Answer 7 questions to evaluate your readiness for an IBM licence audit and identify compliance gaps before IBM does.
$1M+
Avg. Audit Claim
7
Questions
3 min
To Complete
Question 1 of 7IBM Audit Defence
Question 1 of 7
📧
Has IBM or an IBM-appointed auditor contacted you about a licence review?
IBM conducts audits through its own team or third parties like Deloitte and PwC under Passport Advantage terms.
No contact from IBM about compliance
Informal sales discussion about licensing
Formal licence review request received
Formal audit notification under contract clause
You have contractual obligations to respond
Question 2 of 7
📋
Do you have a complete inventory of all IBM software deployed?
IBM licences cover many products: WebSphere, MQ, Db2, Cognos, Spectrum, DataStage, and more. Unknown installations create exposure.
Yes — full inventory across all environments
Mostly — production tracked, gaps in non-prod
Partially — only major products tracked
No — no reliable IBM software inventory
Question 3 of 7
⚙️
Is IBM Licence Metric Tool (ILMT) deployed and reporting correctly?
ILMT is required for sub-capacity licensing. Without it, IBM can charge full-capacity (all cores on the server).
Yes — ILMT deployed on all servers, reports current
Deployed but reports have gaps or are outdated
Partially deployed — not on all servers
Not deployed at all
IBM will charge full-capacity licensing
Question 4 of 7
🖥️
Do you run IBM software in virtualised environments (VMware, PowerVM, Hyper-V)?
IBM sub-capacity rules differ by virtualisation technology. VMware requires ILMT; PowerVM has specific capping rules.
Physical servers only or IBM-approved partitioning
PowerVM with properly capped LPARs
VMware with ILMT deployed and reporting
VMware without ILMT or mixed virtualisation
Full-capacity licensing risk
Question 5 of 7
📜
Do you understand your current Passport Advantage entitlements?
Passport Advantage contracts define what products, metrics, and quantities you are licensed for. Many organisations have lost track.
Yes — entitlements fully documented and current
Mostly — major products known, some gaps
Vague — contracts archived and not recently reviewed
Poor — entitlement records incomplete or lost
Question 6 of 7
🔄
When was the last time you reconciled IBM deployments against entitlements?
Regular self-audits identify gaps before IBM does. IBM audits are retrospective and cover the full contract period.
Within the last 12 months
1-2 years ago
2-4 years ago
Never or more than 4 years ago
Question 7 of 7
🛡️
Do you have an IBM audit response plan or independent advisory support?
Organisations without a plan or independent support typically pay 3-5x more in audit settlements.
Yes — plan documented and advisor engaged
Informal plan — internal team aware
No plan — we would figure it out
No plan and no internal IBM licensing expertise
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