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 in the context of audit-related activities. KPMG’s recent announcement was particularly noteworthy from my…
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 licensing with the prior software publishers, IBM’s changes can be surprising and expensive….
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) that applied immediately to all new business that now is in the process of being…
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, Covidien, Dex One, Manpower, Hertz, Office Depot and Farmers. While corporate acquisitions of software publishers do not necessarily…
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 longer maintain subscription and support on only some of the licenses…
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 compromising business functions that otherwise might need to be suspended until the appropriate fix can be applied. It…
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 running in the server and the number of core…
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 vendors employ server software licensing frameworks that would be familiar to most…
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. According to the letter, IBM employs the services of Deloitte, LLP to conduct these audits and states…
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 believes to be the silver and bronze medalists among enterprise software licensing’s worst offenders: IBM and SAP. CCL…
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
