License metrics added by the IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of License metrics added by the IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application

    The IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management (SAM) application enhances your ServiceNow instance by adding specific license metrics to classify and reconcile IBM software products. These metrics are available only if you have both activated the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM and installed the IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application. Simply activating the publisher pack without installing the application does not provide these additional metrics.

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    Key Features

    • The application adds IBM-specific license metrics that help accurately classify software entitlements and support reconciliation processes.
    • Default license metrics for IBM included in the IBM metric group are:
      • Authorized User
      • Authorized User Value Unit
      • Employee User Value Unit
      • External User Value Unit
      • Per Device
      • Per Named User
      • Per Processor (CPU count)
      • Per User
      • Processor Value Unit (PVU)
      • Resource Value Unit (RVU)
      • Virtual Processor Core (VPC)
    • License metrics outside this default IBM metric group must be added manually as custom license metrics in ServiceNow to be used for reconciliation.
    • Custom license metrics allow you to extend the reconciliation process to include additional software license calculations not covered by default metrics.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    • To fully leverage IBM license reconciliation, ensure you have installed the IBM License Compliance for SAM application in addition to activating the IBM publisher pack.
    • Use the provided IBM license metrics to classify and reconcile IBM software products automatically within your environment.
    • If your IBM software licensing requires metrics beyond the default set, create custom license metrics in ServiceNow to enable accurate reconciliation.
    • This capability helps maintain compliance by aligning discovered software with correct licensing metrics, improving software asset management accuracy and cost control.

    The IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application adds license metrics that enable you to classify your IBM software products.

    These additional license metrics are available only if you have activated the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM and installed the IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application. They are not available if you have only activated the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM.

    You can also use license metrics to reconcile the software products that are discovered in your environment. The Software Asset Management application automatically adds default license metrics for supported software publishers by using publisher-specific metric groups, such as the Adobe and Microsoft metric groups. These license metrics are then set in your corresponding software entitlements and used for reconciliation. Any additional license metric that is not included in an existing metric group must be added as a custom license metric in order to be used for reconciliation. Custom license metrics modify the reconciliation process by adding software license calculations that are not already included in the default list of supported license metrics.

    By default, the IBM metric group includes the following license metrics for IBM reconciliation:
    • Authorized User
    • Authorized User Value Unit
    • Employee User Value Unit
    • External User Value Unit
    • Per Device
    • Per Named User
    • Per Processor (CPU count)
    • Per user
    • Processor Value Unit (PVU)
    • Resource Value Unit (RVU)
    • Virtual Processor Core (VPC)

    All other license metrics that are added by the IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application are not included in the IBM metric group. If you want to reconcile your IBM software products using any of these license metrics, you must create a corresponding custom license metric on your ServiceNow instance. See Add a custom license metric for more information on how to create a custom license metric.