As part of this month’s SAMPanel, we asked Libby Phillipps of License Dashboard to share her thoughts on the Perpetual User License plan Oracle is potentially introducing.

Here was her response…

In PULA (Perpetual User License Agreement), Oracle is about to offer customers all-you-can-eat license for its core database.

The full details of PULA are still difficult to come by, but it’s looking like this move to perpetuity in licensing should be an improvement for Oracle customers, particularly for current ULA organisations, but naturally we’ll have to wait and see just how the costs ultimately compare. At face value it would appear that larger, qualifying Oracle customers have the potential to see huge benefits if they move to PULA. Oracle have listened to their customers’ feedback and have made the ability to manage their Databases easier than ever before whilst removing the unpredictability of actual usage levels. Organizations will also avoid the capital expenditure hurdle at the beginning of the contract (moving the cost from capital to operational) and, most importantly, eliminate the possibility of nasty surprises following an audit and the inevitability of a true up. Ultimately, the PULA offers the opportunity to better plan and predict Oracle spend based on a fixed annual fee.

As we understand it, Oracle establish a fee based upon the size of a customer’s estate and the user will pay the fee for unlimited deployment of Databases and options. Although it’s looking like PULA will cost more than Oracle’s ULA, this is a step away from restrictive licensing terms and a step toward a tailored, easy-to-manage service.

The only bit that we’re struggling to understand at License Dashboard is what will be hidden in the Perpetual User License Agreement itself: Can the customer carry on using other products with this agreement in place? Will Oracle customers be permitted to use other databases such as SQL Server or competitive software products such as VMWare? If, as has been implied, it turns out users are committed to using Oracle’s software over the competition what impact could this have elsewhere in the business where such products may be already ingrained and deployed or a component piece of their technological roadmap?

About the Author

Libby Phillipps | Marketing and Events Co-ordinator with License Dashboard | Connect with Libby

Always looking to make the working lives of her clients that little bit easier, Libby Phillipps is dedicated to helping IT, Finance, Procurement and SAM professionals deliver savings to their organization with License Dashboard. She is also crazy about her pooch Kes and have a love hate relationship with aerobics and running…

About License Dashboard

A global leader in Software Asset Management, License Dashboard combine unrivalled software licensing expertise with professionally-developed software solutions designed to help both large and fast-growing organizations manage their software expenditure, minimize costs, optimize utilization and streamline the entire software lifecycle.