A comprehensive independent advisory on IBM Cognos Analytics, Planning Analytics (TM1), and Cognos Controller licensing — covering Authorised User, PVU, and VPC metrics, user role types, deployment models, compliance risks, and optimisation strategies.
Executive Summary: IBM Cognos is a suite of analytics and performance management tools — including Cognos Analytics (BI and reporting), Planning Analytics (TM1, budgeting and forecasting), and Cognos Controller (financial consolidation). Understanding how these products are licensed is crucial for IT Asset Managers to optimise costs and stay compliant. Cognos licensing involves different deployment models (on-premises vs cloud), licensing metrics (Authorised User, PVU, VPC), distinct user roles, and multiple licence types (perpetual, subscription, SaaS).
Organisations may use a mix of models — for example, running Cognos Analytics on-prem with PVU licences while using Planning Analytics as a SaaS service. ITAM teams need to track both kinds of entitlements accordingly. IBM also allows deploying Cognos in containers via IBM Cloud Pak for Data, where licensing uses VPC (Virtual Processor Cores) instead of PVUs — a hybrid approach with subscription capacity licensing.
| Licensing Model | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Authorised User | Each individual who accesses Cognos must have their own named licence. Licences cannot be shared or pooled. No hard technical limit enforced by the software — compliance is contractual. Example: 100 AU licences = up to 100 active user accounts. | Known, stable user bases. Straightforward to track by counting users. |
| PVU (Processor Value Unit) | Licence the server capacity instead of users. IBM assigns a PVU value per core (based on CPU type). Example: 8 cores × 50 PVUs/core = 400 PVUs needed. Allows unlimited users — compliance determined by not exceeding CPU capacity entitlement. | Large enterprises with high or fluctuating user counts where per-user licensing is impractical. |
If using PVU licensing on virtualised servers, IBM requires the use of the IBM Licence Metric Tool (ILMT) to monitor and report PVU usage. ILMT ensures you account for the correct number of virtual cores, especially for sub-capacity licensing. Failing to deploy ILMT could result in IBM defaulting your licensing to full physical capacity — a significant compliance risk that can dramatically increase required PVUs.
Not all users have the same level of functionality. IBM defines different user types that carry different licence rights. Ensuring users are not given capabilities beyond their licensed role is critical — IBM audits will check role assignments against purchased entitlements.
| Role | Capabilities | Typical Users | Licence Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analytics Administrator | Full administrative access — manages servers, security, modelling, all platform features. Every environment needs at least one admin. | IT administrators, Cognos platform managers | 🔴 Highest |
| Analytics Explorer | Power user / advanced author. Can create and edit reports, dashboards, use most advanced features. Cannot perform system administration. | Business analysts, report developers | 🟡 High |
| Analytics User | Standard user. Can interact with content, create simple dashboards/explorations, save personal content. More limited than Explorer. | Business users who create basic reports | 🟡 Medium |
| Analytics Viewer (Consumer) | Read-only. Can view dashboards and reports created by others. Cannot create new content. | Executives, managers, broad report consumers | 🟢 Lowest |
| Analytics for Mobile | Mobile app access only. Typically counts as a Viewer in many agreements. View content via mobile devices. | Field teams, mobile-only users | 🟢 Lowest |
If a Viewer-level user is accidentally granted Explorer capabilities, that person consumes an Explorer licence entitlement. The Cognos system's "Manage > Licences" feature provides a usage report to help administrators track this. Legacy note: Before the current model, IBM used terms like "Business Author" and "Enhanced Consumer." These have been simplified into the above roles — ensure you map old licence documents to current role definitions if you've upgraded or mixed entitlements.
In IBM's Cognos Analytics on Cloud offerings, licensing is subscription-based and user-counted. You subscribe to named user seats (e.g. Viewer seat vs. Analytics User seat). IBM manages all backend capacity, so you don't directly worry about PVUs. The system may enforce user counts — you won't be able to exceed enabled users without purchasing more. However, you should still internally govern role assignments, as having every user set as Administrator when only a few admin licences were purchased would violate your terms.
