‍A pragmatic guide for those navigating escalating Oracle costs

Overview

If you're responsible for Oracle databases in your organisation, you've likely witnessed the steady climb of support costs year after year. In 2023, Oracle’s CPI increase for support was 8%, and since that point in time it has been 10% with no likely decrease in the forseeable future. With growth like this, it means that you have paid for the original perpetual license 3x after 10 years of ownership – so a $100k investment costs $400k after 10 years – and that is just the money paid to Oracle.

Oracle's licensing complexity, audit risks, and cloud deployment restrictions create an increasingly difficult environment for enterprises & Government departments alike. But what if there was a way to optimise your database infrastructure without sacrificing enterprise capabilities?

At Pebble IT, we work with organisations on optimising their Oracle footprint – and PostgreSQL plays a very important role —particularly when combined with proven migration tools and enterprise-grade support. We'll examine the compatibility between these platforms, address the key differences that matter, and introduce solutions that make migration a practical reality rather than a distant aspiration.

Oracle Optimisation: What is it ?

This is worthy of its own article – needless to say it is an area that combines technical knowledge of Oracle and alternative platforms combined with deep Oracle licensing experience and understanding of what is occurring in the outside world. In essence it is understanding what you use Oracle for and exploring options to make better use of the dollars being spent either by IT or by the business.

There are many historical reasons why systems use Oracle, and we facilitate the challenging of this as what might have been the right choice a number of years ago may not necessarily still be the right choice. Technologies change and emerge over time and Oracle represents one of the major areas where business can potentially achieve significant savings.

The Oracle Cost Challenge: More Than Just License Fees

Oracle Enterprise Edition is the mainstay of the Oracle software offering. Whilst there is extensive use of Standard Edition, and much of this article also applies, we will concentrate for simplicity on the Enterprise Edition.

Whilst the costs paid to Oracle for the initial perpetual license is modelled and understood, the true cost extends far beyond the initial license purchase:

• Annual support fees typically running at 22% of the initial license cost depending upon the discount initially received. However it is subject to an annual ‘CSI’ increase that has been at 10% for the past 2 years and shows no sign of abating.
• Processor-based licensing that punishes virtualisation, containerisation and non-Oracle cloud deployment
• Feature-specific add-ons like Partitioning, Advanced Compression, or Real Application Clusters add technical, deployment and licensing complexity
• Audit exposure where innocent configuration mistakes can trigger significant licensing demands. DBAs have some vague familiarity with Oracle’s license requirements through past experiences but are not experts in this domain and are often the innocent victims who expose their organisation to audit risk. We have been witness to service providers making changes without consultation and then the client only understanding the true implications after they have left and the exposure is brought to their attention – usually by Oracle.
• Cloud deployment restrictions limiting your infrastructure modernisation options. Oracle’s cloud policy halves the licensing power of processor licenses on anything but Oracle Cloud deployments. The new alternatives of Exadata@Cloud are not a budget option either and should only be undertaken with significant capability available to you.

For many organisations, Oracle database costs represent a major component of their software spend, and if Engineered Systems are used, often is the major component of total IT infrastructure spending. When support renewal notices arrive with another price increase, the question becomes not if you should explore alternatives, but how to do so without disrupting critical business systems.

PostgreSQL: The Enterprise-Ready Alternative

PostgreSQL has evolved dramatically over the past decade. What began as an academic project has matured into the world's most advanced open source relational database¹. Major organisations—from Apple to Reddit, from Spotify to Instagram—rely on PostgreSQL for mission-critical workloads processing billions of transactions daily.

