Oracle ULAs: Everything Oracle DOESN’T Want You to Know
Few topics are as controversial in the Oracle community as ULAs. Oracle ULA devotees say they help companies save money and maintain an ongoing relationship with Oracle; those who have had negative experiences (or are simply very cynical) say that ULAs are a trap with their benefits greatly exaggerated.
Why the Oracle Perpetual ULA is Insidious
Ok, we’ll admit it. We like to encourage a healthy skepticism of Oracle Unlimited Licensing Agreements (ULAs) here at LicenseFortress, but we’re completely willing to admit that there are scenarios where adopting a ULA makes great sense.
But, try as we might, we haven’t been able to identify a scenario for which adopting an Oracle Perpetual Unlimited Licensing Agreement (PULA) would be a good call.
In short, it’s a very expensive financing trick that might make anyone who cares only about the bottom line happy, but likely few others. We also don’t think it’s a stretch to say that a PULA is a bad investment.
U-LA-La: 3 More Unlimited Licensing Agreement Myths
Imagine that during negotiations, you mention a specific point you want written into the ULA – an exception to the technical support cap, for example – and your Oracle salesperson agrees. Cool, right? The following Monday, Oracle sends the paperwork over, you sign it, and everyone goes on with their lives. Then, three years later, when certifying out, your Oracle rep tells you that you exceeded your support cap multiple times and you’re going to be charged exorbitant fees.
3 Common Myths about Oracle ULAs You Probably Believe – and The Truth
There are few things worse than thinking you understand something – a complex, multi-faceted historical event that’s easy to oversimplify, a movie with a nuanced ending, or your relationship with someone – only to discover you never got it. But these feelings of betrayal and confusion are even harder to grapple with when the misconception ends up costing you or your company money – especially if it’s an exceptionally large amount.
