Software and licensing updates for IBM, Micro Focus, Oracle

In order to keep ITAM professionals up-to-date on the latest product and licensing changes for the various tier 1 vendors, the course leaders at LISA, the ITAM training company, prepare quarterly software and licensing updates update videos for LISA subscribers. Below are the highlights from this quarter’s series, specifically covering IBM, Micro Focus and Oracle.

IBM: Beware the different Conversion Entitlement Ratios of IBM Cloud Paks

With Katerina Motlova, Manager at Fisher ITS and IBM Course Leader at LISA

IBM Cloud Paks are a popular solution aimed specifically at hybrid cloud. As their name would suggest, they are a pack of products which are usually used together and complement each other, designed for hybrid deployment.

There are 6 Cloud Pak offerings at the moment:

1. Cloud Pak for Data
2. Cloud Pak for Business Automation
3. Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps
4. Cloud Pak for Integration
5. Cloud Pak for Network Automation
6. Cloud Pak for Security

IBM also offers a payment plan for Cloud Pak usage.

The challenge of license managers is that each product within a pack has a different conversion entitlement ratio, e.g. IBM App Connect Enterprise has a Conversion Entitlement Ratio of 1:3 VPCs (Virtual Private Clouds) while IBM API Connect has a Conversion Entitlement Ratio of 1:1.

Taken directly from IBM’s documentation:

“Deployments of bundled offerings under the Cloud Pak for Integration license use a ratio of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration VPC entitlements to map to bundled offering VPC entitlements. These entitlements and ratios apply whether the bundled offerings are being deployed standalone outside IBM Cloud Pak for Integration or in containers within a IBM Cloud Pak for Integration deployment. Non-production ratios can be used for both standalone and container deployments.”

Read more: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cloud-paks/cp-integration/2020.2?topic=licensing

We are aware of some organisations using Cloud Paks quite successfully but you just need to ensure you deploy along the correct ratios. As long as you get the deployment right from the start, they are considered easier to manage longer term as it’s only one line item.

For further information on the IBM update, please visit the LISA IBM Practitioner page.

Micro Focus: Impact of OpenText acquisition and further push to SaaS

With Poppy Gacke, Senior Consultant at FisherITS and Micro Focus Course Leader at LISA

The announcement from OpenText to acquire Micro Focus for $6bk was certainly big news for the industry. “Upon completion of the acquisition, OpenText will be one of the largest software and cloud businesses”

This is big news. Acquisitions like this don’t happen every day. But from an ITAM/SAM perspective, the news is perhaps even more significant; both publishers are considered to be aggressive in their auditing style, so we need to watch out!

On the software side of things, Micro Focus recently released the latest edition of Network Operations Management (NOM 2022.05) which includes new features that combine the OPTIC dashboards and reporting capabilities with SaaS-based delivery. OPTIC was first announced in March 2022. This latest update should be seen in the context of Micro Focus’s continued focus on SaaS going forward, as cemented by the quote which accompanied the launch. According to Micro Focus Senior Director of ITOM Product Marketing, Travis Greene, “Micro Focus is committed to delivering SaaS-based solutions across our products”

To watch the full software and licensing updates video from Poppy, including her full analysis of the OpenText acquisition, visit LISA.

For further information on this update please visit the LISA Micro Focus Licensing page.

Oracle: Accelerating customers move to cloud

With Richard Spithoven, Global Lead – Oracle License & Commercial Advisory Services and Oracle Course Leader at LISA

Oracle has made a number of changes to its portfolio in order to accelerate its customers’ move towards its cloud portfolio. The most significant of these changes recently was the doubling of the annual uplift to the cost of technical support for on-prem licenses. Oracle is now applying an 8% annual uplift to renewals, whereas previously the annual uplift was 4% and before that it was 3%. You can clearly see how Oracle is ratcheting this up in an effort to entice customers away from on-prem licences.

One other development of note was that ServiceNow joins the likes of Flexera and Snow as a verified third party tool vendor for gathering raw database data and middleware data on Oracle. You need to be aware of this as it will make it easier for Oracle to access the data it needs during an audit. If you are using ServiceNow and Oracle, you need to be aware that Oracle will now be able to access this data more easily.

For more information on this update and other Oracle training, please visit the LISA Oracle Licensing Training page.

Visit LISA directly to watch additional software and licensing updates, in addition to accessing the full range of ITAM courses available.