I get it.  Your IBM Cognos system has been up and running for years and is stable.  You are not having any issues and all is good.  Then you receive the invoice for renewing license support with IBM.  You think, "why do I need to renew when everything is good"?  The other situation I hear often is based around the end of support on an older version of IBM Cognos software and why should I upgrade when everything is running stable and I have no issues?  Read on to find out why renewing license support with IBM is extremely important!

You have stable IBM Cognos system and decide to not renew to save a little money.  Then all of a sudden you come in one day and boom - you cant access the system, your report is not running or you cant push the info to excel like normal.  What happened?  You troubleshoot the system with your administrator and you find out that Microsoft has updated the server with a patch or office with a new version.  The good news is that you found the issue and that IBM has a fix for it.  The bad news, you didn't renew support and you no longer have access to updates or fixes from IBM.   What do you do now?   You are left with one choice, to reinstate your software support... at a MUCH higher cost than you would have paid in the normal renewal cycle.

The same story and reason above apply to this situation.  However, there is another reason to continue support.  You will be entitled to the newest version of the software that is currently in support.  For instance, you are running Cognos BI 10.2.2 (which end of support occurred in April 2018) and your renewal bill is due and you are thinking, "we do not plan to upgrade and everything is running fine or we are reviewing other options, I'm not going to renew".  I strongly caution against thinking it isn't worth renewing for these reasons. Frankly, for any reason other than you plan to move away from that software prior to your renewal bill being due.  The cost for not renewing is FAR greater than paying the support bill for 1 more year.  Speaking of upgrades, check out our Cognos Analytics upgrade page at https://lodestarsolutions.com/ibm-cognos-analytics-upgrade/

If you need to check on the end of support dates for your IBM software please click here and search for you product.  End of support software search

If you have any questions at all about support, renewals or anything else related to licensing, please do not hesitate to contact us at renewals@lodestarsolutions.com.  Our team will guide you through the process and ensure you have the right license mix, your renewal is processed properly and we will save you money by going through us!