If your organisation is considering (or using) Oracle Public Cloud or Private Cloud, you might want to weigh up the benefits of each. In this post, we tell you which is best for each criteria, and how you can get out of the situation that you’re in.
Control: Private wins
Both are platforms that organisations can use to host their software/applications and have them supported by Oracle. But the simple difference is that Oracle’s Public Cloud is managed by Oracle, whereas customers on its Private Cloud have much more control.
But what does this mean practically for organisations?
- Customisation: Public Cloud customers will have limited ability to customise their Cloud environments, including the scale of the Cloud environment they have purchased (more on this later). Private Cloud customers have more ability to adjust their usage and the controls of their Cloud environment to suit their needs.
- Security and updates: Organisations on the Public Cloud will be sharing their space with others – shared services, downtime, security policies, and update schedules – which means their systems always have to be on the latest versions. You can imagine the problems this can cause when your systems have multiple connections to others. Private Cloud customers can define their own security rules and update schedules; they choose when and if to apply updates.
- Support: Public Cloud customers have to be supported directly by Oracle. This is part of their agreement and means they cannot get the superior service and cost efficiencies of a third-party support provider like Support Revolution.
Cost: Private wins (for most)
While the Public Cloud licensing is initially cheaper than the Private version, Public Cloud can be very limiting to an organisation.
This is because on a Public Cloud contract, you sign up for a fixed quarterly fee, and you cannot increase or decrease your usage during that period. Customers on Public Cloud run the risk of not having enough capability, or having (and paying for) far too much capacity. The terms of the contract also mean that customers are then stuck with what they’ve got, whether or not it suits their needs, until the next renewal date – a clear example of ‘Cloud lock-in.’
Also, as we previously mentioned, Public Cloud customers have to use Oracle for support. Whereas Private Cloud customers can use a third-party support provider to cut their support costs in half.
So while your initial costs may be lower with Public Cloud, many organisations are trapped by the restrictions and end up paying a much higher cost.
How to escape Oracle Public Cloud
We’ve already been successful in helping many of our customers escape an Oracle Public Cloud contract.
One customer, the European transport provider Arriva, was using Oracle applications, hosted and supported by the Oracle Managed (Public) Cloud. It wanted out:
- Arriva was always on the most up-to-date version of its applications, but this wasn’t necessarily a benefit. Arriva’s business model and roadmap dictated that it needed to modify its systems in line with franchise requirements. Being on Oracle’s Managed Public Cloud meant it didn’t have this flexibility. It was effectively changing to suit its Oracle product, rather than (as it should be) the other way around.
- Arriva also wanted to transition its services over to SAP. However, since it was locked into its contract on Oracle’s Managed Public Cloud, it was difficult to achieve this.
- Finally, being on Oracle’s Public Cloud meant that it was stuck with Oracle Support. Arriva saw a 4% price increase year-on-year to its support fees. It felt like it was overpaying for Oracle’s underwhelming maintenance service and SLAs on issue responses only (not resolutions).
Leaving Public Cloud
While escaping a Public Cloud contract may sound impossible (or perhaps just very complicated), it can be done. In short, it’s a matter of moving from Oracle’s Public Cloud to another Private Cloud (on Oracle or elsewhere). It’s a ‘lift and shift’ from one environment to another.
When Arriva switched from Oracle Support to Support Revolution, we switched its systems from Oracle Public Cloud to an AWS Private Cloud. This restored Arriva’s control of its systems. During this transition, we also moved Arriva to our support services and onboarded it to our systems. We ensured a seamless handover of any ongoing issues, and reduced its maintenance fees.
What were the benefits of our hard work? Arriva has saved over 50% on its support bills. While it’s continuing to use the same Oracle software, it can scale more effectively, and move to other applications should it need to. Arriva has regained its flexibility and taken back control of its roadmap, all for a fraction of its previous price.
“Support Revolution provides a tailormade service to suit our needs, which our previous supplier was unable to deliver. We have been particularly impressed with how responsive Support Revolution is, the speed and quality of service delivery and, most importantly, the personal nature of the service. It makes a huge difference when your service provider really understands your needs and adapts its response to them.”
Martin Webster, Head of Applications at Arriva plc
Arriva wanted something better, which is precisely what we gave them – and we can provide the same for you too.
Rethinking your Cloud strategy to make savings
Operational expenses are one of the highest outgoing finances in most organisations. The likes of Oracle, with its restrictive contracts and frequent price increases, don’t help. It is worth asking: what are you gaining from being on Oracle Public Cloud? If it is simply a matter of cost, then consider what you’re getting for the price you’re paying.
We’ll cut your support fees by at least 50% as a start. We then get rid of any unnecessary shelfware and licensing fees in the process to bring your costs down further. We can also move you onto an alternative Private Cloud, giving you back your autonomy. We’ll even take care of Business as Usual (BAU) processes, like security, patching, and legislative updates.
Find out right away just how much you could save:
