning an effective ~11% of license cost vs. Oracle’s 22%. These savings can free up millions in the IT budget for innovation or other projects.
• No Forced Upgrades: Oracle often pressures customers to upgrade versions or migrate to the cloud to retain full support. Third-party support lets you run stable, older versions indefinitely with full support. You avoid costly upgrade projects to stay supported. (In fact, some clients save up to 90% of the total by avoiding hardware, software, and retraining costs that Oracle’s upgrades would require.)
• Extended Lifespan for Legacy Systems: If you have an Oracle system that “just works” for your business, a third-party provider will keep it running well beyond Oracle’s end-of-support dates. This is critical for ERP systems you want to keep for 10- 15+ years without disruption.
• Personalized Service: Many enterprises report better, more responsive support from third-party vendors. Rimini Street, for example, assigns senior engineers to accounts and often provides faster response times for critical issues (measured in minutes). The support model is more high-touch without Oracle’s complex ticket escalation tiers.
• Global and Industry Coverage: Third-party support is a proven approach that thousands of organizations use globally. As of 2024, Rimini Street has over 3,000 active clients, including Fortune 500 companies and public sector agencies worldwide. Industries ranging from manufacturing and retail to aerospace and government have successfully adopted this approach, indicating broad applicability.

In short, third-party support offers immediate cost relief and operational flexibility. Enterprises can redirect funds from maintenance, “keeping the lights on,” to strategic initiatives while reliably maintaining their Oracle systems through an independent vendor.

Oracle Support vs. Third-Party Support – Key Differences

Understanding how independent support differs from Oracle’s official support in practice is important. The table below compares critical aspects:

In summary, Third-party support can slash ongoing support fees and support your systems beyond Oracle’s timeline. Still, you won’t get Oracle-delivered patches or automatic rights to upgrade.

You’re essentially swapping Oracle’s high-cost, one-size-fits-all support for a cheaper, tailored service, with the trade-off that you forego Oracle’s future updates unless you return to Oracle later.

Risks and Challenges of Moving Off Oracle Support

Switching to independent support brings essential risks and considerations to address:

• Security and Patches: You won’t receive Oracle’s official security patches or product updates from Oracle support. Third-party providers offer fixes and guidance (for example, they may develop a patch for a known bug or advise on configuration to mitigate a vulnerability). However, some critical vulnerabilities might only be fully fixed by upgrading to a new Oracle release – something you’d have to weigh carefully. Companies should patch all systems to the latest available update from Oracle before leaving and have a plan for ongoing security monitoring under third-party support.
• Compliance and Audits: You still must adhere to Oracle’s license terms. Moving to third-party support does not cancel your license; you retain the right to use the software, just not Oracle’s support services. Oracle can still audit your usage. Some organizations fear leaving Oracle support might increase audit scrutiny (since Oracle knows you’re no longer a paying support customer). It’s critical to ensure license compliance (processor counts, user counts, virtualization rules, etc.) before and after the switch. Without an active Oracle support contract, any compliance gaps discovered could result in hefty back-license fees without the possibility of negotiating as part of a renewal.
  Audit Tip: Oracle has a “Matching Support Levels” rule – basically, you cannot keep some product licenses on Oracle support while others are unsupported. Attempting this will trigger contract penalties. The safe route is to move all licenses of a given Oracle product or module to the third-party provider and formally terminate Oracle support.
• No New Features: By design, third-party support keeps you on top of your current software versions. If Oracle releases new features or improvements, you won’t get them. For some, this is acceptable (the system is mature and sufficient). But if your business later decides it needs a new Oracle feature or a significant upgrade (say, moving from EBS 12.1 to 12.2 or Database 19c to 21c), you would have to re-enroll in Oracle support or purchase new licenses to get that upgrade. Re-enrolling can be expensive (Oracle typically charges backdated support fees for the lapsed period plus a 50% penalty). This risk can be mitigated by strategic planning: only move to third-party support for systems you plan to keep on the same version for several years, and keep an eye on Oracle’s roadmap for any must-have innovations.
• Vendor Lock and Viability: Choosing a third-party provider means entrusting them with mission-critical support. Ensure you vet the provider’s track record. Rimini Street and Spinnaker have been in this business for over a decade, but as smaller firms, they do not have Oracle’s vast resources. There’s a dependency risk: if the provider faces financial issues or legal injunctions (Oracle has sued third-party providers in the past), your support could be impacted. Mitigate this by choosing a well-established provider with strong references and including escape clauses in your contract (for example, the ability to leave if service levels drop).
• Legal Considerations: Third-party support is legal for customers to use, but providers must be careful not to infringe on Oracle’s intellectual property. Oracle’s famous lawsuit against Rimini Street (an 8-year battle) resulted in an injunction prohibiting Rimini from certain practices (like copying Oracle’s patch code outright). Today, reputable third-party firms follow strict protocols: they only use your legally obtained materials and write their fixes. As the customer, you generally are not a party to these disputes, but you should be aware of them. It’s wise to review the provider’s legal indemnification clauses – top vendors will defend you if Oracle ever raises an issue with how support is delivered. In practice, thousands of companies (including highly regulated government agencies) use third-party support, indicating confidence in its legality when done correctly.
• Internal Resistance: Finally, expect internal pushback from Oracle-friendly stakeholders or those cautious of change. Oracle sales reps will aggressively try to retain your support dollars, possibly offering short-term discounts or raising the fear of “risk” if you leave. Be ready to build a strong internal case: document the cost savings, identify low-risk systems to move, and perhaps start with a non-production or less critical environment to prove the concept. Over-communicate the plan to executives and be clear that you can always revert to Oracle support if needed (it’s not irreversible, just potentially costly, as noted).

