[click_to_tweet tweet=”Have you IBM products deployed on Windows Server 2008? Then you have an IBM License Compliance Risk #ibmlicensing #itam #ilmt #bigfix” quote=”Have you IBM products deployed on Windows Server 2008? Then you have an IBM License Compliance Risk”]

You probably know Microsoft no longer support Windows 2008.  What you may not be aware of is that it is no longer a supported platform for IBM Sub- Capacity licensing.  This makes it a significant IBM License Compliance Risk that you need to address.

The compliance risk will show up in your quarterly ILMT audit snapshots and will become a problem in the event of an audit or ELP negotiations.

Here are a few strategies to consider to reduce the impact of this particular IBM license compliance risk.

Upgrade Windows Server 2008

This makes the most sense long term and you have until Q3 2020.  Even if you don’t have time to upgrade all servers the fact you are actively working on the problem should help you avoid any charges or additional license demands.

License all cores

You could accept that you are going to have to license all cores.  You will need more licenses or reduce the number of cores to be licensed. Strategies to achieve this might include:

  • Moving the applications to dedicated hardware with fewer cores.
  • Creating a Windows Server 2008 cluster so you reduce the cores available.

Uninstall IBM products from Windows Server 2008

Maybe it’s time to decommission or archive the IBM application running on Windows Server 2008?   With the sudden increase in costs looming now might be a good time to revisit the reason for keeping the system active.  Decommission or Archive the data might now be possible.

Negotiate a deal with the IBM Account Manager

If all else fails you can negotiate a deal.  Talk to your IBM account manager and do a deal for extended support for ILMT.  This is only a temporary fix but will buy you time to upgrade or remove the products.

Do nothing?

Do nothing is not an option in this case, especially if you have a significant number of servers out of compliance.  The ILMT Audit snapshot will record the non-compliance every quarter and highlighted in the event of an audit.

Does Microsoft Extended Support for Windows Server 2008 make me compliant?

Security or business compliance requirements may be satisfied by getting Microsoft Extended Security Updates (ESU) but not IBM. It remains an unsupported IBM sub capacity technology.

Conclusion

If you have IBM products running on Window Server 2008 and are relying on IBM sub capacity licensing to reduce costs recognise that you have a compliance risk. You will need to have a plan to manage and reduce the risk or be forced to purchase additional licenses from IBM.

Even if it takes more than a year to upgrade or migrate the servers acting early will pay off in the long run..

IBM License Resources

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