IBM Software Asset Management

As an IBM customer, you’re already aware of the complexities associated with managing IBM licenses. Deployed over innumerable devices, platforms and operating systems, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the different versions and products. With IBM software asset management specialists in place, License Dashboard can assist you with any complex licensing rules, changes in environments, software audits and business strategy planning.

As one of the most complicated estates to manage, IBM and its software products can account for up to 30% of the total IT software budget. According to Gartner, IBM currently stands as the vendor most likely to audit within the next 12 months – so staying in control of your IBM estate has never been more necessary.

Over the past years we have seen customers struggle to manage their IBM estate, remain compliant and avoid overspend. We’ve also supported customers through extensive infrastructure change, making sure that the IBM licensing agreement they have is fit for purpose to support the change, reducing the risk of unbudgeted licenses in the event of an IBM audit.

Expert IBM Software Asset Management

Working with hundreds of IBM customers, we have extensive experience with all IBM licensing challenges. We have adapted our products and services to ensure alignment with your IBM consumption data and entitlement records, meaning we can offer a truly defined service. At License Dashboard our IBM license management includes:

Checking you have the basics in place in order to collect inventory data:

• An IBM approved tool to monitor virtualization capacity (AKA sub-category) usage or
• Your organization meet the conditions to manually declare usage
• Understand your IBM estate to ascertain user or consumption data

Ensure controls are in place for your method of software monitoring:

• Depending on how dynamic your environment is, are reports weekly, monthly or quarterly?
• Are you keeping the tool up to date, deploying the latest version as soon as possible?
• Are you periodically updating the definitions within the tool?

See that you are on top of all the bundling rules:

• An inventory tool can do much of this, but you may still need to confirm assumptions
• It could require a lot of manual effort when assigning the products to the correct bundle

Perform internal software audits:

• Ensure all the above points are covered
• Leave no room for surprise when IBM approach

Tailored Software Asset Management for IBM

As well as expert IBM consultancy,  License Dashboard has two further options for assisting with IBM software asset management, one through our world-class ITAM tool, License Manager, and the other through our Managed Service.