Preparing for a Smooth Transition

If you decide to proceed with third-party support, careful preparation is essential.

Here are the key steps to ensure a safe transition:

• 1. Inventory and Baseline Your Licenses: Compile an inventory of your Oracle licenses and deployments. Make sure you understand your license entitlements, usage, and any dependencies. Resolve any known compliance issues before leaving Oracle support. (You do not want an unresolved license violation while out-of-contract – that’s when Oracle has maximum leverage.)
• 2. Download All Patches and Documentation: While you still have an active Oracle support login, download the latest patches, updates, and technical documentation for your products. After termination, you may lose access to Oracle’s support portal, so archive everything you might need (installation files, patch sets, user guides, etc.). This ensures your third-party provider can work with the most recent code baseline.
• 3. Stabilize on a Supported Version: It’s generally wise to upgrade to the latest stable version (that you have rights to) before switching. For example, if you’re on Oracle Database 12c and entitled to 19c under your contract, consider upgrading to 19c while under Oracle support, then move to third-party support. Being on a recent stable release means fewer existing bugs and longer usability. Third-party vendors will support any version, but you want to start from a solid foundation.
• 4. Time the Move Strategically: Align the support switch with your contract renewal cycle. Oracle requires 30-90 days’ notice (check your contract) to cancel support. Plan to give notice after you’ve prepared everything (patches downloaded, etc.). Also, consider any critical projects or audits – don’t switch in the middle of a major implementation or right before a planned Oracle audit if you can help it. Ideally, the transition occurs during a relatively quiet period for that system.
• 5. Engage a Trusted Provider Early: Involve the third-party support provider in the planning. Reputable providers often offer a transition service or onboarding project. They will assign a project manager to ensure continuity of support, set up knowledge transfer, and monitor for any hiccups when Oracle support is cut off. Leverage their experience – they have transitioned hundreds of clients and can guide them through pitfalls.
• 6. Update Contracts & Notify Oracle: Follow the formal process to terminate or non-renew Oracle support for the specific licenses. Oracle will send a quote for renewal – you need to send back a written notice that you are discontinuing support for those licenses (listing the CSI numbers or contract identifiers). Also, remove any auto-renew clauses if applicable. Oracle may respond with “pricing adjustments” for remaining support, since the policy is to reprice any licenses you keep on support at a higher rate once others drop off. Be prepared for that and ensure you’re dropping everything you intend for that product line to avoid surprises.
• 7. Communication and Contingency: Inform your IT support teams and end-users of a new support model. They should know how to contact the third-party support helpdesk and what to expect. Also, maintain a contingency plan: for example, if the third-party support arrangement doesn’t meet expectations after a year, you could budget to return to Oracle support (understanding the cost to reinstate). Having this backup plan can reassure stakeholders who are on the fence.

By methodically addressing these steps, companies can transition to third-party support with minimal disruption and immediately capture the benefits.

Recommendations

Moving to Oracle third-party support can yield significant savings and flexibility.

