FCT mentioned anywhere in your IBM license entitlement? You need to dig deeper #itam tips
Flexible Contract Type aka FCT is a special and typically older contract type used by IBM.
As the name suggests it’s flexible so when it is mentioned in your IBM license entitlement need to understand the underlying deal as it is never straight forward to count. Don’t despair, it is very often to the benefit of your company.
It is most commonly used by IBM when a client has entitlement for a product in a company prior to IBM acquiring that company. The FCT was originally designed as a transition entitlement to be replaced over time as they move to a Passport Advantage Agreement.
There are many reasons why an FCT will still exist in your organisation. The most common one being that they are on a generous license metric (site, server, unlimited, etc) which will be considerably more expensive in S&S if they are convert in a move to PA.
FCT are also under counted due to the non-PVU license metric or get moved to a dedicated PA Site and drop off the license managers radar.
Conclusion
Flexible Contract Types, FCT, should always be investigated and care should be taken in accepting any trade up to a Passport Advantage product given the significant increase in cost that will undoubtedly result.
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