Key Facts: -- Acresso Software announces the addition of new License Optimization Packs for Oracle to its FLEXnet Manager Suite. -- The new solution automatically inventories the actual deployment of Oracle Database and Oracle E-Business Suite across the enterprise -- delivering accurate, up-to-date, and highly granular insight into the use of all instances, components, and options. -- The new solution provides the reporting necessary to compare any organization's actual Oracle deployment to its current licensing agreement. -- By providing this automated inventory and granular reporting, the new solution enables IT to avoid violations of licensing terms, pinpoint over-spending on "shelfware" licenses, negotiate and procure in an informed manner, and better plan software budgets. -- Agentless technology simplifies implementation and accelerates time-to-benefit. -- FLEXnet Manager Suite is a single solution that can help companies manage their license compliance and spending by centrally monitoring the license usage of not just Oracle software but thousands of other high-value applications across key business segments, including SAP and most Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Electronic Design Automation (EDA) applications. -- With 20 years of experience as the makers of FLEXnet -- the licensing technology embedded in 15,000 applications -- Acresso is uniquely capable of providing organizations access to meaningful insight into high-value application usage and the expertise to help translate that data into greater control and savings. Market background: -- Because Oracle does not automatically lock out unlicensed use of its products, Oracle deployments can sprawl far beyond their originally intended and entitled scope. Such over-use is particularly problematic if an audit occurs. -- Conversely, IT organizations often purchase a variety of Oracle licenses -- including those for certain expensive options and components -- that they don't actually use. Few IT organizations can afford to allocate budget dollars to such zero-value spending. -- Inadequate insight into the actual deployment of Oracle software across the enterprise also puts negotiation/procurement staff, budget planners, and compliance teams at a distinct disadvantage. -- Most IT organizations do not have an automated means of maintaining insight into how Oracle deployments are evolving. Typically, they only perform inventories when an event such as an audit or a contract renewal deadline looms. These manual inventories are slow, costly, inaccurate, and disruptive. Benefits to the customer: -- Minimal disruption of day-to-day operations by the various events (audits, contract renewals, re-negotiations prompted by business growth or re-structuring, etc.) that inevitably occur over the course of Oracle ownership. -- Avoidance of license violations which results in IT paying more for its excess use than it would have paid if it procured those licenses through normal contract negotiations. -- Identification of shelfware which frees up budget dollars for other critical IT needs. -- More effective, "fact-based" contract negotiation that can deliver significant long-term cost savings, while also easing the negotiation process itself. -- More accurate budget planning as well as the ability to redistribute licenses and institute chargebacks to ensure that Oracle budgets are allocated where they will deliver the most value to the business. Supporting quotes: "IT organizations need to pro-actively monitor their use of Oracle Database and E-Business in order to prevent audit problems, avoid unnecessary spending, and closely align budgets with business needs," says Mark Bishof, President and Chief Executive Officer for Acresso. "Our FLEXnet Manager Suite automates that pro-active monitoring -- providing IT decision-makers with the complete, accurate, and up-to-date insight they need to maintain license compliance and keep their software costs under control." "To effectively negotiate for our clients, it is essential that we have an accurate, granular understanding of their actual Oracle deployments," says David Blake, VP of Contract Negotiation Services at AMR Research. "With technology like Acresso's FLEXnet Manager Suite, organizations can quickly attain a reliable, single version of the truth without putting themselves through a labor-intensive inventory process." Supporting references: "[To improve contract negotiation leverage,] key strategies include keeping internal audits on actual usage or applying licensing software such as Acresso Software FLEXnet Manager Suite..." By R "Ray" Wang, John R. Rymer, Noel Yuhanna, Forrester, "Base Your Oracle "Red Stack" Negotiations Strategy on Your Oracle Adoption Strategy" (March, 2009) "Organizations need to verify usage to identify shelfware, particularly during the economic downturn. This may help to reduce maintenance fees on licenses that are not being used." By Jane B. Disbrow, Alexa Bona, Gartner, "Negotiate Oracle's Software License Agreements to Reduce Unexpected Cost" (March, 2009) "69% of IT executives and managers are not confident that they are fully in compliance with software license agreements." King Research, "Software License Compliance: A Survey of Corporate IT" (May, 2008) Other documents: Full product data sheet and "Inevitable Event" whitepaper available at http://www.acresso.com/oracle.
Contact Information: Media Contacts: Eastwick Communications (650) 480-4040 acresso@eastwick.com