Key strengths that matter for Oracle migrations

• ACID compliance: Full transactional integrity matching Oracle's reliability standards
• Advanced SQL support: Common Table Expressions (CTEs), window functions, and sophisticated query capabilities
• MVCC architecture: Multi-Version Concurrency Control for high-performance concurrent access
• Extensibility: Native JSON/JSONB support, full-text search, and spatial data handling via PostGIS
• Cross-platform deployment: Runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, and major cloud platforms without restrictions. However, it is noted that some extensions to PostgreSQL have not been released on Windows by their authors, therefore deploying to Linux for Production workloads and Linux or MacOS for development is a popular combination.
• Virtualisation freedom: None of the conjecture of running on Hyper-V, VMWARE, or Nutanix AHV surrounds the deployment of PostgreSQL unlike the Oracle database.
• Active development: Annual major releases with continuous performance and feature improvements

Perhaps most importantly: PostgreSQL is genuinely open source with no vendor lock-in, no licensing audits, and no surprise costs. Later in the article we also introduce PostgresPURE that introduces strengths of supply-chain risk mitigation and periodic updates to a collection of PostgreSQL and leading extensions that give peace of mind to enterprises and government departments that require compliance with supported software.

Understanding Oracle-PostgreSQL Compatibility

One of the biggest concerns when considering PostgreSQL is compatibility. Can your Oracle applications and integration actually run on PostgreSQL? The short-answer is that it is a very strong compatibility, but the longer answer is that there are particular differences that should be examined.

What translates well

Many Oracle database features have direct PostgreSQL equivalents:

Key differences to understand

However, some areas require careful handling during migration:

1. Procedural language syntax‍
   
   • Oracle uses PL/SQL
   • PostgreSQL uses PL/pgSQL (similar but not identical)
   • Semantic translation required for stored procedures and functions‍
2. Recursive queries‍
   
   • Oracle: CONNECT BY hierarchical queries (proprietary syntax)
   • PostgreSQL: WITH RECURSIVE Common Table Expressions (SQL standard)
   • Both achieve the same results with different approaches‍
3. Autonomous transactions‍
   
   • Oracle supports autonomous transactions within PL/SQL
   • PostgreSQL achieves similar functionality through plproxy, dblink or background workers.
   • Requires architectural consideration during migration‍
4. High availability approaches‍
   
   • Oracle: Real Application Clusters (RAC), Data Guard
   • PostgreSQL: Streaming replication, logical replication
   • Different implementation, equivalent reliability‍
5. Package structures‍
   
   • Oracle organises procedures/functions into packages
   • PostgreSQL uses schemas for namespace organisation
   • Conceptual mapping required but straightforward. For example, Oracle may have a package of TRANSPORT_SCHEDULING with a function of ‘REPLAN’, that would be implemented within PostgreSQL under a schema of ‘TRANSPORT_SCHEDULING’ with a function owned by that schema called ‘REPLAN’ so that calling code would state TRANSPORT_SCHEDULING.REPLAN(…)

The critical insight: While syntax differs, the underlying capabilities are remarkably similar. The challenge often isn't capability—it's translation.

The Migration Challenge: Why Manual Conversion Fails

Many organisations attempt Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migrations manually, or with open source ‘free’ solutions, only to discover the complexity overwhelms their resources:

• Interdependencies: A single Oracle procedure might reference dozens of other objects, tables, and packages. Manual tracking of these dependencies is error-prone and time-consuming.
• ‍Subtle semantic differences: NULL handling, implicit type conversions, and date arithmetic behave differently between platforms. Line-by-line conversion misses these complexities.
• ‍Scale problems: Enterprises typically have hundreds or thousands of stored procedures. Manual migration becomes prohibitively expensive.‍
• Testing burden: Without automated verification, you're essentially rewriting your entire application from scratch.‍
• Opportunity cost: Your database team spends months on migration instead of delivering business value.

This is a dilemma that Pebble IT is familiar with and now recommends the use of Splendid Data's Cortex migration solution that fundamentally changes the equation.

Cortex: Semantic Translation, Not Find-and-Replace

Cortex represents a breakthrough in Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migration technology. Unlike legacy tools that perform simple text substitution, Cortex employs semantic translation that understands context and preserves intent².

How Cortex differs from traditional migration tools

Key features that accelerate migration

1.      Semantic translation engine

‍Cortex doesn't just replace Oracle syntax with PostgreSQL equivalents. It analyses the intent of your PL/SQL code—understanding data flow, dependencies, and business logic—then generates optimised PL/pgSQL that preserves that intent while leveraging PostgreSQL's native capabilities.

2.     Automatic dependency resolution

‍The tool maps all relationships between data objects (DDL) and code objects (DML/PL-SQL), ensuring nothing is missed. When you migrate a stored procedure, Cortex automatically identifies and handles all referenced tables, views, sequences, types, and other procedures.

