Definition
Sustaining Support: The indefinite support tier at Oracle that begins after Premier Support and Extended Support windows close. Continues for the life of the contract. Includes access to existing patches and the My Oracle Support knowledge base. Excludes new patches, new security alerts, new certifications, and country specific tax and regulatory updates. Priced at 22 percent of net license fee per year, identical to Premier Support.
Sustaining Support exists because Oracle never sunsets a product entirely. Once a release leaves Premier and Extended Support, it transitions to Sustaining Support indefinitely, which is how Oracle continues to bill 22 percent maintenance on releases that have not received new development for years. The Oracle Lifetime Support Policy documents the timelines for every product line, with Premier Support typically running 5 years from general availability and Extended Support adding 3 years at a 50 percent maintenance uplift.
The trade off at Sustaining Support is real. The buyer keeps access to existing patches and the support knowledge base. The buyer loses the right to new patches, including security patches issued for newer releases of the same product family. The buyer also loses certification for new operating systems, hypervisors, and database releases, which means an upgrade path becomes the buyer's problem. For comparison to other tiers, see the premier support definition.
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Negotiation levers and exit options
The dominant lever on Sustaining Support is exit. Third party providers like Rimini Street and Spinnaker offer equivalent service at 50 to 65 percent below Oracle list, typically with broader scope including tax and regulatory updates for older releases. The risk is loss of the right to access future Oracle versions without repurchasing the license, plus loss of access to certifications and security alerts on newer releases. The decision rests on stability of the workload and the buyer's upgrade roadmap. See the software maintenance and support fees definition for the underlying economics and the shelfware definition for identifying drop candidates.
For the broader vocabulary, see the perpetual license definition, the unlimited license agreement definition, and the glossary hub. For Oracle specific benchmarks, see the enterprise software benchmarks and the Oracle vendor profile.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sustaining Support at Oracle?
Sustaining Support is the indefinite support tier that begins after Oracle Premier Support and Extended Support windows close. It continues for the life of the contract but stops issuing new patches, security alerts, certifications for new operating systems and databases, and country specific tax and regulatory updates. Priced at 22 percent of net license fee per year, same as Premier.
When does a product enter Sustaining Support?
Oracle products receive Premier Support for 5 years from general availability, then Extended Support for an additional 3 years (with a 50 percent uplift on the maintenance fee), then transition to Sustaining Support indefinitely. Specific timing varies by product line and is published in Oracle Lifetime Support Policy documents.
Should a buyer drop Sustaining Support?
For shelfware or stable, isolated workloads, dropping Sustaining Support and moving to third party support providers like Rimini Street or Spinnaker saves 50 to 65 percent on the support stream. The trade off is loss of vendor patches, certifications, and the right to access future versions without repurchasing the license.
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