Planning Analytics on-prem requires BOTH server capacity licences (PVUs) AND user licences (Authorised Users). This is not either/or — you must have enough of both. For instance, a company might own 1,000 PVUs of Planning Analytics and 200 user licences to support deployment. Failing to licence either dimension is a compliance gap.
| Deployment | Metric | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| On-Premises (Local) | PVU + Authorised User | TM1 server engine licensed by PVU (based on server cores, tracked with ILMT). Every user who accesses Planning Analytics also needs an Authorised User licence — regardless of role (modeller, contributor, or read-only). No "free read-only" user exists. |
| Cloud (SaaS) | User Subscription | IBM charges per user subscription. The subscription covers the TM1 server in IBM Cloud — you don't separately licence PVUs. You manage user access so you don't exceed your subscription count. IBM provides an admin portal for adding/removing named users. |
| Hybrid / Bridge | Mixed | IBM offers "bridge to cloud" programmes to convert on-prem licences into cloud subscriptions with credits. May grant dual entitlement (both on-prem and cloud) during transition — but this is temporary. Inventory current entitlements carefully to avoid paying twice. |
Unlike Cognos Analytics, Planning Analytics does not have multiple named user role flavours with different pricing. All users — whether modellers who design cubes or contributors who only input data — consume one Authorised User licence each. A company with 3 administrators/modellers and 20 contributors needs 23 Authorised User licences. If someone leaves, you can reassign their licence to a replacement after removal.
| Aspect | On-Premises | Cloud (SaaS) |
|---|---|---|
| Metric | Authorised Users (named users). IBM differentiates between Administrator users and Standard (Contributor) users — separate SKUs, often at different costs. | User subscription. IBM typically does not distinguish between admin and regular users for pricing — all count the same. |
| Example | 2 Administrator + 20 Standard User licences. No more than 2 users should have the Controller admin role; no more than 20 standard users. | 22 user subscriptions. Any user can be assigned admin rights as needed without a separate licence type. |
| Enforcement | Controller may not enforce the count in software — it's on the honour system and subject to audit. Use built-in Licence Management report (v10.4.1+) or manually count active users. | System may enforce user limits. Simpler — no need to worry about admin vs standard licence breakdown. |
| Concurrent Licensing | Not used in modern agreements. IBM primarily uses named-user (Authorised User) model. If you have an older contract mentioning concurrent users, manage by monitoring peak simultaneous usage. | Named-user model. Subscription count = max users. |
| Metric | What It Is | Applies To | Key Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authorised User (AU) | Named-user licensing. Each person who uses the software (directly or indirectly) needs a licence. Cannot be shared or transferred except when permanently reassigning to a replacement. | All Cognos products (Analytics, Planning, Controller) | Track the list of individuals with access. Software may allow unlimited account creation — governance is needed. Even indirect users (e.g. certain report recipients) may need licences. |
| PVU (Processor Value Unit) | Server capacity measure. IBM assigns a PVU value per core depending on processor model (common: 50, 70, 100 PVUs/core). Total = PVU per core × number of cores allocated to software. | Cognos Analytics (BI), Planning Analytics (TM1 server) | Allows unlimited users. ILMT required for sub-capacity (virtualised) licensing. Without ILMT, IBM defaults to full physical capacity — dramatically increasing PVUs needed. |
| VPC (Virtual Processor Core) | Newer metric for cloud/container environments. Equivalent to one virtual CPU core allocated to the software. Used with IBM Cloud Paks. | Cognos Analytics via Cloud Pak for Data | Easier to calculate in virtualised environments than PVU. VPC and PVU are separate metrics — cannot directly convert without IBM approval. Specific to Cloud Pak / container deployments. |
| Risk Area | What Happens | Risk Level | How to Mitigate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exceeding Authorised User Counts | More user accounts than licences. New users added without purchasing additional licences. Sharing accounts (two people using one login) violates terms. | 🔴 High | Quarterly user count audits. Ensure each real user has their own licence. No generic accounts for multiple people. |
| Incorrect Role Assignments | Granting a user higher capabilities than their licence type (e.g. a Viewer given Explorer access). IBM audits examine capabilities and roles of every user. | 🔴 High | Use Cognos "Manage > Licences" report regularly. Map user groups to licence types. Apply principle of least privilege. |
| Distributing Content to Non-Licensees | Interactive reports (e.g. Active Reports) sent to people without Cognos licences. Static PDFs/printed reports are generally fine — interactive content requires licensed recipients. | 🟡 Medium | Policy: only share interactive reports with licensed users. Train report authors on which distribution formats are allowed. |
