Oracle consultancy assists public sector giant with compliance, software asset management and Unlimited License Agreements

Edinburgh, 19th January, 2011 - Rocela, a world-leading independent Oracle consultancy, has helped Severn Trent Water to successfully tackle the complicated process of its Oracle Unlimited License Agreement (ULA) renewal as well as ongoing compliance and software asset management. In doing so, it has strengthened the company’s procurement position with the software behemoth and has allowed it to avoid a significant cost.

Severn Trent Water serves over eight million customers across the UK, stretching from the Bristol Channel to the Humber, mid-Wales to the East Midlands, and maintains a sprawling Oracle estate to support processes across the business. Three years ago, the water company had opted for a ULA, to take advantage of the flexible, unconstrained licensing approach.

However, a fundamental requirement of a ULA is that a business tracks and reports its usage back to Oracle at the end of the contract. This is often easier said than done and in early 2009, Severn Trent Water soon found itself under pressure to declare its usage figures. The company is used to working in a regulated environment and is committed to compliance and wanted to act quickly to satisfy Oracle, and so turned to experts at Rocela for help.

“Rocela left us in a position of supreme confidence about our Oracle deployment, providing advice over and above our ULA requirements,” said Nick Needham, Vendor Manager at Severn Trent Water. “With this transparent view into our assets, and security in our compliance, we are in a much better negotiating position with Oracle, allowing us to take control of our infrastructure and strengthen our relationship with them.”

Martin Mutch, CEO at Rocela, comments: “We are seeing an increasing number of large organisations in difficult licensing positions due to poor management of their ULA agreements. And while ULA’s offer huge advantages in terms of growth and flexibility, this licensing model can become a huge liability if the right management procedures are not in place. Our team of experts help businesses resolve these situations, enabling them to build stronger relationships with Oracle and make more informed choices about future licensing matters.”

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