Oracle Third-Party Database Support vs Leaving Oracle

The short answer

Third-party Oracle database support replaces Oracle's own support for the release you already run, from companies such as Rimini Street and Spinnaker Support. It suits applications that must stay on Oracle and do not need Oracle's new releases or patches. Leaving Oracle, usually for PostgreSQL, removes the licence and the support contract together, but it is a migration project. They are not mutually exclusive. Many teams move support to a third party for the systems that will stay on Oracle for years, and migrate the rest to PostgreSQL on their own timetable.

How Oracle's own support works

Oracle's Lifetime Support Policy has three stages. Premier Support runs for five years from a release's general availability and includes updates, fixes, security alerts and critical patch updates. Extended Support adds three more years for some releases "for an additional fee". Sustaining Support then continues "for as long as you license your Oracle products", but it does not include new updates, fixes, security alerts, data fixes or critical patch updates, or the 24-hour commitment on Severity 1 requests.

Our Oracle 19c end of life and 21c and 23ai support dates posts cover the detail.

How Oracle support is priced

Oracle Database is licensed either by Processor, with the count derived from the server's cores and Oracle's core factor table, or by Named User Plus. Each licence carries an annual Software Update License & Support fee on Oracle's technology price list. Enterprise Edition options such as Real Application Clusters, Active Data Guard, Partitioning and Advanced Security are licensed and supported separately. So the support bill follows the licence estate, and it continues for as long as you keep paying support on those licences.

What third-party Oracle support is

Third-party support is a support contract for Oracle software from a company other than Oracle. You keep running the release you have licensed, stop paying Oracle for support, and call the third party instead. Two established providers publish these terms:

• Rimini Street supports Oracle Database 8i, 9i, 10g, 11g, 12c, 18c, 19c and 21c with what it calls a rolling 15-year support commitment. For security it sells Rimini Protect, which it describes as zero-day defence that monitors database memory, and Rimini Watch for 24/7/365 monitoring.
• Spinnaker Support supports Oracle Database 8i and later, in Enterprise, Standard and Standard One editions, including RAC, Active Data Guard, GoldenGate, Multitenant and Partitioning. It offers "Lifetime support - for as long as you need your version", and handles security through recommendations, configuration changes, virtual patching, monitoring and workarounds. In September 2026 it also launched PostgreSQL support and Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migration services with HexaCluster.

Both price their own contracts; ask each for a quote against your current Oracle support invoice and estate.

What third-party support does not give you

Oracle's patches, critical patch updates and new releases come through Oracle support. A third party works around problems with fixes, configuration changes and its own security tooling, rather than with Oracle's patch. Ask any provider to walk through how it would handle a specific recent Oracle CVE on your release. Three other questions are worth settling before you sign:

• Licences. Third-party support assumes you hold licences for the release and options you run. Read your Oracle agreements and take licensing and legal advice before you let Oracle support lapse.
• Upgrades. Leaving Oracle support usually means staying on your current release. If a 26ai feature or certification matters to you, third-party support may not suit that system.
• Returning to Oracle. Oracle's own policies govern what it takes to come back to Oracle support later. Ask Oracle before you leave, not after.

Third-party support vs leaving Oracle

Questions to ask a third-party Oracle support provider

• Coverage: which releases, editions and options are covered, by name, including RAC, Data Guard, GoldenGate and the operating systems you run on.
• Security: how a newly published Oracle Database CVE is assessed and mitigated on your release, and how quickly.
• Response: the severity definitions and response commitments written into the contract.
• Duration: how long the provider commits to support your release, and on what terms.
• Exit: whether the provider can also support the target database if you later migrate, or hand over cleanly to the vendor that will.

When third-party Oracle support is the better fit

• A packaged application is certified only on Oracle Database, so leaving is not realistic.
• The system is stable on its current release, and you do not need Oracle's next release.
• You want to stop paying Oracle for support while a longer migration runs elsewhere in the estate.
• Your team relies on RAC, Active Data Guard or GoldenGate, and the provider supports them on your release.

For these systems, a third-party contract can be a sound, low-disruption decision. OSSeva does not support Oracle Database, so for the Oracle side, Rimini Street, Spinnaker Support or Oracle itself are the options.

