Your organization has likely invested significantly in IBM software, perhaps amounting to millions of dollars. Maximizing its return on investment (ROI) while avoiding unplanned and unbudgeted expenses requires strategic license management. To help, this article offers ten actionable tips to help IT asset management (ITAM) and IT service management (ITSM) professionals better manage your organization’s IBM license costs.
1. Identify All IBM Passport Advantage Sites
IBM license entitlements are managed under the IBM International Passport Advantage Agreements (IPAA). Each agreement can have one or more Passport Advantage sites, which act like separate licensing accounts.
Organizations often have multiple Passport Advantage sites spanning many years. To get a complete view of your IBM license costs, consolidate order history records across all Passport Advantage sites. If you are unsure about your Passport Advantage sites, contact your IBM account manager or eCustomer Care for a comprehensive list.
2. Keep Passport Advantage Site Contacts Updated
Each Passport Advantage site has designated primary contacts responsible for licensing administration and receiving critical IBM updates. Ensuring these contacts remain accurate is essential for uninterrupted communication.
Having separate contacts for administrative and technical matters is advisable to ensure smooth coordination.
3. Subscribe to IBM Licensing Notifications
Staying informed about IBM software licensing changes and support updates is crucial for proactive management (including of IBM license costs). Subscribe to the IBM My Notifications service to receive real-time updates.
4. Develop an IBM License Management Workbook
Maintaining a dedicated IBM License Management Workbook is crucial regardless of which licensing tools you use. This workbook should include:
- Effective License Position (ELP)
- Entitlements vs. deployments
- Assumptions, corrections, and product-specific notes.
IBM’s IASP reporting template provides a solid starting point for structuring your license management workbook and is important to optimizing IBM license costs.
5. Regularly Update IBM Product Bundling in ILMT
IBM licenses are often sold as product bundles. Some products require full licenses, while others may not, depending on their version and deployment.
While ILMT attempts to classify supporting programs, manual intervention is needed to ensure accuracy and manage your IBM license costs. Regularly reviewing IBM product bundling configurations can significantly impact license costs and compliance.
6. Keep ILMT Fully Updated and Error-Free
IBM releases ILMT updates quarterly. To maintain compliance with sub-capacity licensing requirements, ensure ILMT remains within two recent releases.
The ILMT dashboard should always be free of errors or warnings. Address any issues as soon as they arise to prevent the accumulation of compliance risks and unnecessary IBM license costs.
7. Conduct Regular ILMT Audit Snapshot Reviews
Quarterly ILMT audit snapshots are required to maintain IBM sub-capacity licensing compliance. However, generating and reviewing these reports monthly allows for early detection of compliance issues and IBM license cost optimization opportunities.
Regular reviews enable your organization to correct discrepancies before they escalate into costly non-compliance penalties.
8. Create an ILMT Reporting Checklist
Checking ILMT reports manually can be complex and time-consuming. To simplify the process, build an ILMT reporting checklist. This should include:
- Step-by-step validation procedures
- Screenshots for reference
- Common error resolution techniques.
A well-structured runbook ensures consistency and helps IT teams efficiently manage ILMT reporting and IBM license costs as a result.
9. Develop a Maintenance Plan for BigFix and ILMT
Regular maintenance of IBM licensing tools (BigFix and ILMT) is necessary for accurate compliance tracking. Since IBM follows a consistent release schedule, planning upgrades in advance reduces risk, helps ensure licensing compliance, and improves IBM license cost management.
A structured maintenance plan should include the following:
- Scheduled upgrade timelines
- Change management procedures
- Contingency plans for unexpected tool failures.
10. Standardize IBM License Measurement Instructions
Matching IBM entitlements with deployed software can be complex, particularly across different versions and metrics. Standardizing measurement instructions across all IBM products simplifies compliance management and improves IBM license cost management.
Develop a repository of:
- Product-specific licensing rules
- Measurement methodologies
- Peer-reviewed documentation.
This helps ensure consistent and accurate license tracking across ITSM teams.
Conclusion
By following these ten tips, ITAM and ITSM professionals can:
- Reduce unplanned IBM license costs
- Maintain compliance with IBM agreements
- Extend the lifespan of software investments.
For further insights on optimizing IBM license costs, dealing with IBM license audits, and compliance strategies, please reach out to our team of ex-IBM auditors who specialize in optimizing IBM software investments.
Piaras MacDonnell
Piaras is an internationally recognized expert in IBM licensing. He has delivered over 100 licensing projects, including audit defenses, enterprise license agreement renewals, compliance health checks, and license optimization, resulting in millions of dollars and euros in savings for his clients.
