Global publisher enhances Oracle management and achieves $1.6M in savings

Leveraging SHI's Oracle services, a global publisher streamlined their IT management and achieved substantial cost savings.

Challenge:

A large publishing company faced significant challenges due to the ineffective management and maintenance of their complex Oracle software estate.

Their Oracle environment consisted of Database instances, Middleware, and Java installations which were often mishandled by human error. The diversity of their Oracle environment further complicated operations due to internal segmentation, hundreds of individual business owners, and a mix of on-premises and virtual installations.

Moreover, they struggled with managing their extensive IT estate, such as archiving retired machines and users, as well as onboarding new ones. These challenges necessitated a more streamlined and efficient IT resource management solution.

Solution:

SHI provided tailored Oracle Managed Services to address the challenges faced by the publisher, which were underpinned by several third-party applications. However, recognizing the unique requirements of the publisher, we created a dedicated platform called the SHI Oracle Discovery Application (SODA).

SODA delivered rapid, accurate analysis, verified by Oracle for Database and Java, with Middleware certification in progress. It delivered results typically in less than an hour and automated discovery, reducing customer input to virtually zero. The output was simplified to be easy to consume and in line with the publisher’s needs.

Outcome:

The use of SODA led to a significant improvement in time to value, from weeks to just a couple of days. By identifying and removing the consumption of OLAP and Real Application Testing for which there were no entitlements, SODA led to a cost avoidance of $1.6M.

Additionally, clear, actionable insights were provided for Java, including upgrading to free versions, compatibility with OpenJDK versions, and revocation of auto-updates. This helped consolidate visibility of software usage, both on-premises and cloud-based, and provided real-time data and insights, enabling more informed decision-making.