I learned recently that IBM removed the hurdle faced by many clients to qualify for a Passport Advantage (PA) program over the Passport Advantage Express (PAE) licensing program.  We will now discuss some of the changes to IBM Passport Advantage Program in more depth.

The hurdle was that to qualify for PA, you needed your initial purchase to equate to 500 points.  If you are just using IBM Cognos this is a substantial purchase, so most clients only qualified for PAE sites.  PAE is like having Silver Status on an airline while the version PA is like having Platinum Status.

I recommend clients consider moving their license to a single PA site.  With a PA site, if you make a significant purchase you may be able to negotiate special terms in an addendum, which is not available in a PAE site.  A PA site has one anniversary date for support renewals, so you only get one bill per year.  In a PAE site, you will receive separate support bills for each previous purchase.  And finally, if IBM decides in the future to apply level pricing to IBM Cognos like they do other brands, you will benefit by consolidating all your PAE sites to one PA site so you achieve a higher level.  This is similar to when airlines consolidate and your two frequent flyer accounts merge and how you have a higher point balance.  Currently, IBM shows levels for the IBM Cognos brand on the price sheets but all the levels excluding Government and Education have the same price.

I encourage you to act now if your licenses are up for support renewal and consolidate your sites.  Your level will be set at the first and subsequent anniversary dates.  So if IBM changes the IBM Cognos brand and levels determine discounts, you will already be set!

Lodestar Solutions can help you with these changes to IBM Passport Advantage Program and provide competitive support renewals!

Contact Kelly Ray renewals@lodestarsolutions.com for more information.