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Oracle users meet behind closed doors: Psst – any licensing tips?

Anonymity crucial for discussion of software asset management in a cloudy world

The UK’s Oracle user group is meeting today to discuss the murky world of licensing and software asset management.

It will be the second annual meeting focused just on licence management, an area of growing importance as companies are increasingly running hybrid systems and dealing with multiple, often intentionally complex agreements.

Paul Fitton, president of the user group, said that the event would offer “an unrivalled level of anonymity and confidentiality” in a bid to help them open up about their issues and concerns.

The emphasis on anonymity comes from firms’ fear that vendors are always poised to launch an audit or bump up fees.

Just last month, SAP announced it had set up a centre offering feedback on anonymised indirect licensing concerns for users that were wary they would be next on the German giant’s to-sue list.

Similarly, Big Red has often been accused of using aggressive tactics when it comes to brokering deals, licensing, and carrying out audits - so it's perhaps no surprise that the event is emphasising its confidentiality.

The Oracle user group meeting (PDF) is set to hear from resellers, partners and users, as well as from Oracle’s licensing management service.

The group said that many organisations “lack the policies and processes to effectively and efficiently manage this area”.

The aim of the event is to help users avoid the risks associated with managing licenses across large estates, and, as Fitton said, to “manage their investment, reduce risk and demonstrate real returns on their investment”.

Sessions will offer advice on using bring-your-own-licences - which has recently been extended to include PaaS as well as IaaS - moving to the cloud and why customers shouldn’t be too reliant on licensing tools.

Speakers include Steven Russman, executive director of International Business Software Managers Association, on trends in compliance and managing audits, and KPMG’s UK lead for SAM, Simon Bolton, on how to convince companies to invest in an SAM programme. ®

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