We just received a note from a client that Oracle sent them an email to have a meeting because they have been engaged by the account team. The first question you might ask is “who are they?” You may also view this situation as a moving target. The Oracle audit team goes by Licensing Management Services (LMS) or in other words, Global Licensing and Advisory Services (GLAS) but make no mistake – if this team is involved you are being audited.
The second question you might have is “why is my account team engaging them?” And this is the real question. Oracle audits come directly from your sales account team, if they think there is any possibility to force you into a sale, they will take it. If they think there might be something there but aren’t sure, they will engage GLAS to do the following:
“Give you the proactive guidance you need to move your organization forward”
They will even tell you that they can help you save money. These promises they tell you can presented as a contract review, which they make you believe will help you align your contracts and spend. There could be nothing farther from the truth – they are not there to help; they are there to make money.
When our client first sent this to me, they thought they were under audit because this team said they were engaged to review their license compliance and our client almost set up a meeting to tell them what they wanted to hear, until they found us. I explained to them that an audit notice will specifically say “audit” and will reference the audit clause in their contract, needless to say they were a little surprised. The GLAS consultant has been adamant about getting them on a call and has even claimed they need to discuss a compliance issue.
Here is the advice you need to know and adhere to closely: You have NO contractual obligation to talk to a salesperson or a licensing consultant (auditor). You do not have to respond to their email or get on a call with them. You can simply ignore them or reply that you are not interested, and you will have to do it multiple times as they are trained to not take no for an answer. I repeat… DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM – their intent is to audit you or gather enough information to warrant an audit.
Second piece of advice: try to determine why they are asking these questions. Do you have enough licenses? Did you tell someone that you have Oracle deployed on VMware? Did you talk about a DR that maybe you did not think you have to license? Get to the bottom of what they are trying to find out so that you can get your licensing in order before they come back.
Last thing to know: If and when they come back and serve an actual audit notice, they will ask for a meeting right away to discuss which is against your contract with them. Your contract typically states that they have the right to audit you after a 45-day notice. The letter they send is an intent to audit. Contractually, you do not have to respond – and you should not respond. Take that time to get as much in order as possible.
GLAS/LMS is never there to help! They will sound very convincing that your best interest is in mind by making you think they will save you money. I have seen far too many clients come to us after agreeing to this exercise only to be served with a finding letter and a demand that they have 30 days to comply, at which your account team comes back in and acts like the good guy. They will sell you something to make the finding “go away.” Truth is, most of our clients in these situations were actually compliant and didn’t have to buy anything.
Do not get caught in this trap – get help if you see this happening at your organization.
Evan Boyd
VP of Business Operations
