ITAM Review Oracle Seminar NY Aspera Presentation
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The document summarizes a presentation on navigating Oracle licensing and compliance. It outlines the complexities of Oracle licensing, including inconsistent rules and frequent changes. It also provides strategies for implementing a successful software asset management program to gain transparency into Oracle assets, understand licensing and metrics, and maintain compliance. The presentation advises attendees to prioritize knowledge, optimization, management and strategy to survive the "Oracle Odyssey".
ITAM Review Oracle Seminar NY Aspera Presentation
- 1. Platinum Sponsor Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: How to Survive the Oracle Odyssey ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Christof Beaupoil Co-founder and President, Aspera Technologies
- 2. Platinum Sponsor Odyssey: a long journey or series of adventures filled with notable hardships. Navigating the legendary complexities of Oracle licensing and metrics can be like journeying through a bewildering maze—with intricate risks and hidden pitfalls galore. You need to know exactly what you’re up against—and have an airtight plan of attack—if you want to survive implementation and ultimately thrive in the Oracle environment. “The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” -Lao Tzu The Oracle Odyssey ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015
- 3. Platinum Sponsor Overview ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 • Step One: Understanding The World According to Oracle • Step Two: Understanding Complexities and Challenges in the Oracle Environment • Step Three: Understanding Oracle Licensing Options • Step Four: Understanding Oracle Agreement Options • Step Five: Implementing A Successful Oracle-Centric SAM Program • Step Six: Heed Advice • Q & A
- 4. Platinum Sponsor The World According to Oracle ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 When it comes to Oracle licensing, the universal question is: Why do they make it so hard? The answer is simple: Because they can. IT experts agree about three things: 1. Oracle’s database and software applications are best-in-class 2. The rules governing Oracle’s licensing agreements are perhaps the most complicated and difficult to grasp in the industry 3. Oracle frequently changes licensing parameters and does not clearly communicate changes When you’re at the top of the pile, you get to make the rules.
- 5. Platinum Sponsor The World According to Oracle ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Business As Usual at Oracle means: • Upfront discounting rather than ongoing contractual flexibility • Oracle’s “honor system” means accessibility but also risk • Complex, inconsistent licensing rules • Maintenance fees are steep, increase annually and are difficult to negotiate down • More revenue is earned from maintenance fees and audits than from selling software licenses • Customers are red-flagged for audits based on “friendly” conversations and surveys about purchasing habits • Acquisition and integration of many potentially unrelated vendors Oracle Compliance is a Moving Target.
- 6. Platinum Sponsor Oracle Complexities & Challenges ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 What must be licensed? In a nut-shell: • Oracle requires licensing when the software is used in production or for development purposes that support a production application • Oracle does not differentiate between “installed” and “running” • Oracle Database automatically installs with “management packs” • Each installed pack needs to be licensed (unless you can prove the impossible: that the install is not used)
- 7. Platinum Sponsor Oracle Complexities & Challenges ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 You need to license more than just the Oracle DB installation: • Oracle’s honor system makes it easy to use packs and turn on features not covered by a current license • Developers must communicate their usage, so admins can uninstall unnecessary or unlicensed packs, configure features to off • Associated applications using Oracle functionality affect the licensing requirement • Oracle’s ongoing strategic acquisitions of vendors create licensing confusion; for a list: www.oracle.com/us/corporate/acquisitions Others use those packs Some developers use these packs Manual batches Flat file import/export Siebel BEA Peoplesoft You will have to herd cats on your Oracle Odyssey.
- 8. Platinum Sponsor Oracle Complexities & Challenges ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Common Oracle Licensing Mistakes Or How to Avoid Surprises: • Standby databases must have the same metric as the primary server • The same metric must also be used for the same product on a server or single partition e.g. a management pack cannot be licensed by NUP, but the database by processor • Some management packs come turned on—must make sure these are licensed or turned off • Oracle Configuration Manager must be licensed in “connected” mode and therefore should be configured in “disconnect” mode • You must understand hard partitioning policies • You must understand contractual definitions of metrics • Acquisition of many vendors and absorption of their products drives up support fees and increases the risk of non-compliance
- 9. Platinum Sponsor Oracle Complexities & Challenges ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Mindboggling Metrics and Arcane Agreements Deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole: • Oracle’s products are not licensed by installation, but rather are tied to complex metrics, most commonly Named User Plus and Processor • These metrics consider how software is deployed across a number of users, as well as the type, manufacturer, and number of CPUs • Users can include not only employees but also contractors, business partners, and devices
- 10. Platinum Sponsor Oracle Licensing Options ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Named User Plus (NUP) • Measures unique users that receive or create data from Oracle Database, regardless of if the user is actively using the application • Inherently difficult / extremely hard to track Processor Based Metrics • All processors where Oracle products are running and/or installed • Based on core factor, but you need to know which one to apply • Hard partitioning is hard (see Oracle licensing policies for partitioned environments) • Cluster partitioning / Host Affinity is harder (No public statement from Oracle) • Oracle will often change rules and definitions through the “back door” so constant monitoring of product use rights is mandatory Production environment? Go for fully Processor licensed hosts! No dedicated Oracle cluster? Track movements and negotiate an agreement for Host Affinity rules!
