7Jan
IBM’s Audit Rights Take a Turn for the Worse
The software-audit language contained in IBM’s standard license agreements never has been anything that anyone would mistake for customer-focused or even very fair contract terms. However, in August 2014, IBM released a new version of...
6Jan
Beware of IBM’s “Blue Washing”
Fans of Star Trek likely are familiar with the dreaded Borg – an alien race of cyborgs that survives and swells its ranks primarily by conquering other races and then absorbing them into the collective...
6Jan
Varicent Customers Should Plan for Audits by IBM
In April 2012, IBM announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Varicent Software, Inc., an Ontario-based publisher of analytics software for compensation and sales performance management. According to the announcement, Varicent’s customers include...
6Jan
New IBM Passport Advantage Agreement Drastically Changes Support Requirements
One of the major changes in the latest version of IBM’s Passport Advantage Agreement is the requirement that customers maintain subscription and support (S&S) on either all of the licenses that are installed and in...
6Jan
IBM Software Audit Step Number 1: Read the Contract
When first contacted by IBM for a “compliance review” (read: software audit), many business owners simply assume that the scope of the requested audit is within IBM’s rights under applicable licensing agreements. Alternatively, if they...
6Jan
Tread Carefully When Deploying IBM Software in Server Clusters
Many businesses are realizing the processing and failover benefits of incorporating clustered servers in their IT environments. Having groups of servers whose processing resources are shared and centrally allocated means that server malfunctions can be...
