Fujitsu announces results of the 2nd annual joint survey with UK Oracle User Group (UKOUG)

London, 3 September 2010 – The 2nd annual joint survey* between Fujitsu and UK Oracle User Group (UKOUG) indicates that Oracle investments are being reviewed and challenged but are mostly surviving despite the current economic climate and pressures.  It is clear from the survey that cost cutting measures are being pursued more vigorously particularly in relation to licenses.  The key findings were as follows:

•         All respondents had reviewed their licence arrangement in the last 12 months, with more than half having reviewed in the last quarter – this compares to the 2009 survey where a more relaxed approach to licences was observed and indeed 10% of respondents had never reviewed their licence situation at all.  The approach to enterprise licensing remains a challenge with nearly a quarter of respondents unaware of it and a further third exploring the potential.

•         The benefits of SaaS are still seen as questionable by the respondents with over 80% stating that SaaS is either irrelevant or that they are happy without it.  This is broadly similar to the 2009 results. 

•         Meanwhile, views on offshoring are significantly polarised with around half for and half against.  Public sector attitudes to offshoring continue to be more negative than the private sector, despite the current focus on efficiency and savings by the government.

•         Interestingly despite Oracle's efforts over the last year there is still a lack of real understanding around Fusion, with a third of respondents struggling to understand the nature and business benefits around it.  A further 40% state they understand the technology but have not yet assessed the business impact of Fusion for their organisation.

Commenting on the research, Andy Seferta, European head of Fujitsu’s Oracle Practice said: "There is no question that Oracle technologies are still vital to keeping businesses functioning. But what has become clear for us through this research - and wider conversations we are having - is that organisations are taking a closer look at their critical applications and reviewing how they can get more out of them whether that be through simply efficiencies around licensing or more strategic options such as outsourcing and SaaS. 

Seferta continued: “We fully expect the applications landscape to change over the course of the next year as organisations look at how they deliver and manage their applications; Not only to drive IT efficiencies but also to improve robustness of delivery to the business.”

Ronan Miles, UKOUG chairman comments, “It is a real pleasure to work again with Fujitsu on this survey and having back-to-back results to compare user attitudes year-on-year is very useful. The results are very interesting and reflect many anecdotal conversations we have with our members. In the current economic climate, it is very understandable that only 30% have fully considered the business impact of Fusion. However, anticipated announcements later this year should drive an upward trend that will be shown in a survey next year.”

* The report was undertaken in June 2010 by UKOUG and surveyed 135 of its members.  The industry sector split was 60% private sector, 40% public sector. Full version of the report can be downloaded here - http://www.fujitsu.com/uk/services/application-services/enterprise-applications/oug-survey-results.html