Semiconductors power the world. From smartphones to automobiles, refrigerators to pacemakers, these tiny chips make the machines we so depend upon smarter, smaller, and more powerful. The companies that design integrated circuits (ICs) are leading the way in defining the next-to-come benefits, which is why the chip industry is booming. Research firm EMR projects the global semiconductor market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% from 2021 to 2026.¹

Processing the Value of Oracle’s Support

Fabless IC maker, ITE Tech, uses Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) to house its critical business functions. Eric Yao, Director of IT, is responsible for the functionality and availability of the platform.

Yao’s team was the primary catalyst for investigating a possible move away from Oracle maintenance. “While our IT department was capable of providing the support needed for EBS and Oracle Database, as a listed company, it was imperative we mitigated any risks that could cause downtime,” he shared.

The tipping point for Yao was a desire to remove Oracle Agile PLM from the Oracle Master Agreement because it was no longer being used. “The negotiation around this seemingly straightforward request was not productive. That’s when we really started to examine our relationship with Oracle Support,” Yao said.

Yao discovered that during the past eight years, his team had opened only about 30 cases with the Oracle support desk. He uncovered the reason: “Submitting a ticket to Oracle was just too challenging. There is no local support, so with the different time zones involved, we were always talking to a new engineer in a different part of the world and starting the conversation over each time. During this period, we were frequently unable to close a ticket satisfactorily.”

He continued, “We are always looking to weigh costs versus the value we receive — and every year, Oracle raises its fees. Once we collected all the data, it was obvious that our Oracle support contract simply didn’t make sense financially or operationally.”

Enhanced Support Flips Multiple Switches

At first, Yao just wanted to end the maintenance agreement with Oracle and explore other options. He discovered how independent, third-party software support for Oracle EBS and Oracle Database could assist in a variety of areas. The change went smoothly, resulting in elevated credibility and trust with the new third-party support partner.

Yao was also alerted to additional benefits that he could tap into. He expounded, “We saw that our new partner worked really hard and added value beyond just the move away from Oracle support. To validate our growing comfort level in establishing a long-term relationship, we were given access to existing clients for one-on-one conversations. This created a strong sense of confidence in the integrity and capabilities of the company and the services offered. It was a swift and easy decision.”

Unexpected Positives

One of the major benefits its third-party support provider offers is a Primary Support Engineer (PSE), an expert, single point-of-contact assigned to ITE. “Instead of constantly repeating the same information again and again with Oracle engineers in India, France, Japan, and the U.S., our PSE is personally responsible for every one of our cases. He has all the data and all the answers come through him, creating a much tighter, more efficient, and productive relationship. With Oracle, most cases dragged on and on. Now our tickets are resolved and closed in sensible timeframes,” Yao explained.

Confidence in the support for Oracle EBS and Oracle Database has earned the third-party provider a role as part of Yao’s extended team. “Despite the strength of my own team, the partner is frequently the primary support and system maintenance provider, enabling us to focus on other core areas,” he noted.

He added, “For me, a key indicator of the satisfaction of my team with our new provider has been the almost two-fold increase in the number of calls logged with them: the speed, quality of response, and the ease of communicating now make it worthwhile to seek assistance.”

ITE also is saving 50% compared to the Oracle annual support fee. Yao said, “Our mission in IT is to deliver the greatest impact to the business in the most cost-effective manner. We’ve been able to channel the savings from moving to third-party software support into many key initiatives, like investing in artificial intelligence; big data; and infrastructure enhancements for our networks, servers, and cloud services.”

Rimini Street: Powering More Confidence in Support Quality

Originally, Yao simply wanted to move away from Oracle maintenance and secure a rudimentary level of support for Oracle EBS and Oracle Database — but his partnership with Rimini Street has uncovered unexpected value. “At a minimum, the baseline support we get from Rimini Street is always at least as good as Oracle, and with our assigned PSE, the service is consistently superior,” he explained. “I really value the reliability, the speed of replies, and getting progressive solutions to our issues. These all combine to make us feel confident and assured in our partnership with Rimini Street.”

¹ https://www.expertmarketresearch.com/pressrelease/semiconductor-market