A: Oracle’s Software License and Services Agreement (SLSA) & Oracle’s License and Services Agreement (OLSA) contain clauses that allow Oracle to audit a customer’s use of Oracle products.
A: An Oracle Server Worksheet (OSW) is a spreadsheet that Oracle or its auditors send at the beginning of an audit to collect information about customers’ use of Oracle products. It contains requests for names of products, descriptions of the hardware environment, and number of users.
A: Oracle will continue to escalate the matter internally. Oracle may threaten to terminate the customer’s licenses for breach of the OLSA or SLSA.
A: Oracle’s license management team may conduct the audit or may decide to work with an outside accounting firm to conduct the audit.
A: The on-site verification meeting presents many challenges for Oracle’s customers. There are privacy and security issues that the customers need to work through. For privacy and security reasons, some customers also object to the use of Oracle’s tools to verify compliance.
A: The best way to limit the scope of an audit is to negotiate the audit provisions in the license agreement when a customer purchases Oracle products. It is difficult to limit the scope of an audit after Oracle sends and audit notification.
A: Many Oracle customers regularly check their compliance with Oracle’s license requirements, even if Oracle does not send an audit notice. It can be reassuring to regularly assess the Oracle licensing position.
A: Absolutely. Oracle customers often find it helpful to work with attorneys to protect the customers’ interests in the audit.
