Google Cloud Platform Licence Advisory
The business case for optimising software licensing when migrating to GCP.
Why optimise licensing before moving to GCP?
Reduce costs: By moving to Google Cloud Platform (GCP), you unlock the opportunity to licence the actual compute used and can avoid the over-spend typically experienced with an on-premise model.
Avoid compliance breaches: Make sure you’re aware of contractual blockers and licensing restrictions and clean up any licensing exposures before you move, or risk facing costly compliance breaches.
Unlock the full potential of GCP: Optimising your application and infrastructure software licensing can help get better performance in the cloud.
Why now?
Optimise before you move not after: If you’re planning to migrate workloads to GCP, licence advisory should be the first step to minimise risk, control costs and understand the value of a GCP migration from a licensing perspective.
A move to GCP can trigger a vendor audit: Moving to a public cloud hyperscaler and away from a vendor’s cloud infrastructure can be a trigger for a vendor software audit. Make sure you’re compliant and audit-ready.
Why Invictus Partners?
GCP partner: Invictus Partners is a registered GCP partner and we have been working with GCP to provide clients with licensing advice since 2020.
Cloud licensing specialists: Our team of enterprise software licensing consultants have many decades of combined experience advising on software licence optimisation across on-premise, SaaS, PaaS and IaaS environments. We can help you optimise licensing structures for hybrid and public clouds and ensure contractual compliance when moving to GCP.
Holistic approach: We offer a 360 degree view of all elements of cloud engagements between software vendors, cloud providers and system integrators.
Understand the licensing impacts of a Google Cloud migration before you move.
Organisations have a lot to gain by moving to GCP, but the migration risks and complexities are amplified for organisations opting for a third-party cloud strategy. Each software vendor has different product terms and licensing structures which need to be considered before moving to GCP.
Invictus Partners can analyse your contracts for traps or lock-ins that restrict migration to third-party clouds, and can help you chart a course of what, when and how software products can be redeployed on GCP within existing licensing terms.
Can you bring your licence agreements to GCP?
The critical first step is to ensure your existing licences are permitted to be transferred to GCP according to your software vendors’ cloud licensing policies and restrictions. For those that aren’t eligible, we advise you on how to restructure or renegotiate licence arrangements so you don’t risk compliance breaches.
How many licences should you bring to GCP?
Rightsizing your licensing structure for GCP requires an understanding of the risks and benefits of moving each of your applications and workloads. We help you make informed decisions about what to move and which licences are not needed under the new model.
How can you manage your licences in GCP?
We help you find the optimal configuration in GCP to maximise performance and set your organisation up for ongoing licence and cost optimisation.
Chat to an expert
Our GCP Migration Licence Advisory Service breakdown:
Phase 1
GCP Migration Licence Review
Phase 2
GCP Migration Strategy Roadmap
Phase 3
Vendor Negotiation Advisory
Phase 1
GCP Migration Licence Review
The first and most important step in migrating your workloads to GCP is a comprehensive review of your current software contracts and licensing position to assess your usage versus entitlements.
We can help you get a full baseline picture of software entitlements for the products you want to move to GCP. In parallel, our team maps your current entitlements into an equivalence in GCP and ascertains if there are any licensing deficits. Where compliance gaps are identified, we guide you on appropriate remediation strategies such as re-architecting, consolidating, or purchasing additional licences.
This enables you to identify where you may need to restructure and/or renegotiate licensing terms for the GCP instance, so that you can ensure compliance with your software vendors, as well as minimise your GCP licensing costs.
Phase 2
Google Cloud Migration Strategy Roadmap
We work with you to develop a roadmap that considers all aspects of your data and applications; which workloads and applications to migrate to GCP, the best approach for the platform migration (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), planning and prioritising, accountabilities and governance, contractual and entitlement mapping, reporting and measuring success parameters.
Phase 3
Vendor Negotiation Advisory
We can guide you to negotiate optimal software contract terms with your vendors ahead of moving your workloads to GCP, so that you remain compliant before, during and after the move. We provide benchmarking advice in relation to pricing and terms and can participate in negotiations with vendors to secure you the best deal.
Vendor-specific licensing advice for Google Cloud Platform migrations.
Licensing Oracle on GCP
GCP is not one of Oracle’s Authorized Cloud Environments, but this doesn’t mean you have to rule it out. Oracle customers can move existing licences to Google Cloud’s Bare Metal Solution by licensing per core as you would in an on-premise environment.
