How This
Student Union
Recovered From The COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the organization began, they have housed more than half a million students in buildings across the UK.

The Problem

The organization was faced with financial difficulties due to COVID-19 and a looming support deadline for its Oracle software.

Like many organisations, 2020 was a difficult year. The effects of COVID-19 had a substantial impact on the organization, affecting its revenue projections by over £100 million. The organization was taking short-term contracts as a means of staying afloat.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last of its problems. The organization was running Oracle software that the vendor was going to de-support. If they wished to continue receiving support, the organization would need to undergo a costly upgrade within 12 months.

This came at an already critical time; it needed to save budget where possible. The organization was already investing in other vital IT projects, such as implementing digital check-in and check-out systems to minimize contact under new government guidelines. Therefore, its choices came down to two options: stay with Oracle and spend even more budget it could not afford to lose, or allow its software to enter sustaining support and leave its systems at risk.

The Solution

We provided support for them, achieving huge savings and removing any need to upgrade.

They recognised third-party support as the solution and turned to Support Revolution. The organization acknowledged that we have over 27 years of experience in the support industry, and as an Oracle partner. They appreciated that we have worked with the vendor, not actively against it.

This expertise is what demonstrated to them that we were the only provider that could deliver what it was looking for. As a start, we reduced their support bills by 50%. This helped unlock critical budget.

In addition, we took responsibility of their second-line support, thus removing the need for the organization to rely on its in-house team and support partner. With Support Revolution, the organization can rely on us as its single support partner that can provide a fully managed service.

In doing so, we have successfully removed their requirement to upgrade to receive support. Unlike Oracle, we don’t make organisations upgrade their software – we support their current version for as long as necessary. We appreciate its situation and have offered a cost-saving option in a time of need.

The Benefits

A solid support partnership

The organization is paying less and getting more in return. It is saving on its previous support fees and utilising our managed services. Whether the organization experiences second or third-line issues, the organization saves time by having one supplier. By combining our managed services with our third-party support, the organization has maximised on the cost-saving opportunity presented by Support Revolution. The organization has also freed up time for the organization to focus on methods of sustaining revenue during the recession.

Savings and quality without compromise

Savings and quality without compromise They had been hit hard by the pandemic, but by switching to Support Revolution, the organization has achieved huge savings in very little time and without having to compromise on the quality of its support services.

Freedom from Oracle’s tactics

While organisations could continue paying for Oracle Support, eventually it would start to encounter vendor traps. This includes traps such as auto-renewal price increases, upgrade fees, Market Driven Support, and even higher support fees as their software gets older.

Oracle not only increases its prices by circa 4% per annum, but the vendor also adds another 10% or 20% when the versions it supports enter Extended Support.

An unlimited estate lifetime

Our third-party support has effectively unlocked an unlimited lifetime for their software. We support its software, even when Oracle no longer will, which means it can keep using software for as long as it needs to.

Switching to Support Revolution removed the stresses of Oracle’s support end dates.

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