Recent Engagement Data

What We Find

$850,944 Annual Savings
$3,864,000 Compliance Exposure
628× Client ROI
Engagement Findings

Real Findings From a Real Oracle Environment

The findings below are drawn from an actual Nens Solutions LLC client engagement. This organization was running Oracle Database Enterprise Edition across a multi-node RAC cluster, with Active Data Guard standby systems and OCI cloud deployment. Like most of our clients, they had no idea their licensing position was this exposed.

These are not estimates or projections. Every finding is calculated from the client's actual server inventory, Oracle diagnostic script output, and current Oracle list prices. The remediation roadmap we delivered allowed this client to close every gap identified — before Oracle came looking.

Client identity withheld under NDA. Figures are from actual engagement data. Results vary by environment size and configuration.

Licensing Findings
Oracle Database EE — Processor License Shortfall Critical

Client is running Oracle Database Enterprise Edition on a 4-node RAC cluster with 2× Intel Xeon 18-core processors per node (144 licensed processors before Core Factor). The Core Factor Table for Intel Xeon Multi-Core processors is 0.5. Required licenses: 36 Processor licenses. Licensed: 24 Processor licenses. Shortfall: 12 Processor licenses.

$1,428,000
Estimated compliance exposure at Oracle list price ($47,500/processor × 12 unlicensed processors × support factor)
Diagnostics Pack — Unlicensed AWR and ADDM Usage Critical

The Diagnostics Pack option was enabled across all 4 database nodes (confirmed via DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS). AWR snapshots are being generated, ADDM analysis is running automatically, and ASH views are being queried by monitoring tools. The Diagnostics Pack was not in the client's support contract.

$672,000
Compliance exposure for unlicensed Diagnostics Pack ($7,000/processor × 36 processors × support factor)
Active Data Guard — Standby Database Active Query Usage High

Client operates two physical standby databases. Both standby databases are open READ ONLY with active reporting queries running against them (confirmed via V$SESSION and AWR standby data). Passive standbys require no additional license. Active Data Guard — which permits standby read access — requires a separate option license at $23,000/processor.

$1,656,000
Active Data Guard option compliance exposure (36 processors × $23,000 × support factor)
HA/DR Risk Findings
Critical Primary RAC cluster has no automated failover configured — manual DBA intervention required for node failure. RTO estimated at 2–4 hours under current runbook.
Critical Data Guard transport mode set to ASYNC with no Data Guard Observer deployed. Failover requires manual promotion — data loss window estimated at 30+ minutes during unplanned outage.
High RMAN backup retention policy set to 3 days. No offsite or cross-region copy configured. Single datacenter failure would result in unrecoverable data loss beyond 3-day window.
High DR failover procedure has not been tested in 18 months. Standby database configuration drift detected — standby parameter file diverges from primary in 6 non-trivial parameters.
Medium GoldenGate replication lag to analytics target exceeds 4-hour SLA threshold during peak batch processing windows. No alerting configured for lag breach.
Cost Optimization
OCI Compute — Over-Provisioned VM.Standard Shapes Medium

Client is running 8× VM.Standard3.Flex instances with 16 OCPUs and 256GB RAM provisioned. Average CPU utilization over the trailing 90 days was 12% across all instances. Rightsizing to 8 OCPU / 128GB RAM shapes would reduce Oracle BYOL license requirements and reduce OCI compute costs by approximately $71,000 annually.

$850,944
Total identified annual savings (compute rightsizing + license optimization + support reduction)
Impact

What This Means

Before the Audit
  • $3,864,000 in undetected compliance exposure
  • 3 critical licensing gaps invisible to the client
  • Zero visibility into standby database licensing requirements
  • No DR failover testing for 18 months — unknown RTO
After the Audit

The client received a complete picture of their licensing position with a prioritized remediation roadmap. Every critical gap was closed within 60 days. The OCI rightsizing alone will generate $850,944 in annual savings — a 113× return on the $7,500 engagement fee in year one, with ongoing savings every year thereafter. The HA/DR improvements brought their RTO from 2–4 hours to under 15 minutes.

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