Based on industry best practices, here are the key recommendations for enterprise leaders:

• Analyze Your Support Spend and Usage: Identify which Oracle systems are stable and over-serviced (e.g., paying high fees but rarely logging support tickets or needing updates). Target these for third-party support first to maximize savings with minimal risk.
• Build a Strong Business Case: Quantify the 5-year or 10-year cost savings of third-party support (including direct maintenance fee cuts and avoided upgrade costs). Present this alongside risk mitigation plans to win executive buy-in.
• Ensure License Compliance Before Switching: Conduct a thorough internal license audit (or use a third-party licensing expert) before you drop Oracle support. Resolve any issues (true-up if needed) so you leave Oracle in good standing, reducing the chances of an immediate audit or penalty.
• Leverage Third-Party Quotes in Negotiations: Even if you’re not 100% sure about leaving Oracle, obtain a quote from a provider like Rimini Street. Oracle sales might offer discounts or an “Early Renewal” deal when they know you’re considering alternatives. Use this competitive pressure to negotiate better terms, whether you stay on Oracle support or switch.
• Choose a Reputable Support Provider: Vet the third-party vendor’s experience with your specific Oracle products and industry. Check references and success stories. Ensure they cover critical needs like security patching approach and regulatory updates (especially if you run Oracle ERP with payroll, tax, or legal requirements).
• Negotiate Contract Protections: In your contract with the third-party provider, include SLAs for response and resolution times and an indemnification clause protecting you from Oracle IP litigation. Also, clarify what happens if you need help upgrading in the future – some providers offer advisory services, while others may not.
• Maintain Good Documentation: Keep records of your Oracle license entitlements, Oracle’s confirmation of support termination, and all patch levels at the time of the switch. This documentation is invaluable in case of future audits or if you later re-engage Oracle.
• Monitor and Reassess Periodically: Treat the third-party support arrangement as part of your IT strategy. Review the quality of support regularly. If Oracle dramatically changes its pricing or if a new version becomes critical to you, be ready to revisit the decision. The goal is to maximize value, whether that means continuing with independent support or renegotiating with Oracle down the line.

By following these recommendations, organizations can confidently avoid Oracle’s high-cost support regime and unlock more value from their IT budgets.

FAQ

Q1: What is third-party support for Oracle software?
A: Third-party support means using an independent company (not Oracle) to provide software maintenance and support for your licensed Oracle products. Instead of paying Oracle’s annual support fee, you pay a provider like Rimini Street to handle break-fix support, troubleshoot issues, and even deliver updates (like tax and regulatory patches) for your Oracle systems. You still legally own and use your Oracle licenses, but Oracle itself does not provide you with support services.

Q2: Is it legal to switch to a third-party support provider?
A: Yes – if you own valid licenses, you can choose who maintains your software. No law or contract clause forces you to buy Oracle’s support. However, you must remain in compliance with your license terms. The third-party provider must also operate legally (they cannot use Oracle’s copyrighted patch code without permission). Major providers have adapted their processes after court cases to ensure the service is legal. Thousands of Oracle customers, including government agencies, use third-party support without legal issues.

Q3: How much money can we save by using third-party support?
A: Most companies see 50% lower annual support fees immediately. For example, if you’re paying Oracle $2M annually, a third-party firm might charge about $1M for equivalent (or better) support service. Additionally, you save indirectly by not having to perform expensive forced upgrades or hardware refreshes to stay supported. Over a few years, these avoided costs can make up an even larger portion – some reports cite up to 90% total savings when including upgrade project costs, staff time, etc. It’s one of the quickest ways to reduce IT operating expenses while keeping your existing systems running.

Q4: What types of Oracle products are suitable for third-party support?
A: Typically, Oracle’s on-premise software is stable in your environment. This includes Oracle Database, Oracle Middleware (WebLogic), and enterprise applications like Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Siebel, Hyperion, Oracle Retail, and Oracle Agile PLM. Many companies also use third-party support for Oracle Fusion Middleware and older Oracle applications, which Oracle has put in sustaining support. In short, if you run an Oracle product in-house (or on the IaaS cloud) and have a perpetual license for it, you can use third-party support. Oracle SaaS or Oracle Cloud subscriptions are not applicable – those include support as part of the subscription and can’t be split off.

