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    Oracle SE2 Clarification Impacts Customers Using IBM or AMD MCM Processors

    A quiet Oracle policy clarification just turned many SE2 environments non-compliant overnight. If you run IBM Power or AMD EPYC processors, your socket count may have doubled — and your compliance exposure with it. Here's what changed and what to do next.

    Dean Bolton

    Dean Bolton

    Chief Architect, LicenseFortress

    June 2025
    5 min read
    Oracle SE2 Clarification Impacts Customers Using IBM or AMD MCM Processors

    A quiet Oracle policy clarification just turned many SE2 environments non-compliant overnight. If you run IBM Power or AMD EPYC processors, your socket count may have doubled — and your compliance exposure with it. Here's what changed and what to do next.

    The bottom line

    A quiet Oracle policy clarification just turned many SE2 environments non-compliant overnight. If you run IBM Power or AMD EPYC processors, your socket count may have doubled — and your compliance exposure with it. Here's what changed and what to do next.

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    From our case files

    Processor and edition rules decided the cost in both of these engagements:

    The Next Phase: An ESSP's Strategic Shift to Oracle on Azure for Cost Efficiency

    ESSP cut Oracle costs 90% and DR costs from $40K to $5K/year by migrating to Standard Edition 2 and Azure with LicenseFortress.

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    EU Government Agency Saves $6.6M Optimizing Oracle Licenses on IBM Power

    Discover how a European government agency saved $6.6M in fees by optimizing Oracle licenses on IBM Power with LicenseFortress.

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    About the author

    Dean Bolton

    Dean Bolton

    Chief Architect, LicenseFortress

    Dean leads LicenseFortress' technical licensing practice, covering Oracle, VMware, virtualization and infrastructure licensing rules.

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