Invictus Partners has helped Oracle customers migrate Oracle eBusiness Suite, middleware and database technology to Google Bare Metal Solution. Our team assesses your Oracle Unlimited License Agreements to ensure a transition to GCP is viable, and then reviews your on-premise deployments to ensure you are in a compliant position before you move.
We can support your organisation throughout your GCP migration, ensuring you meet the strict Oracle licence requirements. At each deployment phase, we review and validate the proposed architecture and sizing against your Oracle licence baseline, identify and allocate the required Oracle licences, and monitor the provisioning of allocated Oracle licences.
Migrate Oracle Database to Google Cloud
Moving to the cloud may be difficult if your business depends on applications running on an Oracle Database. Some applications may have dependencies on Oracle for compatibility, licensing, and management.
Organisations can “lift and shift” existing Oracle Database workloads and applications to GCP, or use Google’s fully managed certified database infrastructure and SLA for Oracle workloads with its Bare Metal Solution.
Licensing Microsoft on GCP
GCP is a popular choice for organisations looking to reduce Microsoft licensing costs and dependency, but it can be extremely difficult to determine the optimal mix of what to buy and what your rights are when it comes to moving Microsoft workloads.
Invictus Partners has deep knowledge of Microsoft’s product and licensing terms and how these apply to a GCP migration. We can help you navigate the licensing requirements for running Microsoft workloads on GCP sole-tenant and Google Cloud VMware Engine and ensure a risk-free transition.
As one of Microsoft’s Authorised Mobility Partners, GCP is approved to run many Microsoft products under the License Mobility through Software Assurance program. Eligible server products include Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Skype for Business, Microsoft SharePoint. Windows server instances do not benefit from License Mobility, but can be purchased on a “licence included” on-demand basis from Google.
Customers that own eligible Volume Licences can be assigned to Google shared tenancy by customers under their Volume Agreements. Under this extended use right, customers are responsible for uploading their own images, and reporting under the terms of their Microsoft Volume Agreements.
Migrate SQL Server to Google Cloud
Bring your own SQL Server licences and manage them yourself on Compute Engine instances in GCP, or use Google’s fully managed database service, Cloud SQL. These deployment methods have different licensing considerations.
Self-managed SQL
Microsoft customers can either bring their own licences or purchase a subscription from the Google Cloud Marketplace. A marketplace subscription carries an extra fee that typically includes the Microsoft licence and support.
Google-managed SQL
Cloud SQL automates all your backups, replication, encryption patches, and capacity increases. Microsoft customers pay an extra fee in their monthly bill that includes the Microsoft licensing fee based on the chosen edition.
Licensing SAP on GCP
Many organisations move their SAP environments to GCP to improve their business continuity capabilities and reduce hardware and licensing costs. SAP runs on Google Cloud under a BYOL model.
Invictus Partners can help you understand which SAP workloads are suitable for GCP, optimise and rightsize your software estate, and ensure you are in compliance with your licensing terms and agreements in preparation for the move.
Licensing IBM on GCP
GCP is an IBM Eligible Public Cloud, and with a Bring Your Own Software Licence (BYOSL) model for GCP, IBM has generous licensing terms when it comes to cloud portability compared to many other software vendors. This allows you to use the on-premise licences you already own under the International Passport Advantage (IPAA) and International Program License Agreement (IPLA).
However, just because you can move your IBM licences across to GCP does not mean you need to. Invictus Partners can help you rightsize your IBM licensing for GCP and optimise your IBM licence management ongoing.
Download our Cloud Licence Advisory Services datasheet
Download our Cloud Licence Advisory Services datasheet
Invictus Partners provides licensing advisory to Lendlease for major on-premise to GCP migration
Google recommended Invictus Partners as specialist licence advisors to assist Lendlease in migrating their finance-related applications and supporting infrastructure software to GCP. Read how Lendlease is using Google Cloud Platform to create safer and more sustainable urbanisation projects here.
The Invictus Partners difference: Independent GCP Consulting Services
Invictus Partners is a specialist enterprise software advisory firm that specialises in providing independent, expert licensing advice. Our team has many decades of combined experience advising on software licence optimisation across on-premise, cloud and hybrid environments.
As a Google Cloud Partner, we advise enterprise clients on how to prepare and successfully migrate their application and infrastructure licences to GCP, ensuring every migration is lower in risk and higher in value.
Invictus Partners’ role is to advocate for the best interest of our clients by providing impartial facts, informed insights, and realities by reviewing and analysing software vendors’ licensing terms, agreement structures and release information. We don’t resell or implement software or cloud solutions, so our advisory is based solely on your needs and goals.