Version 1 Saves Global Oil Firm Millions in Software Licensing Costs

Our customer is one of the world’s largest petroleum and petrochemicals firms – an amalgamation of numerous divisions focused on the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. They have 3 Datacenters; Europe, US and Asia and employ approximately 100,000 members of staff spread across 30 different countries, with just over 20,000 retail outlets.

Our customer deploys Oracle and Microsoft extensively worldwide on approximately 16000 servers and spend on average $10m per annum on each software vendor.

Our Customer’s Challenge

This organisation has been a major client of Version 1 since 2005 at which point, we were approached to carry out a small Oracle license consultancy engagement. They were in the process of migrating legacy Oracle license agreements into a new centralised structure. This coincided with a period of significant growth in the use of Oracle technology which was proving to be a significant challenge to manage centrally. Furthermore, the customer was subject to large unpredictable Microsoft license costs which had to be met by the central department every year – costs that they were unable to recover and reallocate to the departments installing the software.

It was becoming apparent that as a business, they were unable to illustrate value for money on their significant Oracle and Microsoft investment. They had little opportunity to make considerable license procurement savings, no process to centrally manage or track license usage v entitlement, deploy license recycling or ensure license compliance globally.

Our Approach to this Licence Management Challenge

Version 1’s solution to this license management challenge was a global end-to-end Oracle and Microsoft Software Asset Management service – a license lifecycle methodology, from initial license request to end of life. Version 1 is the primary contact for all of their Oracle Database and Microsoft SQL Server licensing questions and provides day-to-day operational support for all their license management and procurement activity. Version 1’s team of SAM experts handle on average 2000 queries a year from department contacts based all around the world. The team allocates and tracks licenses working on a ‘just in time’ licensing philosophy (no server, no software) which is confirmed at the time of the request. The SAM service includes some of the following activities:

• Query handling on license management and procurement
• Case management
• Verification on the use of the software
• Global license management
• Processing all license & procurement requisitions
• Issuing the authority to install
• Maintenance of inventory records of servers and licenses
• License transfer assistance
• License status and inventory management reports
• Pricing requests
• Billing and budgeting process assistance
• License and procurement variance and recycling process management

Real Differences, Delivered

By adopting Version 1’s Oracle and Microsoft SAM service for centralised license management, our client can leverage their considerable purchasing power to receive an appropriate pricing structure, ensuring that they achieve value for money in their software investments. They now have an effective process for recycling licenses allowing them to reduce risk, cost and maintain license compliance, globally.

• Since Version 1’s engagement with the client in 2005, the Software Asset Management service has saved them tens of millions of dollars.
• They now have a predictable IT operations budget which is known and spent at the start of the financial year.
• The license management and procurement process is business as usual’ for the client.
• It is a fully embraced and accepted part of their IT culture. The process is well documented, understood and communicated.
• Adoption of the process internally is high and the risk of non compliance is continually managed and monitored globally.
• The introduction of the daily audit has meant that Microsoft and Oracle licenses can be de-installed if not required or paid for by the projects/departments installing and using them.