3.     Container-based consistency

‍Every migration runs in a standardised container environment, ensuring repeatable results whether you're migrating one database or a thousand. This eliminates the "works on my machine" problem that plagues manual migrations.

4.     Zero vendor lock-in

‍Critically, Cortex produces 100% native PostgreSQL code without any proprietary compatibility layers. You can deploy on community PostgreSQL, any managed PostgreSQL service (AWS RDS, Azure Flexible Server for PostgreSQL, Google Cloud SQL), or your own infrastructure. There are no runtime dependencies on Cortex itself as it performs the translation and delivers the new solution, typically in lower environments that are then promoted to higher environments after testing.

5.     Integration with development workflows

‍Cortex integrates directly with Git for version control and Jira for project management, allowing you to track migration progress, manage issues, and maintain code history throughout the migration process. The Cortex ‘syncer’deployed with a development database ensures that changes delivered via Git are then automatically generated in the PostgreSQL development database thereby automating the DevOps cycle.

Proven results

Organisations using Cortex report:

• 10-20x productivity improvement compared to manual migration³‍
• 90-95% automated conversion rate for typical Oracle databases‍
• Weeks instead of months for migration projects‍
• Significantly lower risk through automated testing and validation

Companies like Reconline AG successfully migrated their online hotel distribution solution using Cortex, achieving zero downtime at cutover and immediate relief from Oracle's cloud licensing restrictions⁴. Siveco Group migrated their complex Coswin Asset Management solution—deployed at 1,700+ customer sites worldwide—to native PostgreSQL using Cortex. In Australia we are in the process of repeating these success stories.

PostgresPURE: Enterprise PostgreSQL Without Compromise

Migration is only half the equation. Once you've moved to PostgreSQL, how do you achieve the enterprise-grade capabilities you relied on with Oracle?

This is where PostgresPURE from Splendid Data completes the solution.

What PostgresPURE delivers

PostgresPURE is a curated, enterprise-ready PostgreSQL distribution that combines the community version of PostgreSQL with carefully selected open-source components to deliver Oracle-class capabilities⁵:

• 100% open source: No proprietary hooks, no vendor lock-in, all components verified as genuinely open source‍
• Enterprise features out-of-the-box: High availability, replication, backup/recovery, connection pooling, monitoring‍
• Predictable release management: Aligned with PostgreSQL's annual major releases, with all components tested for compatibility‍
• Premium 24/7 support: SLA-backed technical assistance when you need it with Pebble IT fronting the support to have the mix of both local and vendor-level support and capability.

PostgresPURE components

PostgresPURE integrates leading open-source tools into a coherent platform:

Real-world deployments

PostgresPURE powers critical systems across Europe:

• Vodafone Germany deployed PostgresPURE with IBM Power systems in a twin-datacentre configuration, processing millions of parcel delivery transactions daily‍
• PinkRoccade Local Government runs their Makelaarsuite solution—implemented at 100+ municipalities—on PostgresPURE
• ‍Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Dutch Social Security Bank relies on PostgresPURE for mission-critical government systems

PostgresPURE is already in Australia across several major organisations that have migrated major Oracle workloads.

The cost advantage

PostgresPURE operates on a subscription model covering premium support and release management. The actual software components remain 100% open source and free. This delivers:

• 70-90% reduction in database infrastructure costs compared to Oracle‍
• Non-production licensing at no additional cost: Test, development, and disaster recovery environments incur no additional cost‍
• Cloud-friendly deployment: Use any cloud provider (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) without licensing restrictions‍
• Linear cost scaling: Add capacity without triggering license multipliers

Building Your Migration Strategy

Whilst every Oracle to PostgreSQL migration will have its own unique requirements, here's a pragmatic approach that represents a reasonable starting point:

Phase 1: Assessment and Planning (4-8 weeks)

1.      Conduct an assessment with Cortex

‍Cortex can perform automated assessment of your Oracle databases, generating detailed reports showing:

• Database complexity analysis
• Conversion feasibility for each object
• Estimated migration effort
• Potential issues requiring attention

