Our mantra has always been “You can’t manage what you don’t know.” Now, I didn’t say that. It was Peter Drucker. But, it’s no less true and, in fact, it’s definitely spot-on when it comes to Oracle software asset management. Compliance is the name of the game to cost savings. It’s not about the large discount you receive from Oracle or any software vendor during a negotiation process. As the IT executive put in charge of procurement or (re-) negotiation of Oracle products, you need to look at the big picture.
One of our main points has been, you need to know what products you have before you attempt to look at procurement or (re-)negotiation. In fact, Oracle gives you a simple excel tracking tool to help with that.
A simple Excel Tracking Tool: http://www.oracle.com/corporate/pricing/AssetTrackingTool.xls
You may have an automated software asset management system, but you still need to review all your assets thoroughly.