Executive Summary
When the Director of Infrastructure & Operations at a leading insurer initially decided to handle an Oracle audit independently, the situation escalated into hostile negotiations with a $10 million demand. However, this customer made a vital pivot when Oracle attempted to run its audit playbook, prompting the engagement of LicenseFortress. Their expert intervention reduced the bill to $3 million, provided a 9,722% ROI, and led to further savings exceeding $2 million by certifying their ULA. Today, the insurer continues to benefit from ongoing compliance and protection under ArxProtect.
$72K
Project Cost
$7M
Savings
9.6K%
ROI
At a Glance
Challenges
The insurer’s IT infrastructure was complex and included Oracle databases, Oracle Fusion Middleware, WebLogic® servers, and a virtualized VMware® environment, including numerous VMware clusters. This insurer faced many challenges along the way, including:
- Large audit bill findings after cooperating with Oracle on their own
- Hostile negotiations after the audit dealings had gone sour between Oracle and the customer
- VMware Exception Rule
- Determining the customer’s contractual obligations from vendor policies
Audit
Oracle stated that the insurer owed $400-500 million in unpaid license fees. After several months of negotiations, the insurer realized it could not negotiate a reasonable settlement with Oracle independently.
Bargain
Oracle then offered the insurer a bargain price of $10 million to settle the audit and make the insurer compliant. Oracle also introduced the VMware exception clause into the contract, positioning the clause as an advantage for the insurer.
Close
The relationships between the insurer and Oracle started to turn hostile as the insurer was unwilling to pay the $10 million. Instead, the insurer engaged LicenseFortress to represent its interests and continue negotiations going forward.
Solution
LicenseFortress first reviewed the Oracle contract and discussed some of the subtleties that had huge implications on how the contract was interpreted. While the insurer’s law firm consisted of excellent lawyers, they had little experience dealing with the nuances of Oracle’s contracts and audit policies.
Once the contract review was completed, LicenseFortress performed a complete audit of the insurer’s IT infrastructure and determined that it owed $700,000 in back-license fees. The difference is, when it comes to licensing on VMware clusters, Oracle’s policy is that running Oracle on those nodes. So, according to Oracle, if you have five nodes running in a cluster and Oracle is running on only one node, you still pay Oracle licenses for five. Following this policy can add up if you have multiple, complex VMware clusters.
Results
At this point in the audit, both sides were eager to reach an agreement. Early in the process, the customer made a few missteps acting in good faith and exposed additional compliance issues not covered in the original scope of the audit. As a result, the customer had to concede on some negotiation points, including the VMware exception. LicenseFortress rarely recommends customers accept these amendments, as it has the potential to create issues for organizations with growing and evolving business needs — however, in this case, it was a strategic compromise to move towards a resolution.
LicenseFortress was able to reduce the $10 million audit bill down to $3 million — a savings of 70 percent. Had LicenseFortress been brought in earlier in the audit discussions, an additional $2.3 million in fees could have been mitigated. This project cost the customer approximately $72,000, resulting in a 9,722% ROI.
Continued Success
After the audit, the insurer engaged LicenseFortress to perform a ULA review to evaluate if they should renew or certify their Unlimited Licensing Agreement (ULA). After reviewing their requirements, the LicenseFortress team developed four scenarios of reconfiguring two large environments into smaller clusters to reduce licensing — some of which were more complex than others, but each resulted in cost savings. Ultimately, this exercise helped the insurer decide that certifying the ULA was the best option — resulting in a reduction of support costs moving forward, totaling over $2M and counting.
Today, they are an ArxProtect customer. This ensures they are always in compliance and will be protected from the moment they receive an audit notice.
Don’t fall victim to Oracle’s auditing scheme.
If your organization is facing an aggressive software audit or struggling with complex licensing challenges, don’t navigate it alone—partner with LicenseFortress to protect your interests, reduce costs, and ensure compliance.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you turn a high-stakes situation into a strategic win.
