German user group bashes Oracle over licensing

Group representing more than 4,500 members backs Campaign for Clear Licensing's recent open letter to Larry Ellison

After getting it in the neck from UK body the Campaign for Clear Licensing (CCL), Oracle has been blasted again over its licensing processes and communications, this time by an independent German user group.

DOAG, which has more than 4,500 members, today issued a statement supporting an open letter CCL wrote to Oracle's Larry Ellison last month after research it carried out found the database and ERP giant had the most hostile and confusing licensing policies of any major vendor.

Some 92 per cent of IT managers CCL surveyed felt that Oracle does not clearly communicate licensing changes. Meanwhile, 88 per cent said Oracle's audit requests were unclear, while only 22 per cent regarded Oracle's License Management Service as being helpful during licence renewals and negotiations.

In its open letter, CCL urged Oracle to adopt seven recommendations to help improve trust and communication with its customers.

Dietmar Neugebauer, chairman of DOAG, said his group - which is one of the largest of its kind in the world - "generally supports" all seven points.

"In particular in areas such as communication and information there is still room for improvement," he said.

Michael Paege, deputy chairman and head of the DOAG Licensing Competence Center, added: "Oracle should provide more information, reduce complexity and improve customer communication. All in all, we would like Oracle to show greater commitment, place a strategic focus on customer satisfaction, respond more effectively to customer needs and wants, and adapt Oracle's licensing policy to the market, eg VMware."

Martin Thompson, founder of CCL - a not-for-profit organisation that first started making a racket last summer - said: "DOAG is one of the largest Oracle user groups in the world, so their support adds real weight to our findings. Representing the experiences of over 4,500 Oracle users in Germany, their support also proves that the issues we have highlighted are not limited to some unlucky regions, but are common to Oracle customers around the world.

"The poor quality of communication from Oracle and out-of-date licensing information is clearly a global issue that needs to be fixed from the top."