Oracle Audit, reason you might be next

“What have we done wrong, why are we getting a software vendor ?”

I sometimes get asked, usually after a client receives an audit letter from one of the big software vendors, why they have been selected, what have they done wrong?

The truth is you probably did nothing specifically, for some reason your Oracle Account Manager (they approve any audit) thinks he or she can make a sale.  There are various reasons why they arrive at this conclusion, here are a few of the more common “triggers”  I’ve encountered:

  • You are of a certain size and have not bought anything in a few years.
  • You asked for support on a product that Oracle don’t have a record of you buying.  Account Managers are alerted of such requests from Oracle Support.
  • Inadvertently you provided information on possible unlicensed products while getting support or making a declaration.  The usual sources  of this information is Oracle Configuration Manager, LMS scripts or a technical consultant working on your systems.
  • Your Account Manager expected to sell you something this year.  They had you in their forecasts and for whatever reason you delaying a decision.  They still have their quota and a “license review” can be used to speed a decision up.
  • Your organization is undergoing a restructure (merger, acquisition, divestiture, etc.).  This may have been reported in press, website, D&B or in a casual conversation.   The sources are many.
  • You are on an older license metric and they want to encourage you to move.  This usually counts as a new sale for the Account Manager.
  • Major infrastructure project e.g. Datacentre migration
  • You have a large deployment of a particular product. Oracle Database, Middleware and JD Edwards are typical targets of Oracle LMS and easy to audit.
  • You exited an Oracle ULA in the past 12 months.
  • You have a history of buying compliance or pay-to-go-away.

Although I have mentioned Oracle in this example the triggers are similar for all of the big enterprise software vendors.  There is a pattern and it’s not a case of if but when you’ll get the audit letter.

When you do receive the audit letter from Oracle, Microsoft or VMware and you need help, call us, we’ll help in your software audit preparation

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Piaras MacDonnell