BSkyB Finds the Right Agent

sky1BSkyB’s Chief Technology Officer, Didier Lebrat, was preparing for a considerable software license negotiation with Oracle during spring 2008 and knew he needed the advice of a software licensing specialist.

Mr. Lebrat turned to Commerce Planner, Ltd., the IT Software Licensing specialist, knowing that Commerce Planner had the skills and deep experience to (1) analyse BSkyB’s environment across its multiple divisions; (2) interpret Oracle’s industry leading licensing policies in BSkyB’s best interests; and (3) provide recommendations that would lower costs and yield optimal asset management. In addition, Mr. Lebrat needed flexibility to evolve his Oracle environment as BSkyB’s business changed, with the flexibility of negotiating with Oracle only once.

Working together with BSkyB and Oracle’s UK account team, Commerce Planner conducted an intensive analysis over several weeks. Commerce Planner documented all aspects of BSkyB’s Oracle software licence environment including deployment, license ownership and BSkyB’s strategic plan. Then, working with Commerce Planner, BSkyB was able to negotiate a win-win licencing agreement with Oracle, and provided Mr. Lebrat with a forward looking plan, aligning both his current and future licencing needs. Commerce Planner also provided the strategic recommendations that enhanced BSkyB’s overall cost of Oracle software licencing ownership.

Mr. Lebrat commented on teaming with Commerce Planner: “Preparing to enter into a very large software negotiation with Oracle is a significant undertaking. You have to be fully prepared and be sure you’ve explored all the angles. And having teamed with Commerce Planner, I was able to conduct negotiations with the confidence of a highly informed buyer, and having that peace of mind was key to striking the best agreement with Oracle.”

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Commerce Planner, Ltd. (www.commerceplanner.com) specialises in helping clients to negotiate Oracle software licensing and consulting contracts, and to renegotiate existing ones, helping to significantly lower the cost of IT ownership for its 50+ clients located primarily throughout Europe as well as globally. Founded in August 2005, Commerce Planner is privately held.

T: 0800 822 3750
Suite 404, Albany House
324 - 326 Regent Street
London
W1B 3HH
© 2009 Commerce Planner, Ltd. all rights reserved worldwide

Reducing the Cost of Oracle Ownership

Lehman Brothers

Challenge

For 60 years, Lehman Brothers has been a global leading financial institution. This is the company that, in the estimation of the Financial Times, “dominates the investment banking world”. Its Investment banking traditions are unrivalled – Lehman Brothers pioneered global investment banking practices across the world.

Lehman Brothers has successfully married a tradition of Investment Banking excellence and responsive customer service to a forceful talent for innovation and deal making in new markets. Lehman Brothers has pioneered new markets in investment banking, fixed-income sales, research and trading, investment management, private equity, and private banking. This expansion led Lehman Brothers to expand its IT infrastructure to support its complex business operations.

It was in this context that Lehman Brothers Director of Information Technology, Jon Beyman, approached Commerce Planner. He and his team were facing an Oracle renewal support deadline that threatened to strain their budget as well as involve them in a time-consuming round of fact finding and compliance audits. Jon understood that he didn’t have the critical information he needed for a clear decision, and he didn’t have the time to immerse himself in Oracle’s complex licensing rules and regulations.

Partnership

With Commerce Planner working as a trusted partner, the negotiations quickly moved in Jon’s favor. Lehman Brothers was looking at renewal of contract quoted at nearly $6,000,000. Commerce Planner promptly conducted a thorough licensing inventory of Lehman Brothers Oracle assets right across the global organization. Commerce Planner also reviewed those assets in the light of Lehman Brothers real-time needs – past, present and future. As the countdown to signature approached, Commerce Planner was able to offer a plan to restructure Lehman Brothers support agreements that offered an immediate and significant annual saving, with the opportunity to implement further cost reductions in future years. The fee reduction was achieved without compromising any essential component of the Oracle licensing inventory, and the contracts left plenty of room for Lehman Brothers to upsize its user base as the need arose. Jon Beyman had this to say:

“Commerce Planner provided us with the information needed to optimize our licenses and deployment strategies. In doing so they simplified the process for us and saved money. The experience, professionalism and positive attitude that the Commerce Planner team brought to the process gave us confidence to make their recommended changes to our contracts. We have continued the partnership with Commerce Planner to ensure we continue to get the best value from our investment in Oracle licenses. We definitely have confidence that the Commerce Planner team provides this service to us on an ongoing basis.”

With Commerce Planner’s help, the team was ready on the day to renew its Oracle contract, in full confidence that it had the best deal available.

T: 0800 822 3750
F: 44 207 691 7356
Suite 404, Albany House
324 - 326 Regent Street
London
W1B 3HH
www.Commerce Planner.com
© 2006 Commerce Planner Consulting, Ltd.