IBM Introduces Sub-Capacity Licensing Benefits for z/VM Version 6

On July 17, 2017, IBM announced that it would allow customers running z/VM Version 6, Release 3 or higher to license the product on a sub-capacity basis. Under the sub-capacity licensing arrangement, IBM customers can purchase licenses for a fraction of the full machine capacity, which can often reduce costs and increase flexibility. However, companies…

201708.29

Off

Eight lessons learned representing clients in IBM Audits

by Julie Machal-Fulks in IBM Audits

IBM regularly informs customers selected for an IBM license review or software audit that it reviews the license position of all of its customers worldwide. That means if your company has not participated in a software license review with IBM, the odds are very high that such a review will be forthcoming at some time…

201707.14

Off

Settlement Structuring for IBM Audits

by Christopher Barnett in IBM Audits

Software-compliance audits initiated by IBM can be extremely burdensome and time-consuming and can force companies to face challenges that are somewhat unique among major-publisher audits. For one example, a significant component of IBM’s business model is the acquisition of other software vendors and the integration of those vendors into IBM’s product portfolio, which can complicate…

201706.11

Off

Can a Software Publisher Force You to Audit Your Customers?

by Christopher Barnett in IBM Audits

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 by a vendor and passed to its customers pursuant to the terms of an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) or Original…

201705.03

Off

Be Wary of Certain ISV and Embedded Software Agreements

by Christopher Barnett in IBM Audits

It is common for software solution providers to use third-party products to support the functionalities those providers have developed for their solutions. For example, a network-monitoring solution may incorporate IBM Cognos functionality, or an accounting solution may incorporate a Microsoft SQL Server database. Increasingly, in today’s market, those solutions are hosted over the Internet, and…

201704.27

Off

Negotiating Software Contracts – Successfully Negotiating a Warranty Section

by Stephen F. Pinson in IBM Audits

The Licensing Journal August 2016 A warranty is one of the most important contract provisions in a software contract. The warranty section deals with the performance of the software and what the licensor promises the software will or will not do. In a software contract, these performance warranties should be heavily negotiated, but usually they…

IBM Audits Blog