Opting for third-party support can feel like stepping into the unknown. Of course, mega-vendors, such as Oracle and SAP, will not be too forthcoming with the benefits (of which there are plenty) of moving away from them.   On the ropes, the mega-vendors have tried multiple tactics to dissuade customers from moving away from vendor support (their biggest cash cow).   Oracle recently tried to land a few blows by publishing guides highlighting …

Oracle is up to its old tricks again. But this time, the vendor’s not even trying to hide it.   It shouldn’t come as news to you that the mega-vendors are always scheming to keep you in the perpetual upgrade cycle, and this time is certainly no different.   On 1 January 2022, version 12.1.3 of Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) will move from Premier Support to Sustaining Support.   It seems like this deadline came up pretty quick, right? That’s because Oracle decided to skip a step, removing …

From ‘Rise with SAP’ to the 2027 deadline and favouring Cloud-first over hybrid, it seems that SAP doesn’t believe in the middle ground.   2020 was an unbelievably challenging year for a great many organisations. Of those still standing, we look at SAP in this article. The German-based ERP software giant saw a significant dip in revenue at the end of Q3. By Q4, SAP had managed to haul …

Budget planning can be a challenge. You need to consider any upcoming projects and development, and where the budget for these projects will be coming from.  However, this challenge can come with potential rewards. Making the time for budget planning now could yield benefits throughout the year. Specifically, organisations should analyse their current costs and usage, to identify the areas where money is being lost, and where changes should be made to unlock critical savings.  Here’s one to …

It’s pretty easy to convince a crowd of the quality of a painting when you don’t allow onlookers to inspect its intricacies too closely. If they did, they might just notice all the little discrepancies that reduce its value.   Oracle does much the same when it comes to stating facts and figures. It’s well known that the mega-vendor doesn’t publicly share the exact number of customers using its Cloud product, although Oracle has previously suggested that over 750 customers currently use its Fusion Cloud ERP.   There is no description …

Don’t believe everything the mega-vendors tell you.  We are aware of the concerns that organisations may have when considering third-party support. Oracle and SAP like to warn their customers of our service (but it’s not the first time they’ve misinformed customers: read our guide on common vendor traps). Due to a lengthy legal battle between a vendor and another provider, some ask ‘is …

Struggling to make IT cost savings so far this year? You might have overlooked one substantial drain on your budget: Oracle support costs. See how much these costs can accumulate, and how much you could save with a third-party provider.

Palisade Compliance once made an interesting observation: “If it were easy to stop using Oracle, then more companies would do it.”[1] The Oracle experts raise a good point. While Oracle does provide good technology, it has a reputation. Specifically, for regularly increasing its support prices while reducing its support, and perpetually moving customers towards upgrading to the latest product version, …