Many software vendors are now embracing licencing metrics that incorporate the requirements of a virtual environment. Oracle, Microsoft and IBM are just three of the many vendors who have accepted that they have to move away from tying their software licences to physical devices or processors. Licencing software in a virtual environment based on processors can add up fast so it’s a good idea to look at negotiating software licences based on named users.  Data volume is going up fast for many organisations which in turn requires more processors, even though the number of actual users may stay the same or actually be decreasing. And one other point; Silver Bullet Associates is aware that some suppliers support contracts are not written to incorporate virtual licences and could cause a cost problem when the supplier insists the client revert the support contract from virtual to physical licenses before addressing the original issue.

Looking at the most recently published Oracle price list, Silver Bullet Associates has spotted that some of Oracle’s products have leapt in price by as much as 40%. Processor licences for the company’s diagnostic and tuning packs, as well as a database configuration management pack, are now US$5,000(£3,040), up from $3,500(£2,130) in 2008. The first two products are meant to help database administrators target and resolve performance problems. The latter tool is used for a range of tasks, such as tracking database configuration changes and ensuring policy compliance. Just when the credit crunch is really biting, it sometimes beggars belief to see vendors upping prices. And any increase in license prices will also have a pro-rata increase in their annual Support/Maintenance costs. However, remember that these are price negotiation starting points with nothing to stop Oracle offering extra discounts. And let’s at least give Oracle credit for providing a price list that we can pick over. Most other software vendors don’t.