| Processor Capacity Overuse | Running Cognos on more cores or more powerful hardware than licenced. Upgrading hardware or allocating more virtual CPUs without adjusting licences. | 🔴 High | Always use ILMT for PVU/VPC tracking. Review ILMT reports when making infrastructure changes. Update licence counts before hardware upgrades. |
| Missing or Misconfigured ILMT | Not having ILMT deployed is itself a compliance issue. IBM defaults to full physical capacity licensing — potentially multiplying your costs. | 🔴 High | Deploy ILMT within 90 days of Cognos deployment. Keep it active. Regularly check dashboards. Retain quarterly reports (minimum 2 years). |
| Planning Analytics Dual Licensing Gap | Licencing only one dimension (users but not server PVUs, or vice versa). An audit will check both independently. | 🔴 High | Treat Planning Analytics as needing two compliance checks: AU count AND PVU/core capacity. Monitor both continuously. |
| Controller Admin Account Overuse | Created 3 admin accounts on-prem but only purchased 1 Administrator licence. Software may not enforce the count — audit will catch it. | 🟡 Medium | Use Controller's Licence Management report (v10.4.1+) to separate admin and standard user counts. Limit admin account creation. |
| Ghost Instances in ILMT | Retired Cognos servers still appearing in ILMT tracking. Makes it look like you're using more capacity than you are. | 🟡 Medium | When decommissioning servers, remove them from ILMT. Keep documentation showing the old system was decommissioned. |
Example scenario: A company bought 100 Cognos Analytics Viewer licences. One analyst creates an interactive Active Report and sends it to 500 other employees. Those employees don't log into Cognos, but because the Active Report allows slicing and dicing data offline, IBM considers that usage requiring a licence. In an audit, IBM could demand 500 additional Viewer licences. Static PDFs or printed reports can go to anyone — but interactive content must stay with licensed users.
| # | Recommendation | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maintain a central licence inventory. Keep an up-to-date record of all IBM Cognos entitlements — number of Authorised Users by type (Viewer, User, Explorer, Admin), PVU/VPC entitlements, which contracts they come from, and subscription expiration dates. | 🔴 Critical |
| 2 | Deploy ILMT for all PVU/VPC-based licences. Ensure ILMT is scanning all relevant servers. Check reports regularly for accuracy. Set up alerts if PVU consumption approaches your licensed amount. Required for sub-capacity compliance. | 🔴 Critical |
| 3 | Audit user accounts quarterly. Use Cognos "Manage > Licences" to compare users in each role against entitlements. Review Planning Analytics clients/user lists. Check Controller's Licence Management report. Disable inactive accounts (6+ months without login). | 🔴 Critical |
| 4 | Align user roles with licence types. Create directory groups mapped to licence types (Cognos_Admins, Cognos_Explorers, etc.). Apply principle of least privilege — give users only the capabilities they need. Prevents accidental role elevation. | 🟡 High |
| 5 | Educate stakeholders on licensing rules. Train report authors on which distribution methods are allowed. Inform IT teams not to spin up new Cognos environments without involving ITAM. Communicate policies on Active Report distribution. | 🟡 High |
| 6 | Monitor usage and optimise. Track how Cognos is actually used. Identify underutilised Viewer licences or unused Explorer allocations. Reduce renewal counts for subscriptions or decide not to renew support on perpetual licences not needed. | 🟡 High |
| 7 | Plan for cloud transitions. If moving from on-prem to IBM cloud, engage IBM early about how existing licences can be transitioned. IBM may offer credits for perpetual licences toward SaaS subscriptions. Document all agreements and update inventory. | 🟡 High |
| 8 | Keep Proof of Entitlement documents. Store all IBM Passport Advantage certificates, invoices, and correspondence in a central repository. Invaluable in case of audit or if ITAM team turns over. | 🟡 High |
| 9 | Prepare an audit response plan. Identify who gathers ILMT data, who pulls user lists, and who interfaces with auditors. Having this mapped out in advance means you can respond calmly and completely when IBM requests a Software Licence Review. | 🟡 High |
| 10 | Engage independent licensing experts. If managing IBM Cognos licensing becomes complex, consider independent IBM licensing advisors who can provide tailored guidance, identify optimisation opportunities, and assist with audit preparation. | 🟡 High |
Watch how we help enterprises navigate IBM licensing challenges and cut costs
Redress Compliance provides fully independent IBM licence management — from compliance assessments and audit defence to ELA renewals and contract negotiation. No IBM affiliation. We work exclusively in your interest.
See how we help enterprises eliminate IBM licensing risks and cut millions →
View Case StudiesDownload our in-depth guides covering IBM audit defence, PVU optimisation, and licence management strategies.
Independent IBM licence reviews, compliance assessments, and 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.