One engagement. Nine findings. $850,944 in annual savings identified. $3,864,000 in compliance exposure quantified. 628x return on the $7,500 audit
fee.
These are not projected numbers. These are findings from a real Oracle environment audit, anonymized for client confidentiality.
Licensing Findings (3)
Finding 1: Diagnostic Pack — Unlicensed Usage Confirmed
Evidence: AWR report present in environment confirms Diagnostic Pack usage
Annual Exposure: $263,120
Severity: CRITICAL
Finding 2: Real Application Clusters — Processor Count Miscalculation
Evidence: RAC node processor counts did not match Oracle licensing requirements
Annual Exposure: $323,840
Severity: CRITICAL
Finding 3: Tuning Pack — SQL Tuning Advisor Usage Without License
Evidence: SQL Tuning Advisor activity confirmed without Tuning Pack license
Annual Exposure: $263,120
Severity: HIGH
HA/DR Risk Findings (5)
- CRITICAL — Data Guard ORA-16629 error: standby not synchronized
- CRITICAL — RMAN backup stale: last successful backup nearly 3 years ago
- MEDIUM — No formal RTO/RPO targets documented
- HIGH — Backup never restore-tested: recovery capability unverified
- CRITICAL — Combined HA/DR failure risk: both Data Guard and RMAN critical simultaneously
Cost Optimization (1)
OCI Compute Over-Provisioned — Development instances running on production-grade compute shapes.
Annual Savings: $864
What This Means
Before this audit, the client did not know:
- They were running Diagnostic Pack without a license
- Their RMAN backups had not run in nearly 3 years
- Their Data Guard standby had an active error condition
- Their total Oracle compliance exposure was $3,864,000
After this audit, they had a clear remediation plan, evidence to negotiate with Oracle, and a path to compliance.
That is what one week and $7,500 buys you.