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Category: IBM

Vendors Provide Trial Software Licenses for Clients to ‘Try Before They Buy’
Sharon TrembleyContract Negotiations, Cost Containment/Negotiation, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle

Utilizing those licenses in another manner could create a non-compliant situation for a client, even if the vendor has not clearly defined strict limitations regarding trial use. Something that is often misunderstood is testing a trial version of a product that is already owned and being used elsewhere in the environment. If it’s the same version as what’s in the production, there’s no need to try it out – it’s now test/dev. However if it’s a new version of the […]

IBM will release its new Power9 processor chip in 2017
Sharon TrembleyIBM

IBM will release its new Power9 processor chip next year. There’s a lot of promise with this new architecture regarding new technology, machine learning, and overall speed. It will support both Linux and Unix and be available with up to 24 cores, optimized for 2 sockets scale-out servers. IBM expects their low-end Power9 servers to be over $6,000 in mid-2017. Other manufacturers may offer Power9 servers for less. Additionally, IBM will license Power9 schema to others to design and build […]

IBM Ends Support for ILMT 7.2.2 and 7.5
Sharon TrembleyIBM, IT Asset Management

IBM will be discontinuing support for two older versions of the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) soon, and recommends migration to ILMT 9.x.  Even though many users are still on v7.5, IBM will discontinue support for the product in April 2017.  IBM has listed resources to assist with planning your migration. Why would someone want to use IBM’s License Metric Tool (ILMT)? IBM’s Passport Advantage Agreement (IPAA) is the master document for all of IBM’s distributed software – PVUs, RVUs, users, etc. […]

Minimizing audit penalties with IBM
Sharon TrembleyIBM

There are opportunities at every stage of an IBM audit to reduce the quantity of violations and amount of penalties you will owe. Here are some tips: ILMT report verification – If you’re running ILMT, verify the report. With the complexity of IBM software, their tool may not be reporting the correct number without some tweaks. The ILMT reports are simple to read once you get the tool up and running so it’s possible that you could be on top […]

IBM Audits in a changing environment
Sharon TrembleyIBM

Between the time of the audit notification and the time for the discovery, how does IBM account for changes in the environments? The audit is done at a point in time. If you’re running ILMT, the tool is set up to report a high-water mark for the quarter. IBM and their auditor will see that – remember, you are asked to keep two years of reports on file for IBM’s use. If you do not run ILMT, the peak usage […]

Saving on PVU-based IBM software
Sharon TrembleyIBM, Uncategorized

IBM accepts a wide variety of virtualization technologies including VMware. With IBM allowing subcapacity licensing, there is a misconception that this method of counting licensing is automatic. Please refer to IBM’s licensing rules. Currently the Passport Advantage agreement is in effect and it is only 9 pages long – http://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/passportadvantage/PA_Agreements/PA_Agreement_International_English.pdf With subcapacity licensing, you have reporting responsibilities. Either use IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT), or if exempt follow the alternate reporting method described by IBM. Once you’ve passed this hurdle, […]

IBM Audits – Timing and Reporting
Sharon TrembleyIBM, Uncategorized

How far back does an IBM Audit go? Typically IBM Audits look at two time periods. The initial look at your environment is a point-in-time review, like a snapshot. The auditor will review your last quarterly ILMT report besides running scripts against today’s set-up.  They would also expect answers to their questions to regard the current state.    The script outputs for some products may have historical data such as high water marks for concurrent or floating users. If there is […]

IBM ELAs
Sharon TrembleyIBM

If you’re heavily using IBM in your environment and that’s your main line of business software and you plan to continue with that investment, we recommend taking advantage of IBM ELAs as they contain many favorable options such as: Enterprise License, more fondly known as ‘All you can eat’ – we have seen ELAs for a limited software product that you can download and install as much as you want and then at the end of the ELA, you report […]

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