2.     Identify migration candidates

‍Not all databases need to migrate simultaneously. Prioritise based on:

• Oracle licensing costs and renewal dates
• Application criticality and change risk tolerance
• Technical complexity and dependencies
• Business value of migration (cloud enablement, new features)

3.     Establish success metrics

‍Define what "successful migration" means for your organisation:

• Cost reduction targets
• Performance requirements
• Acceptable downtime/outage windows
• Support and operational requirements

Phase 2: Pilot Migration (8-12 weeks)

1. Select a non-critical but representative database as your pilot. Ideally, this database contains some complexity but would not be considered the most complex of your systems – this is primarily for knowledge transfer and delivering a successful outcome quickly.
2. Use Cortex to perform the technical migration
3. Deploy to a PostgresPURE environment locally or an Azure/AWS/GCP PostgreSQL instance
4. Modify application-level SQL and treatment within the calling client software. Whilst much of SQL will be compliant, there may be key differences in out-parameter treatment or other subtleties that require addressing
5. Conduct thorough testing:
   
   • Functional validation of all procedures and queries via applications and integrations – ideally all client software that interacted with the Oracle database should be included
   • Performance testing under realistic load
   • Disaster recovery and backup verification
   • Monitoring and alerting configuration
   • Document lessons learned and refine your process

Phase 3: Production Rollout (Timeline varies by scale)

1. Migrate databases in waves based on your prioritisation
2. Establish a cutover playbook:
   
   • Data synchronisation strategy
   • Validation checkpoints
   • Rollback criteria and procedures
   • Communication plan for stakeholders
3. Provide training for operations teams on PostgreSQL and PostgresPURE
4. Transfer knowledge from migration team to ongoing support

Phase 4: Optimisation (Ongoing)

• Tune PostgreSQL configurations for your specific workload
• Implement PostgreSQL-native features that weren't available in Oracle
• Continuously monitor and improve performance
• Leverage cloud deployment flexibility for cost optimisation

Addressing Common Concerns

"We don't have PostgreSQL expertise in-house"

This is precisely why the PostgresPURE premium support model exists. Combined with Pebble IT providing local expertise of Managed Services across PostgreSQL, Oracle and Microsoft SQL databases, Splendid Data's team brings 20+ years of deep Oracle expertise combined with 15+ years of extensive PostgreSQL knowledge. The 24/7 SLA-backed support provides the reassurance that problems will be solved by Pebble IT with Splendid Data’s backing.

Additionally, PostgreSQL's strong SQL standards compliance means your team's existing database knowledge transfers well. The learning curve is measured in weeks, not years.

"What about application compatibility?"

Applications connecting via JDBC, ODBC, or native drivers typically require minimal changes. The database interface layer (connection strings, authentication) will need updating, but SQL queries that follow standards work identically. Cortex handles the server-side PL/SQL conversion, isolating application impact.

"Can PostgreSQL handle our transaction volume?"

PostgreSQL regularly handles workloads exceeding millions of transactions per hour. One example is Instagram who serve 500+ million users on PostgreSQL. The architecture supports horizontal scaling through read replicas and logical replication, plus vertical scaling on modern hardware.

The PostgresPURE replication and connection pooling components ensure your deployment can scale to match Oracle's performance in practice.

"What's the migration risk?"

Risk primarily comes from three sources:

1. Incomplete testing: Mitigated by Cortex's automated validation and comprehensive test frameworks‍
2. Hidden dependencies: Addressed by Cortex's semantic analysis and dependency mapping‍
3. Operational unfamiliarity: Managed through Pebble IT with PostgresPURE support and phased rollout approach

The pilot migration phase specifically exists to surface and address risks before production deployment.

"How Do I Migrate Data?"

We recommend the use of Quest SharePlex on a 12-month subscription. This allows you to replicate from your Oracle database to PostgreSQL and maintain the replicated environments until you are ready for the ‘application cutover’ and turn off both the replication and Oracle itself.

There is another use-case here – use PostgreSQL as a reporting database to relieve the processing pressure on your Oracle database – Cortex, PostgresPURE and SharePlex are the perfect combination for this scenario – resulting in avoidance of additional Oracle license cost and lengthening the usability of your current Oracle licensing. Contact us to discuss this alternative further.

