What is our primary use case?
I am using the solution to study and have not yet used it on a production level. I integrate components such as other Oracle products and the public cloud. I also use the solution on the virtual side to try different approaches. I use the on-premises version but my company also has the public cloud version.
Here in Botswana, we are still lagging behind in technology. People are still in the dark about the cloud so it will take some time. It is important to learn and Oracle provides free cloud training. I am leveraging the training opportunities so that I get good experience.
We have 500 users at our company. We specialize in tax regulation and administer the taxes for the country. There are quite a number of departments who use the solution including HR and payroll. When the need arrives, we can easily scale up.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution's main benefit is its convenience. Other OEMs can take quite some time to deploy. With the solution, a bit of knowledge allows you to easily deploy without any issues.
What is most valuable?
The integration is very good, particularly with other Oracle products such as EDS.
The OEM is quite broad and allows you to work on various things.
The solution is quite good for applying patches or performing upgrades.
What needs improvement?
The documentation might not be good enough for new users. You will sometimes experience hardships in accomplishing implementations because you don't yet have a grasp of the solution. Once you understand deployments, then implementations are easy with no real problems.
Deployments for other vendors could be easier. The solution handles Oracle to Oracle very well, but needs to improve for vendors like Microsoft. Our last deployment with another vendor was a headache.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is mostly stable. Proper deployments run for a very long time without issues. We didn't do a few things properly so had a few issues at first. In the long run, the solution is stable and rated an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable so I rate scalability an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is an issue with Oracle so needs some improvement. They are very slow to respond and it might take one or two days to hear from them. They might pass you from one person to another to find someone knowledgeable and available. When support finally responds to an issue, they bring proper solutions.
I rate support a six out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have only used Oracle products. I have experience with Audit Vault, Database, Firewall, and NX.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is quite easy for the cloud version so I rate it a seven out of ten.
The on-premises version takes quite a bit longer. You might spend a day or so on setup.
What about the implementation team?
Our team implemented both versions of the solution. Two or three engineers handle ongoing maintenance and any troubleshooting. It is good to share ideas and interact to overcome any problems.
Clients set environments the way they want them, so deployment takes less time if they do that in advance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is expensive so pricing is rated a six out of ten.
Prices are broken down so you won't notice they are high. Over time, customers notice that the price is too high.
In Botswana, customers are afraid to purchase the license because of the cost. Sometimes this is a lack of knowledge because customers don't realize what the license covers. We install trial versions so we can demonstrate the solution. Customers like it but start complaining when they receive purchase orders.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is particularly useful in a super structure with multiple vendors. I recommend the solution to most customers because it is really convenient and drastically reduces their workload.
I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.