As the challenges faced in 2020 follow us into the new year, we want to remind organisations worldwide how we can help during this difficult period – this time focusing on the travel industry.
In September 2020, the Guardian reported that the travel industry is “bracing itself for the collapse of yet more holiday companies, as businesses continue to struggle to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.” In the months passed since then, the global crisis has continued to develop. Travel organisations that have been impacted are unfortunately in no better positions.
In the UK, there’s also been a recent update of a travel ban, and a £5,000 fine for anyone in England trying to travel abroad without good reason. It will still be some time before the situation improves. Already, organisations have been forced to make difficult decisions: reducing staff, closing branches, and in some cases, ceasing trade altogether.
However, there are ways for organisations in similar situations to make significant savings and fast, without any long-term implications.
Here’s how we’ve helped one of our travel industry customers make huge savings by reducing its Oracle Support bills.
Stuck overpaying support fees for stable systems?
Ávoris, a global tour operator, was running Oracle Database and Fusion Middleware. Some parts of the business were using SAP.
Ávoris hardly raised any support tickets due to its solid and stable systems. The organisation became increasingly frustrated that despite its minimal need for support, Oracle still charged high fees (something a great many Oracle customers can understand). Oracle justified itself, stating the support fees were being reinvested into new products and other innovations. However, Ávoris didn’t receive the benefits of this either, as Oracle typically invests in new Cloud technologies, and not older software like the systems Ávoris used.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Ávoris had plans to consolidate its Oracle and SAP products over the next few years to just use SAP software. Oracle’s distinct lack of customer care had rather pushed Ávoris away.
Until that project finished, however, Ávoris would be paying for two different support contracts. It would be funding Oracle innovation it would never receive, and getting very minimal service in return.
This left a significant hole in Ávoris’ budget, one that would last for as long as it remained on Oracle’s support structure. In order to recoup this loss, Ávoris could have considered the same, difficult decisions that many organisations are currently facing, such as reducing staff or closing branches.
However, the organisation was aware of how third-party support could help its situation.
We can improve value and increase savings
By switching to Support Revolution’s third-party support, Ávoris has saved more than 50% on its Oracle support fees each year. It has also saved hundreds of thousands more, by avoiding unnecessary technical upgrades and Oracle’s annual price rises.
We have helped Ávoris to protect its investment in the systems it already has, improve its value for money, and free up huge savings that can be reinvested elsewhere in the organisation. It can focus on its own priorities and roadmap, not Oracle’s, and it can leave the support of its systems and patching to us.
Benefits of switching to third-party support
Working as a collaborative support partner, we have helped Ávoris to achieve the objective it wanted. It has achieved its goal of reinstating its current systems’ value for money, by no longer overpaying on fees for support it’s hardly using.
Instead, Ávoris can keep its issue-free systems as they are and pay a much lower fee to reflect this. The organisation remains confident in our ability to provide support as and when the need arises.
Help when you need it
As seen before with manufacturing organisations, the effects of the pandemic and recession are felt across many industries. The travel industry is no exception. Hotels have been struggling, while the airline sector needs “up to another £58 billion to survive the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, other travel agencies have needed to cancel holidays altogether, resulting in further losses due to issuing refunds. Lastminute.com has lost £7million in refunds; LoveHolidays has refunded more than £205 million owed, the apparent “equivalent of 10 years’ worth of refunds in eight months.”
These are difficult times, with no certainty on when they might conclude. Customers are looking to their vendors for help, but vendors like Oracle are typically avoiding their gaze.
So, to any organisations currently doing their best to endure, we offer a way to make huge savings in a short amount of time, and without having to compromise on your current standards and procedures.
Want to see how much you could save?
Ávoris is just one example of how we’ve helped our travel and transport customers; and just one example from the spectrum of industries that we’ve helped.
You can find even more examples, and possibly some of your competitors, on our Customers page. We want to help organisations reinvest in their futures, protect their investments, and still achieve their business goals. Amidst the current crisis, we’re here to help see you through.
Find out just how much you could save straight away:
