How Redress Compliance helped a leading nationwide US retailer achieve a 97% reduction in IBM non-compliance fees — from $20 million to just $600,000 — through expert audit analysis, PVU sub-capacity corrections across virtualised environments, licence reallocation, and strategic negotiation.
| Client Overview | |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail — Nationwide Presence |
| Location | United States |
| IT Environment | Hundreds of locations — regional data centres, cloud platforms supporting e-commerce, inventory management, and point-of-sale systems |
| Issue | IBM software audit claiming $20 million in non-compliance fees, citing sub-capacity licensing violations, misconfigured virtual environments, and outdated entitlements |
| Services Provided | Audit Report Review, Data Collection & Analysis, Strategic IBM Engagement & Negotiation, Licence Optimisation & Compliance Planning |
| Outcome | $20M claim reduced to $600K (97% reduction). Centralised licence management implemented. Zero operational disruptions. Governance framework for real-time tracking established. |
A leading US retailer with a nationwide presence faced an IBM software audit claiming $20 million in non-compliance fees. The retailer's IT infrastructure spanned hundreds of locations, including regional data centres and cloud platforms supporting e-commerce, inventory management, and point-of-sale systems.
IBM's findings alleged violations related to sub-capacity licensing, misconfigured virtual environments, and outdated entitlements. The retailer's decentralised IT management and rapid scaling of digital operations had complicated the licensing landscape — creating the appearance of significantly more non-compliance than actually existed.
Decentralised IT management across hundreds of locations created a complex licensing landscape that IBM's audit methodology exploited. The rapid scaling of digital operations — e-commerce platforms, cloud infrastructure, and new virtual environments — meant licence entitlements hadn't kept pace with deployment changes. Without independent expertise to challenge IBM's calculations, the retailer risked accepting inflated PVU assessments and paying millions more than was genuinely owed. Critical retail systems — including point-of-sale and inventory management — needed to remain fully operational throughout.
Redress Compliance was engaged to manage the complete audit defence — from initial report analysis through final settlement and long-term compliance governance. The engagement followed a structured four-phase approach:
Retailers with distributed IT environments across hundreds of locations are particularly vulnerable to inflated IBM audit claims. Decentralised management means virtual machine configurations, hardware changes, and licence deployments happen at the local level — often without central ITAM oversight. IBM's audit methodology aggregates PVU usage across the entire estate, and miscalculated sub-capacity metrics at even a handful of locations can compound into tens of millions in apparent non-compliance. Independent verification of actual usage at the individual system level is the most effective way to challenge these inflated assessments.
The $20 million IBM audit claim was reduced to just $600,000 — a 97% reduction. The settlement covered only additional licences necessary for future scalability.
No punitive charges imposed. IBM's inflated claims were systematically challenged and corrected through data-driven negotiation.
Seamless customer service delivery maintained throughout the entire audit process. No disruptions to e-commerce, POS, or inventory management systems.
Centralised licence management, robust monitoring tools, and IBM licensing training implemented — significantly reducing the risk of future audit challenges.
"Redress Compliance's expertise was pivotal in resolving the IBM audit. They saved us millions and equipped us with the tools to stay compliant as we grow. Their guidance turned a potential crisis into a manageable opportunity."
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Initial IBM Audit Claim | $20,000,000 |
| Final Settlement | $600,000 (97% reduction) |
| Total Savings | $19,400,000 |
| Compliance Improvements | Centralised licence management and robust real-time monitoring tools implemented |
| Business Continuity | Uninterrupted IT operations across all retail locations during audit resolution |
| Future Protection | IBM licensing training for IT and procurement teams; governance framework for ongoing compliance |
Watch how we help enterprises navigate IBM licensing challenges and audit defence
If your organisation is dealing with an IBM software licence review, audit findings, or compliance concerns — contact us today. Our independent IBM licensing experts have helped enterprises reduce audit claims by 80–97%, protecting hundreds of millions in budget.
See how we've saved enterprises hundreds of millions in IBM audit exposure — real results across industries and geographies →
View All IBM Case StudiesDownload our in-depth guides on IBM audit defence, PVU licensing, ILMT compliance, and negotiation strategies.
Independent IBM licence reviews, compliance assessments, and cost optimisation
Expert defence against IBM Software Licence Reviews — protect your interests
Independent negotiation support for IBM renewals, ELAs, and new purchases
Optimise IBM Enterprise Licence Agreement renewals and consolidations
Fredrik Filipsson is the co-founder of Redress Compliance, a leading independent advisory firm specialising in Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, IBM, and Salesforce licensing. With over 20 years of experience in software licensing and contract negotiations, Fredrik has helped hundreds of organisations — including numerous Fortune 500 companies — optimise costs, avoid compliance risks, and secure favourable terms. Fredrik built his expertise over two decades working directly for IBM, SAP, and Oracle.