The Challenge
The continued increase in annual software maintenance fees paid to Oracle delivered limited value to Edinburgh Airport due to the relatively stable technology stack. Edinburgh Airport had recently completed a major upgrade to their IT infrastructure and as part of that the decision was made to keep their existing Oracle footprint. This led to the business taking a hard look at their Oracle spend as it was a significant cost item that was affording them no ROI. Edinburgh Airport considered an alternative support strategy that delivers the required software maintenance and support services at a significant discount on the fees currently paid to Oracle. They quickly realized that Oracle would not grant them any flexibility upon seeking new contract terms and cost savings measures.
We have seen significant cost savings coupled with the reassurance that the quality of support has also improved. We are immensely delighted with the commercial flexibility of Spinnaker Support and their alignment with our six core values.
– Laura Donald – IT Procurement Business Partner
The Approach
The company had become increasingly disappointed with the quality and value Oracle provided, given the amount of support spend. Their future IT strategy removed the requirement to upgrade to the latest versions of Oracle to remain supported, a reduction in the internal IT workload, and the need for knowledge transfer and enhanced support features.
Edinburgh Airport’s Oracle environment is hosted off-site and is supported by a preferred Oracle Partner. Because of their infrastructure configuration, the airport has a limited number of IT on staff to support their Oracle technologies and Database environments. Edinburgh Airport had discussions with two third-party support vendors but quickly decided to select Spinnaker Support based on flexible contract terms and strong financials that met the company’s requirements. Not only did the company seek cost reductions, but also sought to improve the quality of support and services received.
The Solution
Edinburgh Airport’s strategic requirements made the decision to move to third-party support with Spinnaker Support an easy course for their future. It was a top priority to partner with a company that aligned with Edinburgh Airport’s six core values.
Six core business values sought from internal staff and prospective business partners:
- Edge- tackles difficult issues
- Empower- inspires others to action
- Energy- creates a buzz
- Execution- you make things happen
- Expertise- knows their stuff
- External Focus- tuned in
Spinnaker Support is the leading third-party provider of global Oracle application and technology support for over 900 organizations worldwide. Our comprehensive and unmatched software support model delivers a broad range of value-added services in a highly responsive manner while providing service of the highest quality through an expert on-shore Oracle Middleware and Database support team.
The following solution was implemented by Spinnaker Support to allow Edinburgh Airport to achieve their desired state:
- Assigned a senior team of Oracle software engineers leveraging proven methods and global infrastructure to deliver exceptional support services for the company’s portfolio of Oracle technologies.
- Established a flexible contract agreement which allows Edinburgh Airport and Spinnaker Support to scale support services and fees based upon actual software usage and call volumes.
- Leveraged a partner with a stable, financially secure, independent, and flexible focusing on business needs and customer satisfaction.
The Results
Since Edinburgh Airport became a Spinnaker Support customer in November 2016, the company has reported savings in support fees greater than 60%. The airport has implemented multiple operational efficiencies in process improvements with the help of Spinnaker Support’s staff of Oracle experts. They continue to progress through a strategic transformation made possible because of their significant cost savings in their annual IT budget cycle. Additionally, they are getting far superior Oracle technology and Database support, and have no plans to return to the vendor for future support or products.