Oracle 12c—better the bigger you are and the more you can afford
December 11, 2017

Oracle 12c—better the bigger you are and the more you can afford

Sean Scott | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Oracle Database 12c

We use Oracle 12c in a preliminary capacity in our test environments while we evaluate its suitability for future initiatives. This involves installation and evaluation in AWS, Docker containers, and physical servers. This initiative is currently limited to the information technology and engineering groups. It is being evaluated against existing, older Oracle databases to support backend for ecommerce activities.
  • The database appears to be fast and capable based on our benchmarking.
  • Oracle 12c adds a number of new features compared to older versions. In particular, mutitenant and pluggable databases are attractive options for us for refreshing QA environments and managing sprawl.
  • Compatibility with prior versions appears to be solid.
  • My biggest beef with 12c and Oracle in general is the support. Over the years I've seen a significant decline in the quality and responsiveness of the support group.
  • Oracle has more or less abandoned its Standard Edition user base by adding limitations and restrictions on the product, core use, etc. While our current terminal release 11gR2 SE databases are suitable for our purposes, the 12c SE limitations mean we would be forced to upgrade to 12c EE to match the capacity we presently enjoy. 12c SE is not an option for us.
  • Punitive licensing for AWS users is a turn off. We have deep roots in AWS and it doesn't make sense for us to engage a second cloud vendor, or move extensive investments in AWS, to the Oracle Cloud.
  • We are not yet in production with 12c so we have yet to see any ROI in our evaluations.
  • Projected higher licensing costs for Enterprise Edition and AWS would mean we would not see ROI for an extended period.
  • As a smaller company, we see greater potential ROI from competing RDBMS products that do not penalize us for choosing a cloud vendor that is outside the Oracle stack.
We're still in evaluation but based on cost and affordability vs. performance for our specific needs (running a $500M retail e-commerce shop) Oracle 12c loses. Licensing and support of Enterprise Edition would equate to a significant percentage of our annual revenue and we don't "get" anything more that we really need than competing vendors offer, at a better price point. The advantage Oracle offers is the community and (to a certain extent) its support. However, many of the Oracle user groups are beginning to embrace and include competing RDBMS products in their community, making them more attractive and less risky options for smaller companies.
12c is most suitable for enterprise companies who can afford the licensing burden of enterprise edition and the various licensing options. It's a no-brainer if you're interested in going to or already in the Oracle Cloud but less cut and dried if you're an AWS user, or if you're a pre-12c standard edition user looking to upgrade. Some of the more attractive features of 12c require additional licensing.