When leaving Oracle is the better fit

• The application is your own code, and the PL/SQL and SQL can be converted.
• You want to stop paying for database licences, not only to change who supports them.
• Audits, renewals or processor counts keep forcing licensing decisions on you.
• You want to run the database anywhere, on any cloud or Kubernetes, without licence terms deciding where.

Our Oracle database alternatives, PostgreSQL vs Oracle and Oracle to PostgreSQL migration guide cover the technical path, and migration cost factors covers what drives the effort.

What a move to PostgreSQL involves

A migration is a project per application, not a switch. It usually runs in five steps:

1. Assess. Tools such as ora2pg report on each schema and estimate how much code needs manual conversion, which lets you sort applications by effort.
2. Convert the schema and code. Tables and simple SQL convert mechanically. PL/SQL packages, hierarchical queries, outer-join syntax and Oracle's treatment of empty strings as NULL need care. The orafce extension supplies many Oracle-style functions to reduce rewrites.
3. Move the data. A bulk load for smaller databases, or ongoing replication for large ones, so the final cutover is short.
4. Test. Compare query results and performance against the Oracle system with production-like data.
5. Cut over and support. Switch the application, keep a rollback plan, and have PostgreSQL support in place from the first day.

Our Oracle to PostgreSQL migration challenges post covers the conversion traps in detail.

Combining both

The two paths work well together. A common plan sorts Oracle databases into three groups: systems that must stay on Oracle, which move to third-party support or stay with Oracle; systems that can move soon, which migrate to PostgreSQL first; and the rest, which migrate in later waves while their support contract runs down. If an Oracle audit or renewal is forcing the timing, read Oracle licence audit response options before you sign anything.

The exit path to PostgreSQL with OSSeva

OSSeva does not support Oracle Database. It supports the PostgreSQL you land on, from the day of cutover. OSSeva for PostgreSQL covers community PostgreSQL 11 to 18, including versions past community end of life, so the version you choose at the start of a long programme is still patched when the last application moves. OSSeva Assure includes Oracle-to-Postgres migration design: schema conversion, query compatibility analysis and the application-layer migration strategy. OSSeva Operate runs the new clusters 24/7 with a 15-minute P1 response. MySQL, Redis, Valkey, Kafka and RabbitMQ sit on the same contract. Pricing is per cluster, not per processor; book a discovery call for a quote. See Oracle to PostgreSQL with OSSeva and our Oracle support alternatives comparison.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oracle third-party database support?

Support for Oracle Database from a company other than Oracle. You keep running the release you have licensed and replace Oracle's annual support with the provider's contract. Rimini Street and Spinnaker Support are two such providers.

Who provides third-party support for Oracle Database?

Rimini Street lists Oracle Database 8i to 21c with a rolling 15-year commitment. Spinnaker Support lists 8i and later, including RAC, Active Data Guard and GoldenGate. Compare their terms on your own releases and options.

Does third-party Oracle support include security patches?

Not Oracle's patches. Providers handle security with their own methods: Spinnaker describes recommendations, configuration changes, virtual patching, monitoring and workarounds, and Rimini Street sells Rimini Protect. Ask how a recent Oracle CVE would be handled on your release.

What are the alternatives to Oracle support?

Three: stay with Oracle and negotiate the renewal, move to third-party support and stay on your current release, or migrate workloads to another database such as PostgreSQL. Many teams combine them across their estate.

What does Oracle Sustaining Support include?

Technical support, My Oracle Support access, and fixes and patches created during Premier and Extended Support. It does not include new updates, fixes, security alerts or critical patch updates.

When does Oracle Database 19c support end?

Premier Support ends in December 2029 and Extended Support in December 2032, according to Oracle's Lifetime Support Policy. 21c has Premier Support to July 2027 and no Extended Support.

Is PostgreSQL a realistic replacement for Oracle Database?

For most applications whose code you own, yes. PostgreSQL has stored procedures, rich SQL, replication and a large extension ecosystem, and extensions such as orafce cover many Oracle functions. Applications certified only on Oracle, or built heavily on Oracle-specific features, are better candidates for staying on Oracle or third-party support while you plan.

Does OSSeva support Oracle Database?

No. OSSeva supports the open source databases teams move to, mainly PostgreSQL, and the rest of the open source stack. For Oracle itself, use Oracle or a third-party provider until your migration is complete.