"How Do I Have Standby Databases?"

PostgreSQL allows the replication of databases, and whilst there is no native clustering like Oracle RAC, we can still design high-performing solutions that will deliver robust outcomes. We also recommend the use of DbVisit Standby to monitor the replication of a standby database and automate the failover to the standby in the event of that being required.

"How Do I Monitor PostgreSQL?"

If you currently use Oracle Enterprise Manager – you will need to change. There is a plethora of monitoring solutions – both commercial and open-source that are used to monitor PostgreSQL. If you have other monitoring software besides Oracle OEM they will undoubtedly have a solution for PostgreSQL. Quest Foglight is a commercial offering that covers multiple databases providing insights across all technologies in common dashboards, plus there are cloud solutions like DataDog or open source like ‘Prometheus + postgres_exporter + Grafana’ that can be considered.

The Financial Case: Total Cost of Ownership

Let's consider a typical mid-sized enterprise scenario:

This represents a ~90% reduction in ongoing database infrastructure costs. Even accounting for migration investment (Cortex licensing and professional services), most organisations achieve full payback within 18-36 months. Then there is intangible value of being able to deploy on any virtualisation, any cloud and not be worried about DBAs accidentally triggering an exposure or the risk of an audit occupying internal teams months of stress. Plus you can change how you work and have as many development or test environments required, you are not bound by license restrictions.

Conclusion: A Strategic Path Forward

The question isn't whether PostgreSQL can replace Oracle—proven deployments across enterprises demonstrate it absolutely can. The question is whether you have the tools and support to make migration practical for your organisation.

The combination of Cortex and PostgresPURE with Pebble IT addresses both halves of this equation:

• Cortex makes migration technically feasible through semantic translation and automated conversion‍
• PostgresPURE delivers enterprise PostgreSQL capabilities without vendor lock-in‍
• Pebble IT adds the experience and know-how to make this all a reality

Together, we can transform your Oracle footprint and deliver cost optimisation from aspiration to actionable strategy.

As Oracle's licensing costs continue their ongoing climb, the question for Australian organisations and Government departments shifts from "Should we explore alternatives?" to "How soon can we begin migration?"

With the right tools and support, that answer might be sooner than you think.

Next Steps

If you're ready to explore how PostgreSQL with Cortex and PostgresPURE could fit your organisation's database strategy:

1. Request a migration assessment: Our experience will reveal likely outcomes and we can take this further with a formal Cortex Assessment of your Oracle databases‍
2. Develop your business case: Calculate your specific TCO comparison and migration ROI

The path from Oracle dependency to PostgreSQL flexibility is clearer than ever. The tools exist. The support is available. The cost savings are substantial.

The decision is yours. We recognised early the game-changing capability of Cortex and we have the capability to allow you to reap the benefits that it delivers.

Additional Information & References

Pebble IT PostgresPURE & Cortex Product Page: https://www.pebbleit.com.au/products/postgrespure-cortex

PostgresPURE White Paper: 100% open source Enterprise-ready PostgreSQL. https://www.splendiddata.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PostgresPURE_100_open_source_Enterprise-ready_PostgreSQL_SD_WP_V1.12.pdf

1. PostgreSQL Global Development Group. (2025). PostgreSQL: The World's Most Advanced Open Source Relational Database. PostgreSQL Official Website.
2. Splendid Data. (2025). Cortex - Migrate your Oracle databases to PostgreSQL with ease. https://www.splendiddata.com/cortex/‍
3. Splendid Data. (2025). Cortex v Ora2pg: How Cortex saves you time and money in Oracle to PostgreSQL migrations. https://www.splendiddata.com/blog/cortex-vs-ora2pg/‍
4. Splendid Data. (2025). Customer testimonial: Reconline AG. https://www.splendiddata.com/cortex/‍
5. Splendid Data. (2025). PostgresPURE: 100% open source supported PostgreSQL. https://www.splendiddata.com/postgrespure/‍
6. Splendid Data. (2025). Customer testimonial: Mondial Relay. https://www.splendiddata.com/postgrespure/

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