Oracle BYOL on OCI vs AWS, Azure, GCP: Cost and Licensing Comparison

• OCI BYOL offers double the CPU capacity per Oracle license (1 license covers 2 OCPUs) and provides support cost credits.
• AWS/Azure/GCP BYOL follows standard rules (1 Oracle license per 2 vCPUs) and does not offer support fee rebates.
• Cost Impact: OCI’s policies can significantly cut Oracle Database costs and provide unique features (Exadata, RAC) that other clouds lack.

Introduction

Enterprises with substantial Oracle Database investments are looking to the cloud to reduce costs and increase flexibility. Bring Your Own License (BYOL) programs allow organizations to use their existing Oracle licenses on cloud platforms instead of buying new licenses.

Oracle’s own Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) has a BYOL model tailored for Oracle products, and major public clouds like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) also support Oracle BYOL.

However, the rules and benefits differ between OCI and these third-party providers.

This article compares OCI’s BYOL program with AWS, Azure, and GCP, focusing on how on-premises Oracle licenses map to cloud compute, the cost implications (especially for Oracle Database Enterprise Edition), key policy differences, and limitations.

We also recommend optimizing Oracle license usage in the cloud for IT executives and procurement professionals.

OCI vs Other Clouds: License Usage and Cost

More CPU per License on OCI: In OCI, one Oracle Database processor license covers 2 OCPUs (which equates to 2 physical cores, or four vCPUs with hyper-threading). In AWS, Azure, and GCP, one license typically covers 1 physical core (2 vCPUs). In effect, OCI delivers twice the compute capacity per license.

For example, 4 Oracle licenses allow about eight vCPUs of database power on AWS/Azure, but the same four licenses allow 16 vCPUs on OCI. This can dramatically reduce the number of licenses (and annual support fees) you need when running Oracle in OCI.

Cost Implications:

Given Oracle’s high license costs, OCI’s 2-for-1 licensing advantage translates to major savings. If a workload needs eight performance cores, you’d need eight licenses on AWS but only four on OCI.

Additionally, OCI usage earns Oracle Support Rewards—credits equal to 25% of your OCI spend (33% for certain customers) that you can apply to reduce Oracle support bills. Other clouds do not have such a program.

Combined with OCI’s generally lower infrastructure pricing, these factors often make OCI the lowest-cost option for Oracle Database workloads.

License Compliance and Policies:

AWS, Azure, and GCP are all “authorized” by Oracle for license use, meaning Oracle permits BYOL on those platforms if you follow its policies (for instance, counting 2 vCPUs as one license).

In those clouds, it’s up to the customer to track and ensure compliance (using tools like AWS License Manager or Azure resource tags to monitor Oracle deployments). OCI simplifies this because the platform is aware of Oracle licensing rules – when you choose BYOL for an OCI database service, it tracks your OCPU usage.

Also, support is consolidated: on OCI, Oracle handles both cloud service issues and database support, whereas on other clouds, you might work with two parties (the cloud provider for VM issues and Oracle for database support). This unified approach on OCI can reduce administrative overhead.

Limitations of AWS, Azure, and GCP for Oracle BYOL

When using Oracle licenses on non-Oracle clouds, be mindful of a few constraints:

• AWS: Oracle Enterprise Edition on AWS is BYOL-only (there is no license-included option for EE in Amazon’s RDS service). Some Oracle features like Real Application Clusters (RAC) are unavailable on AWS. If you use Amazon RDS for Oracle, certain advanced options or versions may not be supported, and you cannot access the underlying OS. Running Oracle on EC2 gives more flexibility but requires full license compliance management, similar to on-premises. For high availability on AWS, a secondary instance (for failover) will also need licensing if it’s running concurrently.
• Azure: Azure has no native managed Oracle database service; you run Oracle on Azure by provisioning a VM and installing Oracle, using your licenses. This provides basic cloud infrastructure for Oracle but doesn’t offer specialized Oracle optimizations. (Oracle and Microsoft’s partnership allows Azure users to connect to Oracle databases hosted on OCI, which means the actual database is on OCI’s platform, not Azure’s.)
• GCP: Google Cloud relies on self-managed Oracle on VMs or Google’s Bare Metal Solution (dedicated servers) for Oracle workloads. There is no Google-managed Oracle database service, so BYOL on GCP means you must handle installation, tuning, and licensing just as in a private datacenter. GCP’s Bare Metal servers can isolate Oracle workloads, but they function more like traditional hardware hosting (with associated costs and less elasticity). Essentially, without tapping into Oracle’s cloud via partnership, GCP doesn’t provide Oracle-specific efficiencies.
• General Considerations: In any third-party cloud, controlling which Oracle features are enabled is important. Suppose you enable an option like Database Partitioning or Advanced Security on AWS/Azure/GCP. In that case, you must own the proper Oracle license for that option – the cloud won’t automatically check that for you. Also, remember Oracle’s standard policies, such as the requirement to license all active cores and the allowance for a disaster recovery instance to run unlicensed for up to 10 days per year (beyond that, it needs a license). These rules apply in the cloud just as on-prem.

Recommendations

To get the most value from your Oracle licenses in the cloud and avoid pitfalls:

• Run Core Oracle Systems on OCI: For large or performance-sensitive Oracle databases, OCI is generally the most cost-effective and capable environment. It allows you to use fewer licenses for the same workload and gives you access to Oracle-exclusive technologies like Exadata and Autonomous Database. Consider moving or deploying critical Oracle workloads to OCI to maximize savings and support.
• Use Other Clouds for Secondary Workloads: For small or ancillary Oracle databases to AWS/Azure/GCP applications, it’s fine to BYOL on those platforms. Just be diligent about right-sizing the instances (don’t allocate more vCPUs than necessary) and keeping track of the licenses assigned there. If possible, use Oracle Standard Edition or free Oracle XE for smaller needs to avoid consuming expensive Enterprise Edition licenses on trivial tasks.
• Maintain License Visibility: Keep a centralized record of Oracle license usage across all environments. Tag your cloud instances running Oracle, and periodically audit their CPU counts. By knowing exactly where and how your licenses are used, you can avoid compliance issues and make informed decisions, such as when it might be time to reassign a license from a low-use system in Azure to a busier system in OCI.
• Engage Oracle on Programs and Updates: Work with Oracle to leverage programs (like Support Rewards or cloud promotions). Stay informed about Oracle’s cloud licensing policies and any new incentives they introduce. Being proactive ensures you can capitalize on opportunities for further savings.

By following these steps, IT and procurement leaders can ensure they use Oracle BYOL most efficiently. OCI tends to offer the best value and least friction for Oracle workloads, while AWS, Azure, and GCP can play a role for certain use cases with careful management.

The key is to align your cloud deployment plans with Oracle’s licensing economics: use OCI when you want to stretch your licenses further or need Oracle-specific features, and use other clouds when they make sense for convenience or integration – all while keeping a close eye on license compliance and costs.