That doesn't mean customers should be any less prepared to argue their side at contract time.

"One of the real keys is not going in it alone, by working with other organizations, be it within your industry or leveraging user groups," Matelski said. Knowing what your peers are getting in their Oracle deals can be valuable information at the bargaining table, he said.

Oracle frequently negotiates ULA (unlimited licensing agreements) for one or more products with customers. Gwinnett County itself recently renewed such a deal for Oracle's database, Matelski said. The county also uses Oracle's Primavera and Hyperion software, he said.

Oracle initially wanted a 4 percent increase on the database ULA renewal, but the county managed to negotiate no increase, Matelski said. It also added a number of Primavera user licenses it needed, which Oracle agreed to sell for the same price as some the county procured last year, Matelski said.

Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, maker of coffee brands like Chock Full O'Nuts and Hills Bros., recently made an investment in Oracle's JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and Demantra software, said Bob Ashford, vice president of information technology.