- 11. Platinum Sponsor Oracle Agreement Options ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Option One: Enterprise License Agreement (“ELA”) • Defines license price based on your company’s revenue or number of employees • An increase in revenue or staff will result in additional license fees A difficult agreement to negotiate and manage as your enterprise expands and contracts over time
- 12. Platinum Sponsor Option Two: Unlimited License Agreement (“ULA”) • Allowed to install as much as you want for one negotiated fee • However, only “unlimited” for the specific products itemized • Excellent internal communication is key to avoiding unintentional, unlicensed installations • When a ULA expires, a true-up is conducted where the number of installs beyond the starting baseline is considered the “new” number of licenses you own, and therefore for which you must pay maintenance Oracle Agreement Options ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 So, the license agreement you have in hand today is likely not the one you negotiated two years ago.
- 13. Platinum Sponsor A Successful SAM Program ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 The Foundation: • Discovery: − Scan any Oracle Database Server group-wide, regardless of platform − Complete and correct data for edition, version and installed and/or used options • Licensing, Entitlements and Metrics: Record licenses, entitlements, agreements, and important dates; understand metrics • Compliance: Reconcile licenses with scan results, apply metrics and licensing rules
- 14. Platinum Sponsor Key Components: Discovery • The devices are highly secured and protected (ex. through firewalls) so an advanced discovery tool (often agent-less) is required to gather all of the required data • The tool must gather data from multiple platforms, and understand low level hardware details and physical and virtual mapping • The resulting data is fed to a SAM tool • “Oracle Approved” means only raw data collection has been tested by Oracle, and Oracle only accepts that raw data for analysis A Successful SAM Program ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015
- 15. Platinum Sponsor Key Components: Licensing & Entitlements • A catalog of licensing terms and entitlements saves you tons of time • Oracle changes rules without notice and these unexpected changes often result in high financial risks due to expensive changes in the IT landscape • SAM tool must have architecture to quickly add licensing rules to enable you to comply, even as the target moves Metrics • Oracle’s metrics: processor-based and NUP: − Take virtualized environments, clusters, CPU’s, variations in core types and counts, etc. into consideration − Includes all users or devices that use or create data from Oracle products • SAM tool: − Automates metric calculations to determine the number of licenses needed: the Effective License Demand A Successful SAM Program ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015
- 16. Platinum Sponsor The Goal: Compliance • SAM tool can perform a gap analysis which compares entitlements with Effective License Demand • Advanced License Optimization: considers Oracle’s unique method of licensing the same product with two different metrics and compares the license demand for each metric to achieve strategic cost reduction A Successful SAM Program ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015
- 17. Platinum Sponsor Advice ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Knowledge is power. What to do next: • TRANSPARENCY: You need complete and accurate discovery data right out of the gate • KNOWLEDGE: You need a dedicated team of internal and external experts • OPTIMIZE: Choose the right agreement for your needs, negotiate favorable terms and pricing, and ensure accurate (and therefore cost- effective) Oracle deployment • MANAGE: Aim for an open, honest relationship Oracle, but do not give away unnecessary insight they could use against you • STRATEGY: A comprehensive SAM program can make all the difference between success and failure
- 18. Platinum Sponsor Any Questions? ITAM Review Oracle Seminar, New York January 29th 2015 Good luck on your Oracle Odyssey! Christof Beaupoil Phone: +1 617-307-7733 Email: beaupoil@aspera.com Aspera Technologies Inc. – 119 Braintree Street, Suite 602 – Boston, MA 02134 Homepage: www.aspera.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/aspera Facebook: www.facebook.com/AsperaTech Twitter: twitter.com/asperatech