From OracleConnection and our very own Eliot Arlo Colon.
Miro is asked all of the time about options outside of Oracle provided support. Clients are constantly seeking alternatives to the 22% of license fee Oracle charges for annual support renewals. Clients maintain several reasons to look at alternatives, including ‘budgetary constraints, escalation of costs (annual uplifts), ROI, customer sat issues related to support or just plain old ‘due diligence’’.
Keep in mind that its ‘buyer beware’ when it comes to purchasing 3rd party support and many companies realize the hard way that the ‘grass is not always greener on the other side’. Also those 3rd service providers, who were looking to make a ‘quick buck’ quickly realized that Oracle is not about to give away its IP for nothing and will fight aggressively to maintain its support renewal stream.
Oracle has issued subpoenas to two firms who provide third party support – netCustomer and Spinnaker Management – to bolster (as the article states) its position in the Rimini Street case. An interesting place to start reading about this would be PCWorld.
As one CIO recently stated to us, “the cost of NOT renewing Oracle support can be astronomical compared to the cost of renewing”.