XSi's Blog: The Alternative in IT Maintenance & Services

4 Solutions to Maintaining Your Oracle Sun Servers

The Service Industry Association on behalf of its members and users of Sun Microsystem equipment filed a complaint in February this year with all 50 states Attorneys General and the European Union about what it considers as Oracle, Inc.’s anti-competitive policies pertaining to hardware maintenance of Oracle’s Sun Microsystems Products.

The response so far by Oracle’s General Counsel to one of the Attorney Generals is quite interesting. Oracle says:

1. Oracle does not force customers into an “all or nothing” decision.
   
   Oracle states that customers can go to http://www.oracle.com/us/support/premier/index.html and can acquire Solaris only support at 8 percent of the net hardware cost per year. Therefore, a customer that wishes to obtain “hardware maintenance” from an ISO (Independent Service Organization) would chose operating system support only, save one-third of the cost of full system support, and move on from there.
   
   But, Oracle also states that they implemented a new requirement that disallows the practice of putting some but not all of a customer’s systems under support.
   
   Why? Because, Oracle says Sun Microsystems customers were “free-riding” and taking more services then what they were entitled to.
   
   Umm: Wait a minute, didn’t their response say they do not force customers into an “all or nothing” decision. Is this a Potomac two-step? ; )
   
   So, customers “CAN” get software only support. Whew!
   
   Has it been clear to you how to get software only support? Please comment on this blog article.
   
   
2. Oracle’s policy changes are generally prospective and do not affect the vast majority of the existing opportunity to service Sun hardware systems.
   
   Oracle says that the “policy changes” are, for the most part, prospective, applying to systems purchased after March 16, 2010, not earlier.
   
   So, customers “CAN” get software only support on systems purchased after 3.16.10 in their environment without having to get software support on systems purchased earlier than 3.16.10.
   
   
3. But, Oracle doesn’t explicitly state this and we are quite sure the industry, nor Oracle sales reps, understand this. We will certainly look to clarify with Oracle.
   
   Also, Oracle says to avoid “abuse of dominance” / anti-trust issues, it gave the 3.16.10 date to allow for end-users to have the opportunity to choose other hardware vendors moving forward from this date.
   
   
4. Oracle’s reinstatement policies are fair and lawful. Oracle says they have a right to charge a reinstatement fee which the SIA says can be as much as 150% of the support fee from the lapsed date. 

It’s obvious to us from talking to Sun end-users they are not happy with the anti-competitive ultimatums from Oracle and a large number of them are migrating away from Solaris for this reason.

Customers are also migrating from Solaris for other reasons including:

• Freedom from hardware vendor lock-in
• Freedom from Software vendor lock-in
• Access to global community of development resources (instead of Sun only resources)
• OS that can be virtualized under VMware
• More features available and supported at no extra charges
• Support for all OS versions all the time, on all platforms
• Lower operating costs

So what is the solution if you are unhappy with Oracle/Sun?

1. Buy software only support from Sun and bundle it with a hardware maintenance contract from an Independent Service Organization.
   
   
2. Force Oracle/Sun to clarify the position on providing software only support on equipment purchased after 3.16.10. Then, only purchase software or full support for systems acquired after this date and have an ISO provide maintenance on systems procured after 3.16.10, and equipment deemed EOL by Oracle.
   
   
3. Freeze the environment then cancel support from Oracle. Under the existing Oracle contract, determine the firmware and Operating System levels required for your application(s). Then, download and update all thus freezing your environment. Purchase a maintenance agreement from an ISO and start migrating to a less restrictive vendor.
   
   
4. Collaborate with other dissatisfied Sun users and file a Class Action Anti-Trust Lawsuit. Of course a less expensive route is to file a complaint with your State’s Attorney General, since they are currently reviewing complaints about Oracle’s activities.

We recommend contacting a competent Independent Service Organization today for alternatives to Oracle’s high prices and to lower your costs without sacrificing service levels!