An IBM audit counts what ILMT reports, by IBM's rules. Where ILMT has gaps, servers count above sub capacity and the shortfall grows without a single new install. The question worth answering before the letter arrives is how much of the exposure is real, and how much is ILMT.
IBM License Position is the app in Vera AI by VendorBenchmark that answers it from the files you already export. It sets entitled against deployed for every IBM product and metric, prices the shortfall at list with up to two years of back S&S, shows the S&S you pay each year on what is not deployed, and counts the estate three ways. Every file is read in your browser by its columns, never by its name, and kept on that computer between visits. Nothing is sent.
Start from the files you already export
Upload names eight inputs and what each adds: the entitlements, the ILMT PVU report, the software classification, the ILMT health files, the VM and host inventory, the License Service reports, the user lists and, optionally, your order lines. Start with two, the Passport Advantage entitlement export and the ILMT audit snapshot, then add the rest you have.
Drag files anywhere on the window, press Browse, or copy a table in Excel and paste it. ZIP snapshots open whole. Files read shows every table with the kind it was read as, how sure the read is and the fields mapped.
Then come the questions, only the ones the files leave open: which servers are disaster recovery, the VMs no agent reports, the products installed but switched off, an environment's purpose. Each choice shows what it moves on today's exposure before you press it, and every question holds a default until it is answered.
Three counts of the same estate
The Position step opens on four counts, Short, Over, Covered and Check, each a filter on the table, beside the exposure at list. The table sets entitled against deployed for every line, with the gap, the exposure and the S&S a year on what is not deployed. One switch changes how the estate is counted.
A sketch, not a screenshot. The Position step drawn with sample figures: the switch between the three counts, the four statuses that filter the table, and entitled against deployed on each line.
- As counted today. The position as an audit would count it from these files now.
- Once fixed. The same estate once ILMT is fixed, so the gap between the two shows what the fixes take off the exposure.
- Full capacity. The estate counted at full capacity.
Press a line for the arithmetic, run host by host, with the entitlement lines behind it and the questions that move it. What drives today's count lists the reasons servers count above sub capacity.
ILMT health, bundles and Cloud Paks
Three steps take the count from what ILMT reports toward what IBM's own terms allow.
- Bundles. The supporting programs ILMT counted on their own, on the same server as their parent, grouped with what confirming each group takes off today's exposure. Confirm or Keep each group, or Confirm all.
- Cloud Pak pools. Every program's VPC at its License Information ratio against the entitlement. Spare VPC says where unused Cloud Pak VPC can cover programs counted in PVU.
- ILMT health. A score from twelve checks and eight quarters of reports, each check with its finding and status, a host map and the fix list for the ILMT team. Mark fixed counts the position again.
Before an audit, the question is not only what you are short. It is how much of the shortfall is ILMT.
Dashboards draws the bridge from today's exposure to once fixed and ranks the moves by money. A cut of S&S on shelfware is dated to that line's S&S renewal and counts a year from then. S&S that has lapsed is no saving. Every mark opens what it sums.
Five workbooks and an audit view
Reports holds five workbooks with live formulas: the ELP, the ILMT health review, the audit response pack, the renewal plan and the Cloud Pak pools, with the position as a CSV beside them. Each previews sheet by sheet with the formula behind a cell, and Save downloads it.
Press A anywhere for what an audit would find from these files today, biggest first, with the answer to each. Note for the SAM team drafts the email that asks for the exports still missing.
Hand off carries the position to the IBM ELA playbook, or to an analyst review in 24 hours. Same Day ELP covers every Passport Advantage product too, with two analysts on every line, for when the position is about to go in front of IBM.
Where it sits
IBM License Position is the self serve end of this guide.
- What to upload covers an IBM request to Same Day ELP, which asks which product families are in scope.
- Automated or human checked helps you decide when a self serve position is enough.
- What agents read, and what they never send covers IBM files read in the browser with nothing sent.
The Same Day ELP guide covers the whole cluster, and the Same Day ELP page covers the analyst checked route.
What to do first
- Look at the sample first. Switch Sample data on in the title bar, or save the nine sample exports from Sample files.
- Upload the two main files. The Passport Advantage export and the ILMT audit snapshot, then the VM inventory, the License Service reports and the user lists you have.
- Answer the questions that move the most money. The rest hold their defaults.
- Compare today with once fixed. Press the biggest line to see why it is short, then hand the fix list to the ILMT team.
Questions buyers ask
Do our IBM files leave the browser?
No. Every file is read in the browser by its columns and kept on that computer between visits. Nothing is sent, and Start over clears the files and the answers.
What does once fixed mean?
The same estate, counted once ILMT is fixed. Dashboards draws the bridge from today's exposure to once fixed, so you see what the fixes take off.
Which files do we need?
The Passport Advantage entitlement export and the ILMT audit snapshot first, then the VM and host inventory, the License Service reports and the user lists you have.
What if IBM has already written to us?
Save the audit response pack on Reports, and press A for what an audit would find from these files today. Hand off sends the position to an analyst review in 24 hours.
Can colleagues see my position?
Each person keeps their own. The files are read in the browser and kept on the computer that read them.