CLIENT SUCCESS STORY

How This Student Union Recovered From The COVID-19 Pandemic and Avoided Unnecessary Oracle Upgrades

Organisation Stats

Revenue

£250m+

HQ

UK

Area

UK

Industry

Student Accomodation

Employees

1,500+

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

The Problem

The organisation 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 yea. The effects of COVID-19 had a substantial impact on the organisation, affecting its revenue projections by over £100 million. The organisation was taking short-term contracts as a means of staying afloat. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last of its problems. The organisation was running Oracle software that the vendor was going to de-support. If they wished to continue receiving support, the organisation 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 organisation was already investing in other vital IT projects, such as implementing digital check- in and check-out systems to minimise 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 become unsupported 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 organisation acknowledged that we have over 22 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 organisation to rely on its in-house team and support partner. With Support Revolution, the organisation 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 in order 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 organisation is paying less and getting more in return. It is saving on its previous support fees and utilising our managed services. Whether the organisation experiences second or third-line issues, the organisation saves time by having one supplier. By combining our managed services with our third-party support, the organisation has maximised on the cost-saving opportunity presented by Support Revolution. The organisation has also freed up time for the organisation 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 organisation 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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