Q5: What are the risks of leaving Oracle’s official support?
A: The most significant risk is not getting Oracle’s patches or guaranteed compatibility with new technology. You have to rely on a third party for fixes, which will provide for known issues, but they won’t have Oracle’s internal development resources. Security updates can be a concern – you’ll need a plan to handle vulnerabilities (the provider often gives guidance or custom patches, but some customers also mitigate risk with network security tools or by upgrading specific components). Another risk is that if you need a new Oracle feature or version, you’d have to return to Oracle and potentially pay backdated fees. Also, Oracle could be less cooperative with you (for example, they won’t assist with issues since you’re not a support customer, and they might enforce audits strictly). Lastly, ensure the third-party vendor’s longevity – if something happened to them, you’d need a backup plan (either another provider or returning to Oracle).

Q6: Can we still apply Oracle’s past patches and fixes after we leave?
A: Yes, any patches or updates that Oracle provided while you were a customer remain valid for you to use. Ensure you download all the latest patches you’re entitled to before your support ends. After the switch, you won’t get new patches from Oracle, but you can continue to apply any existing patch archives you have. Your third-party support partner can help with this and will likely have you on the latest patch level at the moment of transition. Post-transition, if new issues arise, the third party will either find a workaround or, in some cases, create a custom fix (they won’t have Oracle issuing an official patch). Essentially, you freeze on a particular patch level and maintain from there.

Q7: What happens if we want to upgrade to a newer Oracle version in the future?
A: You have a couple of options. If you anticipate needing a major upgrade, you could plan a temporary re-enrollment with Oracle support when the time comes. Still, Oracle will charge a hefty price (typically all the years of back support fees you missed, plus a reinstatement penalty). Some companies factor this in and save money overall by being off support for several years, then paying to upgrade later if necessary. Another option is to purchase new licenses for the new version (which might be cheaper than back support in some cases). The key is to evaluate the likelihood and business need for an upgrade. If upgrades are essential in the near term, staying with Oracle support might be better for that system. Many firms that choose third-party support choose alternative paths when modernizing, for example, eventually replacing the Oracle system with a cloud SaaS or a different solution, rather than upgrading Oracle. In any case, it’s not a “point of no return” , you can return to Oracle; it costs money, so plan for it if needed.

Q8: Will Oracle know we are using third-party support, and will they treat us differently?
A: Oracle will know if you cancel support on specific licenses (since you have to notify them and they update their records). You may even be contacted by Oracle reps trying to win back your business or inform you of “risks.” In terms of treatment, you won’t have access to Oracle’s support or their My Oracle Support portal anymore, by definition. Also, if you call Oracle for any issue, they’ll check if you have a support contract and typically refuse service if not. Regarding audits: Oracle’s license audits are often triggered by business events (like mergers or simply on a schedule). Not being a support customer might put you on their radar since you’re not contributing recurring revenue. Some anecdotal evidence suggests Oracle may be more motivated to audit former support customers. This doesn’t mean you’ll be audited, but you should be prepared. Treat compliance with utmost importance and keep communication professional if Oracle reaches out. You can always engage a third-party license consultant or legal advisor to help manage an audit, especially since you won’t have an active Oracle account team helping you at that point.

Q9: Are there other third-party support providers besides Rimini Street?
A: Yes. Rimini Street is the largest and most well-known (supporting Oracle, SAP, and other products globally). Still, others like Spinnaker Support and Support Revolution (UK-based) specialize in Oracle third-party maintenance. Some smaller regional firms exist, too. Additionally, there are niche support options for certain Oracle products (like Java or MySQL) (for example, companies like Azul provide support for Java). When choosing, ensure the provider has expertise in your Oracle product version. Check how many clients they have for that product and request customer testimonials. Competition in this space is growing, which is suitable for customers because it provides options and keeps quality high.

Q10: What should we tell Oracle when we cancel support? Should we mention switching to Rimini Street?
A: You don’t have to volunteer that information. When canceling or not renewing Oracle support, you typically send a formal notice stating you will not renew support for specific licenses, effective on the contract end date. You are not obligated to tell Oracle your reasons. Some companies choose to inform their Oracle account manager as a courtesy. You might even use it as a negotiation tactic (“We’re moving to XYZ provider unless you can significantly reduce our cost”). Oracle will likely try to persuade you to stay, possibly by pointing out that third-party support won’t give you upgrades or by offering a discount. If your mind is made up, keep the communication professional and straightforward. After you leave, Oracle might send surveys or reach out occasionally, but you have no obligation to respond beyond the formal requirements. Just ensure all dues are paid, and you have written confirmation of termination. Once off support, your interaction with Oracle will primarily be limited to license audits or any new purchases you choose to make in the future.

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