You have been working with Cognos for years.  Recently a Lodestar Solutions team member called you and said, “I am concerned that you may have an IBM compliance issue and would fail an audit.”  You then learn that maybe you should have had the IBM Licensing Monitoring Tool (ILMT) installed.  However, you are wondering,” Why have I never heard about the IBM ILMT Tool for Cognos BI or TM1?”

You are not alone!  Many clients call me saying they found my blogs on licensing and are confused.  Today I’ll address why you have never heard about the IBM ILMT Tool for Cognos BI or Cognos Planning Analytics, TM1 and what steps you should take before you get audited.

Am I really at risk?  I am not using more PVU’s then I have licensing for what will IBM do if I am audited and don’t have the ILMT installed? 

They could determine that you are non-complaint and fail the audit even if you aren’t using more PVU’s than you have.  That is because the sub-capacity agreement states if you don’t install it, IBM can assume you are using the full capacity of the servers.  You could be forced to pay for PVU’s to cover the entire server.  For example, you have 8 cores on your virtualized server and allocate 4 cores to Planning Analytics (TM1).  The server is rated 70 PVU’s per core.  Even though you have only allocated 4 cores * 70 PVUs per cores so 280 PVUs to TM1.  IBM could charge you for another 280 cores if you don’t have the ILMT tool installed, because the server could max out to 8 cores.   Also, even if you only allocated 4 cores, you could fail the audit just for not having the ILMT tool installed.

Who needs to install the ILMT for Cognos Analytics (BI) and/or Cognos Planning Analytics?

All clients that have Processor Value Unit (PVU) licensing.  This includes most Enterprise Planning Analytic/TM1 users and larger Cognos BI clients that have virtualized their environment must install the ILMT tools with a few exceptions.  

Not sure what a PVU is?

Check out our previous blog How to Calculate Your PVU Rating.

What is the ILMT Tool?

IBM® License Metric Tool (ILMT) helps IBM Passport Advantage® (PA) customers determine their full and sub-capacity processor value units (PVU) licensing requirements. It helps calculate the number of PVUs available to installed Passport Advantage PVU-based software, including supported virtualized servers. Passport Advantage and Passport Advantage Express customers can order this tool at no charge by selecting the IBM License Metric Tool, part number D561HLL.

How did I miss the ILMT tool?

The ILMT is NOT provided as part of the standard download with the software, as a client you must order this separately at no cost. Clients are only informed of the ILMT tool requirements if they read the fine print of the sub capacity agreement or someone explains how important it is.  If you are an older TM1 or Cognos BI client, this was amended to your agreement in July 2011.

Let’s be real, most IT professionals responsible for installing and maintaining the software do NOT read the fine print of IBM contracts, their lawyers do.  Lawyers would have no clue that the IT person does not know about the ILMT tools because logic would say it should be part of the install package.

For your reading pleasure here’s the link to the Sub Capacity Licensing Agreement. 

Also, you might want to check out IBM’s FAQ on Subcapacity Agreement for more information.

How Do I order the ILMT Tool form IBM?

1. Contact Sales@lodestarsolutions.com and we can place the order for you.  It’s free.
2. Click here to chat with IBM, or contact the Help Desk at 1-800-IBM-Serv.  
3. Order online through Passport Advantage so you don’t have to issue a zero dollar PO. Here’s a Guide on How to Order the ILMT. 

What are the exceptions?  Do I really need to install this?

There are some exceptions such as if a client is less than 1000 employees and contractors, they are not required to install it.  But do you really know how many contractors you have?  And how do you count a contractor?  Is it all the contractor’s employees? (IBM we would love to hear from you on this). 

For more details on exceptions see our previous blog. 

What does it take to install the ILMT Tool?

It’s not as easy as it should be in my opinion.  The ILMT tool costs about 30K to have a partner like Lodestar Solutions install it.  I am not sure what IBM charges but speculate it’s higher.  It’s important to know, the ILMT tool requires a separate server too.

Why didn’t IBM sales rep or partner tell me about this?

If you have been reading my blogs, you will see I have been trying to get the word out!  But candidly, IBM Sales reps and partners do not tell clients about the ILMT tool or associated costs in the sales process, as most have no clue what it is or why it’s important.  You need to be an educated consumer!

My Soap Box

Here’s where I know I am going to get in trouble!  But sometimes you must break the rules to make things better, to instigate change! 

In my opinion, IBM is setting their IBM Cognos Planning Analytics and Cognos Analytics clients that are on PVU licensing up for failure!  The current process is broken.  As an attorney I feel, IBM fails to adequately disclose or make it easy for clients to adhere to the terms of a somewhat confusing contract. IBM you are better than this!  IBM auditors can penalize clients that are not intentionally stealing licensing, but those that simply failed to install the ILMT monitoring tool. 

One client that did not install the ILMT but was not using too many PVUS was told by the auditors, that IBM was going to charge them over $78,000 to quote “settle” the audit but they would allow the client to apply the payment to purchasing other IBM products not related to the audit.  However, they were not allowed to purchase the additional licenses from a partner. They were forced to buy direct from IBM.  

This confuses me.  If a client “failed” the audit shouldn’t they be required to purchase the licenses they were out of compliance on?  But since in this situation, they were only out of compliance with the ILMT which is free and not any other licenses, IBM said they could by other software.  Luckily for the client they were growing their BI footprint and could buy BI licenses, not so lucky for the partner they were working with in the process because IBM would not allow them to buy from the partner, helping them succeed at business intelligence.Enter your text here...

Next Steps:

Contact us at Services@Lodestarsolutions.com and we can walk you through your specific situation.  We will also provide you with our document on how to calculate your PVUs.  We are here to help and show you a better way!