Earning $400 Million a Year Without Writing a Single Line of Code
**Summary: Rimini Street - The $400 Million Business That Doesn't Write Code**
This article details the unlikely success of Rimini Street, a company generating over $400 million annually by offering third-party support for legacy enterprise software systems, primarily from Oracle and SAP, without developing any software itself.
Its core business model is simple: it charges clients roughly half of the exorbitant annual maintenance fees (typically 22% of the license cost) demanded by Oracle and SAP. In return, Rimini provides maintenance, security patches, regulatory updates, and technical support for these often-stable but expensive-to-maintain old systems. Major clients like Welch's, AUTOBACS, and Khimji Ramdas have switched, reportedly saving up to 80% on total maintenance costs.
The company's founder, Seth Ravin, previously attempted this model with TomorrowNow (acquired by SAP), which Oracle sued successfully. Rimini Street itself faced a 15-year legal battle with Oracle over copyright infringement. Ultimately, courts ruled in Rimini's favor, recognizing its services as "legitimate competition."
Having broken the vendor "lock-in," Rimini now builds its own "lock" through expanded services. After clients save on maintenance, Rimini upsells them on managed services (Rimini Manage), integration tools (Rimini Connect), security solutions (Rimini Protect), and AI-powered workflow automation layered on top of legacy systems. This increases client reliance and switching costs.
However, challenges remain. Its "virtual patching" security approach may not satisfy highly regulated industries. Growth shows signs of pressure, and returning to the original vendor incurs massive penalty fees. Meanwhile, Oracle and SAP are pushing clients to cloud-based SaaS models, creating a new, more fundamental architectural lock-in by removing the software license from the client's control entirely.
The article concludes by framing this as a cycle of lock creation and dismantling, and questions why a similar model hasn't emerged in China's enterprise software market dominated by vendors like Yonyou and Kingdee.
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