How to Leverage a Bring-Your-Own-License Model on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Amazon Web Services
UPDATED JUNE 2023 – It’s no secret that Oracle licensing can be complicated. Between the never-ending legal jargon, Core calculations, and usage analysis, Oracle licensing can get complex. Often, it’s navigating these licenses, not the underlying technology, that can halt even the most well-intentioned Oracle Cloud migration efforts.
In this blog post, we’re going to take a closer look at how you can leverage your existing Oracle license to support your Oracle Cloud migration efforts to either Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) or Amazon Web Services (AWS).
What is a Bring Your Own License Model, Anyway?
Simply put, Bring Your Own License (BYOL) is a licensing model that lets you utilize your current on-premise Oracle license to support your Oracle migration and deployment to the Cloud – oftentimes at a significant cost savings.
BYOL on OCI
Is your organization leaning toward migrating your legacy Oracle system to OCI? If you have any existing Oracle software licenses for services like Oracle Database, Oracle Middleware, or Oracle Business Intelligence, you can leverage those existing licenses when subscribing to Oracle Platform Cloud Services (Oracle PaaS).
With BYOL, you can leverage existing software licenses for Oracle PaaS subscriptions at a lower cost. As an example, if you already have a perpetual license for Oracle Database Standard Edition, then you can leverage that license to purchase a cloud subscription to Standard Edition Database as a Service at a lower cost.
The total cost of ownership calculations can be complex with this option as you need to consider your existing cost of support, the added value you will gain from a cloud-based, self-healing, self-patching solution versus the cost of buying the solution outright without using BYOL. TekStream can help you weigh these options if you are thinking about leveraging BYOL for your cloud journey.
How Do You Use Your BYOL for Oracle PaaS?
So, how exactly do you use your existing Oracle software license to support your OCI migration needs? It’s easier than you may think:
• Select specific Oracle BYOL options in the Cost Estimator to get your BYOL pricing.
• Apply your BYOL pricing to individual cloud service instances when creating a new instance of your PaaS service. BYOL is the default licensing option during instance creation for all services that support it.
As noted, when creating a new instance of Oracle Database Cloud Service using the QuickStart wizard, the BYOL option is automatically applied.
Bring Your Own License to AWS
Oracle can be deployed on AWS using the compute resources (EC2). Like a standard server on your datacenter today, when using this migration strategy, you are responsible for the licenses of any software running on the instances (including Oracle database, middleware, or any other software instances).
You can use your existing Oracle licenses to run on AWS. If you choose this licensing approach, it is important to consider a couple of supporting factors.
If you are licensing a product by processor or named users on this platform, you need to consider the Oracle core multipliers referenced in the terms and conditions of your license agreement.
If you are using employee or user-based metrics, you can deploy solutions on AWS with little concern about these issues.
Many Oracle Unlimited and Enterprise License Agreements do not allow usage in AWS. If you are using one of these options for your Oracle licensing, we would recommend reviewing your contracts carefully before deploying these Oracle licenses on AWS.
Is the BYOL Licensing Model Right for You?
Regardless of which Cloud platform you choose (AWS or OCI), a Cloud migration is the perfect opportunity to reexamine your Oracle license structure. Whether you opt for the BYOL licensing model or choose to utilize a new licensing structure, take this opportunity to identify ways to reduce the cost of your overarching licensing structure.
Learn about alternative licensing models by downloading our free eBook, “A Primer on Licensing Options, Issues, and Strategies for Running Oracle CPU-based Licenses on Cloud.”
Need help? TekStream can help demystify the Oracle licensing process. We provide straightforward counsel and, most importantly, identify cost-saving opportunities while still maintaining full licensing compliance.
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