The Campaign for Clear Licensing (CCL), a British not-for-profit organization campaigning for the rights of business software buyers, wrote an open letter to Oracle CTO Larry Ellison and presented Oracle with seven changes that customers would like to see. “We give our general support to all seven points”, stated Dietmar Neugebauer, Chairman of the Board at DOAG. “In particular in areas such as communication and information there is still room for improvement.”
In support of their claims, the Campaign for Clear Licensing puts forward the results of their recent study published in November. A survey about Oracle's licensing policy conducted by the CCL (in which about 100 IT managers participated) delivered some sobering findings. 92% of all respondents reported very poor communication. After changes of the licensing arrangements had been made, sometimes even out-of-date information has been communicated. 88% of all respondents stated that Oracle’s audit requests were unclear. Only 22% of all respondents considered Oracle's License Management Service (LMS) as helpful during license renewals and negotiations.
"Oracle's communication and information policy needs to improve"
The findings of the CCL report address concerns that Oracle customers have been dealing with for quite a while. Consequently, in general, DOAG backs the seven points outlined in the CCL recommendations:
- Strategic focus on customer satisfaction
- Audit clarity
- Information from one source
- Knowledge base
- Reducing re-engineer risk
- Software asset management evangelism
- Communication
“We think the points regarding knowledge base and communication are particularly important”, stated Dietmar Neugebauer. Customers often point out insufficient information. For Neugebauer it would therefore be desirable to create and develop a knowledge base for the highly complex issue of licensing.
At the same time, he calls upon the customers to prepare for the audits in time and learn more about their licenses and Oracle's licensing terms. But he also thinks that it is the licensor that is called to action: “Oracle should provide more information, reduce complexity and improve customer communication”, concluded Neugebauer. Michael Paege, Deputy Chairman and Head of the DOAG Licensing Competence Center, added: “All in all, we would like Oracle to show greater commitment, place a strategic focus on customer satisfaction, respond more effectively to customer needs and wants, and adapt Oracle's licensing policy to the market, e.g. VMware.”
DOAG Licensing Guide
DOAG had realized very early on that there was a need for action and published the DOAG Licensing Guide (in German). This is a source of reference that helps DOAG members learn more about the key aspects of Oracle's licensing for technical software.
