How a Swift ULA Certification Saved a Tech Giant $10 Million

A leading US-based technology company, with over 8,000 employees and operations in 175 countries, faced a critical challenge: certifying out of a costly Oracle Unlimited License Agreement (ULA) within just six months. Fortunately for the organization, the Director of Procurement met the LicenseFortress team at an industry conference and began to discuss their options. LicenseFortress rapidly assessed and documented the company's global Oracle deployments, helping them avoid nearly $10 million in fees and secure a stable financial future. The $100,000 project cost delivered a 9,900% ROI.

Economic pressure and a tight ULA deadline

This client was no stranger to tough economic times. In the past, the company was able to lift itself out of bankruptcy. But, due to unforeseen market forces, there was a downturn in the company's fortunes once again. Moving into this economic hard time, the company did a significant layoff, which wasn't enough to stem the monetary bleeding. One of the significant expenses that needed to be managed in this economic crunch was the massive cost of their Oracle Unlimited License Agreement (ULA).

A ULA is a customized contract between Oracle and an organization that allows that company to use all the Oracle products defined within their agreement. ULAs typically last two to three years. At the end of a ULA, the client company must choose whether to enter another ULA or "certify out" of the agreement.

When a technology company with global infrastructure needs to certify out of a ULA, the process is usually best planned and executed over twelve to eighteen months. However, the client faced a pressing deadline with their ULA up for renewal in just six months.

Certifying out of an Oracle ULA is a complex process for any large organization. In this case, the challenge became even more difficult due to staff reductions from a massive layoff. The reduced staffing left the organization uncertain about the locations of all their databases and middleware deployments.

Another looming concern? The strong likelihood of an Oracle audit, given their decision to depart from the ULA.

Rapid global assessment and certification

The company needed to move fast. Using LicenseFortress' proprietary SAM tool, the team was able to validate the client's worldwide Oracle software deployments in record time. As the technical team began the process of documenting all the client's Oracle software use for the certification, the legal team stepped in to review both the current ULA and proposed Oracle perpetual license.

As part of their deliberations, the client engaged the services of one of the world's largest providers of third-party Oracle support. To save money and help preserve the company, they made the brave decision not to renew their Oracle ULA and certify out of that agreement.

LicenseFortress started the work in January and by mid-May had certified the client out of their Oracle ULA. Throughout this process, we helped the client understand their Effective License Position (ELP) post-ULA exit.

$10M saved and stable financial footing secured

The client is now on stable financial footing and growing again. They avoided nearly $10 million in unnecessary Oracle fees by certifying out of their ULA. They can now scale their Oracle software use predictably without the burden of a ULA.

• $10 million in savings by certifying out of the ULA
• $100,000 project cost delivered 9,900% ROI
• Completed in under 6 months despite typical 12-18 month timelines
• Full Effective License Position (ELP) documented for post-ULA compliance
• Stable financial future with predictable Oracle costs

This case study emphasizes the importance of proactively reviewing a ULA at least a year before the renewal date. In some cases, a ULA benefits a company, while in others, it can be costly and detrimental.