As part of their continuous effort to provide customers and partners with a complete understanding of their licensing, over Thanksgiving, IBM added a new component to their Software Licensing and Compliance website.  

The new component, a set of License Measurement Methodologies, explains the “key licensing requirements of IBM offerings along with offering practical advice regarding the gathering and interpretation of data necessary to determine license consumption.” With this new component, IBM is providing even more information and insight to help its customers remain compliant.  

Features of IBM’s License Measurement Methodologies component

IBM’s new methodologies lay out the various IBM licensing policies to provide a bridge between the license terms and IBM’s technical documentation.  

IBM states the methodologies also “discuss the various IBM licensing policies which must be considered when determining the licensable status of installations (such as non-production, backup, standby and temporary additional use authorizations).”  

Each methodology contains useful reference material such as:

• Part Numbers to assist in locating entitlement records and ordering
• Software lifecycle information (including links to announcement letters) to help clients understand the status of the specific versions they have deployed
• Links to License Information documents
• Links to other reference material such as IBM Documentation pages

The benefit to IBM customers

IBM admits that its methodologies, at the moment, are limited. They are looking to roll out more once they know customers are finding the resources helpful and meeting their needs.  

IBM intends to add more methodologies in the coming months with a goal of covering all IBM Cloud Paks and their associated bundled programs. IBM intends to also cover all the most widely used programs for customers as well.

Connor, your partner for success 

Given the complexity and dynamic nature of IBM’s licensing models and technology portfolio, it’s very important to understand the licensing metrics to ensure that you avoid noncompliance with IBM software.  

Partnering with our compliance experts can help you navigate your IBM license requirements and make sure you are adhering to your licenses fully. Even with IBM’s resources, understanding your licenses can be difficult. We can even help you determine if all of your licenses are necessary and potentially help you negotiate license terms with IBM.  

If you would like to learn more about IBM licensing, please check out our piece The Challenges with IBM Software Licensing Audits, and for more information on how Connor’s Software Advisory Services can help reduce your vendor licensing risks and optimize IT spending, contact us at softwareadvisoryservices@connor-consulting.com 

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