Why is Oracle often an IT zombie system?
By Emanuel Böminghaus, Legacy Systems Expert and Managing Director, AvenDATA
By Emanuel Böminghaus
Legacy Systems Expert and
Managing Director, AvenDATA
Managing Director, AvenDATA
Your legacy Oracle system is quietly consuming your IT budget, month after month, unnecessarily.
Many companies continue operating their old Oracle systems due to concerns about data loss, legal retention requirements, or future audits. What is often overlooked: Oracle’s licensing model is among the most expensive and opaque in the entire IT sector.
Whether it’s Named User Plus, Processor Licensing, or additional options such as Partitioning, Advanced Security or Tuning, even the smallest configuration can result in substantial costs, even when the system is only passively running in the background. What makes it especially challenging is that complex licensing rules often apply to virtual machines or deactivated applications, leading to high support costs.
In addition, Oracle conducts active audits. Many companies suddenly face unexpected claims, for example, because virtual CPUs were incorrectly counted or licensing terms changed due to updates. Even if no one is actively using the system, this can lead to annual costs in the six-figure range and simply for the system’s continued existence.
This issue is particularly critical with complex ERP systems such as Oracle E-Business Suite, JD Edwards, or PeopleSoft. The underlying Oracle database also requires a license and is one of the biggest cost drivers. At AvenDATA, we archive not only the application layer but also the underlying Oracle database, even when the application has already been shut down.
This means that even if your ERP system is no longer in use but the Oracle database is still running, we can archive the database alone and permanently end the licensing requirement. Since Oracle databases are extremely expensive to license, this step is often especially worthwhile. Our ViewBox solution enables complete, structured and audit-compliant archiving, including search functions, document access, and data analysis capabilities.
At AvenDATA, we encounter this scenario daily. For over 20 years, we have helped companies fully decommission Oracle systems without data loss and with significant cost savings. Our ViewBox solution ensures audit-compliant archiving of all tax relevant and legally required data, whether it involves entire ERP systems or just the underlying database.
We take care of the following:
- Complete data transfer from the legacy system or directly from the Oracle database
- Reconstruction of business evaluations
- Mapping of tables, documents, and reports
- Permanent searchability without Oracle licenses
The result: your Oracle system or just the Oracle database is shut down, but all data remains accessible.
No license costs. No maintenance. No risk.
Act now before further licensing costs arise.
Book your free initial consultation with our archiving experts today. Together, we will analyze your Oracle system or your database and show you how to achieve long-term cost savings through legally compliant decommissioning with the AvenDATA ViewBox.
Are you planning to archive a legacy system?