Written by Heather Cole, March 20th 2025

Picture this: You’re the IT or Finance leader at a mid-market company. Budget season rolls around, and your IBM Cognos or Planning Analytics support renewal lands on your desk. You’re feeling pretty good because your reseller just sent over a quote that’s a few thousand dollars cheaper than last year. “Sweet,” you think, “a little cost savings never hurt.”

Fast forward a couple of years. You’re sipping your morning coffee when an email from IBM Audit lands in your inbox. Your heart skips a beat. You open it.

You’re being audited.

No worries, right? You’ve been renewing your support, staying compliant… or so you thought. A few meetings later, the truth smacks you in the face like a rogue Excel formula error:

You never installed IBM’s ILMT tool, a requirement for Processor Value Unit (PVU) licensing. (Check out our blog for a refresher on PVU: What the Heck is an IBM Cognos PVU) And because of that little oversight, IBM assumes you owe for the full capacity of your servers. The estimated cost? A cool $350,000.  We have seen clients receive a compliance bill from IBM for seven figures, just for not having the ILMT installed and running.

How’s that discount on the support renewal bill looking now?

The Hidden Cost of Cheap Renewals

This nightmare scenario happens more often than you’d think. And it’s almost always because of what we call “paper-pushing partners.”

You see, many IBM resellers aren’t actually partners in your success. They’re just transaction processors. They send you a quote, maybe shave off a few dollars, and push as many renewals through as possible with little regard for your actual needs.

And if you ever get audited? Well, good luck. Because those “discount” resellers don’t invest in people who understand IBM’s ever-changing licensing rules. They don’t host training sessions to keep you ahead of updates. They don’t offer proactive strategies to optimize your licensing. 

And they sure as heck don’t send you reminders to run those pesky ILMT reports that keep you compliant.

(Need a refresher on ILMT? Read our blogs IBM ILMT Checklist for Cognos Analytics and Planning Analytics Customers and Don’t Fail an IBM Audit Because ILMT Quarterly Upgrades are Now Required.)

Why Lodestar Solutions Is Different

At Lodestar Solutions, we don’t play the discount game. Why? Because IBM slashed partner margins by up to 46% a few years ago. If a reseller is still offering you a discount below IBM’s price, ask yourself: what are they cutting to make that happen?

Here’s what you get instead when you work with a real IBM partner:

✅ Quarterly Private Client-Only User Groups – Stay ahead with live training, new feature updates, and technical talks tailored for IBM Cognos and Planning Analytics users.

✅ Proactive Licensing Reviews – We help you understand what you own and whether you’re in the most cost-effective licensing model. One client saved over $1 million in three years just by optimizing their licensing with our help.

✅ ILMT Compliance Alerts – If you have PVU licensing, we send timely quarterly reminders to ensure you run your ILMT reports and stay audit-proof. Read our recent blog for more information: Taming the IBM ILMT Beast: A Quarterly Adventure or sign up for our ILMT reminder program here.

✅ A Partner That Actually Cares – We work alongside you, ensuring your IBM investment delivers the value it should—without costly surprises down the road.

The Cost of Ignoring This Warning