0603
IBM Software Audits Complicated by Diverse License Types
Businesses that have endured software audits from industry groups like the BSA and the SIIA or from software publishers like Autodesk likely are familiar with the basic audit process of counting the total number of installations for audited products and comparing those i......
1702
IBM Changes Licensing Requirements for Virtual Processor Core Licenses
By now, businesses using IBM’s virtual processor core (VPC) licenses should have implemented IBM’s license metric tool (ILMT). In 2022, IBM added VPCs to the types of licenses that require ILMT to support sub-capacity usage. Prior to that time, IBM allowed manual......
3110
Can a Software Publisher Force You to Audit Your Customers?
Many software-solution vendors utilize third-party infrastructure or application programs as frameworks for embedded solutions that they sell to their customers and install on their customers’ computers. Licenses for those third-party products typically can be acquired......
2208
What If I Discover Unlicensed IBM Software on My Servers?
Software license compliance is a task that typically requires constant vigilance. Despite a CIO’s best efforts, it is almost inevitable that software will be deployed on a company’s computers at some point without having the necessary licenses to permit such use.
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0108
Top Three Challenges in Standard IBM License Agreements
IBM software licensing can present an array of interpretive and compliance challenges for even the most sophisticated licensees. Here are three of the most important things to keep in mind when planning to license IBM products under the company’s standard-form agreemen......
2704
IBM’s Standard Audit Clause is a Time Bomb
It is standard practice for software vendors to include clauses in their license agreements giving the vendors the right to invoke audits or some other mechanisms to ensure that the licensed products are used in a way that is consistent with agreed licensing restrictions......
1802
Avoid Pitfalls When Deploying ILMT for IBM Software
IBM software is expensive. In some cases, very expensive. While this may represent a necessary cost of doing business for many companies with mission-critical software solutions developed on or using IBM applications, all IBM customers clearly are incentivized to maximiz......
0710
Don’t Short-Sheet the Internal Analysis in an IBM Audit
One of the most critical steps of any business faces in any software audit is conducting an internal analysis of deployments to entitlements, preferably before any audit data is shared with the auditors. That internal review serves several purposes, including (1) identif......
1103
Arguments Against ILMT – What Does and Doesn’t Work?
Each of the major software publishers has one or two tricks up its sleeve – tricks that often are missed by licensees – affecting how its server products may be used in virtualized environments. For example, Microsoft SQL Server requires a minimum of four core licenses......
1305
IBM Eliminates Sub-Capacity Licensing for Windows 2008 Servers
Microsoft recently ended support for all servers running Windows 2008, Windows 2008 R2, and Windows 7 operating systems. After support ended, IBM announced that after Q3 2020, it would no longer support its IBM License Metric Tool (“ILMT”) on any computer running those......
0401
New ILMT Policy Could Increase Financial Exposure in IBM Audits
IBM may be making it more difficult for IBM customers to qualify for sub-capacity licensing in virtualized environments. As many companies who have been audited by IBM have learned, it is sometimes difficult to demonstrate that the company has met all the criteria necess......
1104
Are Artificial-Intelligence Software Audits Around the Corner?
Recent weeks have seen a number of news reports and announcements indicating that the Next Big Thing for audits – financial audits, at least, for the time being – is the use of artificial intelligence technologies to facilitate the analysis of large volumes of data i......
0701
Customers Using Software Recently Acquired by IBM Should Proceed with Caution
In 2015, IBM acquired no fewer than 11 software and services companies. Many software customers are surprised that after IBM purchases a company, IBM often significantly changes the license terms of the products. For some customers that have purchased unlimited or site l......
0701
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 its Passport Advantage Agreement (PAA)......
0601
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 Starwood Hotels......
0601
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 service or none of the licenses. Customers can no long......
0601
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 remedied without compr......
0601
The Basics of Sub-Capacity PVU Licensing for IBM Software
A processor value unit (PVU) is a unit of measurement that IBM uses to determine licensing costs based on the kinds of processors deployed on servers where IBM software is installed. A server’s PVU count is defined by the brand, model and number of physical processors runn......
0601
IBM Software Audits Involve Complex Licensing Rules
Business owners and managers whose companies have been targeted by IBM for a compliance audit often express surprise at the complex method IBM uses to determine the licensing requirements for many of its server software products, such as WebSphere and Tivoli. Many software v......
0501
IBM Initiates Expansive Compliance Audits
IBM has begun a comprehensive program of compliance audits of its software clients. Scott & Scott’s clients have begun receiving letters from IBM Software Compliance demanding cooperation with a “routine assessment” of the client’s deployment of IBM software. Acc......
2901
Campaign for Clear Licensing Turns its Sights to IBM and SAP
Having shone its spotlight on Oracle’s notoriously complex licensing policies and often adversarial audit practices, the Campaign for Clear Licensing (CCL), a UK-based organization advocating reforms to software-licensing practices, now has shifted its attention to what it......
0602
Beware IBM Acquisitions and Product Transitions
IBM software licensing can be a very complex knot to untie. While IBM does develop new products in house, many of its most popular offerings (Cognos, Tivoli and ILOG, to name a few) are the result of its active history of acquiring smaller publishers and then continuing to o......