Financial Conduct Authority wastes £3.2m on unnecessary Oracle licences

Ha – Financial MISconduct Authority, more like ... amirite?

The banking regulator responsible for ensuring good behaviour in the world of finance may need to get its own house in order, at least when it comes to software licensing.

The Financial Conduct Authority has admitted to wasting £3.2m on Oracle licences it did not need, according to This is Money.

Oracle offered the FCA discounts on one-year licences on the condition that it paid in advance, but after forking out £4.2m the FCA realised £3m of that was surplus to requirements.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the FCA said: "The assumptions underpinning the agreement did not anticipate that some projects that originally required Oracle licences would be de-prioritised by the FCA, thus reducing demand," it said.

"Projects would be implemented later than anticipated and hence fell outside of the agreement’s one-year timeframe; and some projects would adopt an alternative technical solution," the body added.

The FCA said it had nothing further to add when invited to comment by The Register. ®