Client Background

A large enterprise pursuing a multi-tower digital transformation was preparing to adopt Oracle Cloud applications supported by a major Deloitte-led implementation. With both subscription and services investments projected to span multiple years, leadership required confidence that the combined commercial structure was competitive, defensible, and aligned to long-term value creation rather than vendor-inflated assumptions.

The Challenge

Initial proposals from both Oracle and Deloitte came in significantly higher than expected. The subscription offer lacked pricing transparency, contract quantities appeared inflated, and the TCO trajectory created long-term budget exposure. Meanwhile, Deloitte’s implementation proposal included a high blended rate, a staffing model requiring validation, and hours that exceeded internal expectations.

The organization needed stronger leverage, clearer benchmarks, and an ability to negotiate two major workstreams concurrently without jeopardizing timeline or vendor alignment.

UpperEdge’s Approach

UpperEdge deployed an integrated commercial strategy that simultaneously optimized both the Oracle subscription and Deloitte SI negotiations. Our team:

• Conducted a line-by-line assessment of Oracle’s initial cloud proposal, uncovering higher than anticipated unit pricing and other contractual elements driving sub-optimized long-term costs.
• Benchmarked Oracle’s pricing against SAP and other Oracle comparables, creating competitive tension that shifted control back to the client.
• Reframed the commercial narrative with Oracle to tighten scope, rationalize consumption assumptions, and restructure the deal to reflect actual business needs.
• Performed a full decomposition of Deloitte’s services proposal, including blended rate analysis, staffing plan evaluation, and expected delivery hours.
• Challenged rate structures and delivery assumptions supported by market intelligence, driving measurable reductions across the SI workstream.
• Ensured both vendors’ proposals were evaluated holistically, so savings in one area were not offset by cost increases in other areas.

The Results

UpperEdge’s strategy delivered substantial and measurable business impact:

• 57% reduction in Oracle’s total cost of ownership, achieved through improved pricing, quantity alignment, and optimized deal structure.
• Significant reduction in Deloitte SI costs by lowering the blended hourly rate, recalibrating project hours, and validating staffing assumptions.
• A commercially balanced, multi-year Oracle Cloud agreement aligned to actual consumption and capable of scaling with the client’s transformation roadmap.
• A defensible, market-aligned implementation plan and services structure that protects the client’s budget while maintaining delivery integrity.

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