I have recently been getting questions from clients and people counseling clients about licensing their development and non-production environment.
Recently, a Miro retainer client hired IBM to do some consulting work for them in a development/non-production environment. IBM told the client that it did not need to have/purchase additional Oracle licenses for its 20+ consultants or the work they were proposing under a development/non-production encironment because the Oracle “Developer License” policy stated that licenses were not required. IBM even provided the client with a portion of the Oracle Policy.
“All software downloads are free, and most come with a Developer License that allows you to use full versions of the products at no charge while developing and prototyping your applications, or for strictly self-educational purposes.”
The client, to their credit from gleaning some knowledge from Miro over the years, found this peculiar (and against guidance they had received from several sources over the years) and called me to ask if it was true that under the Developer License policy non-production did not require licensing. This could be slightly confusing for anyone who is not familiar with licensing scenarios, as Oracle Corporation is not always 100% direct or specific with its polices; however it seems even professional consultants (IBM) don’t always fully understand Oracle Licensing Policy. What is contained within in the Developer License Policy in addition to what IBM sent our client is a fair amount more, and includes the following…
“The programs may be installed on one computer only, and used by one person in the operating environment identified by us (Oracle).“
Also, when that application goes into production the development license is terminated. So, the devil is indeed in the details.