An advisory firm built around a single discipline: IBM licensing.
We help Fortune 500 enterprises understand, optimize, and defend their IBM investments. Independent. No vendor commissions. No reseller margin. The only revenue we earn comes from clients we advise.
Founded by former IBM contract architects and SAM leaders
IBM Licensing Experts began as a small group of former IBM software contract architects, sub capacity specialists, and Software Asset Management leaders who had spent the better part of two decades inside the very pricing models that customers now struggle to understand. We started the firm because we kept watching enterprises overpay, accept inflated audit findings, or sign renewal agreements that locked them into entitlement they would never deploy.
What sets the practice apart is structural independence. We are not an IBM Business Partner. We do not resell IBM software. We earn no commissions, no kickbacks, and no rebates from IBM or any of its distributors. Every conclusion we deliver is shaped only by what serves the client. That is the line that separates advisory from sales.
Today the firm advises Fortune 500 enterprises across banking, insurance, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, energy, telecommunications, and the public sector. Engagements range from short term sub capacity assessments through multi year Enterprise License Agreement strategy, audit interception and defense, and Passport Advantage renewal negotiation.
Exclusively IBM
Most software advisory firms cover dozens of vendors at surface depth. We cover one vendor at extreme depth. Sub capacity, ILMT, PVU, Passport Advantage, Cloud Paks, Red Hat, mainframe Monthly License Charges, middleware, database, and emerging watsonx licensing. Explore our expertise.
Your advisor should never profit from the vendor they consult you about.
Vendor partner programs are revenue arrangements. When a consultant receives margin or rebate from IBM for a transaction they recommended to you, that consultant has a financial interest in the size of the deal. We reject that model entirely. Read more on why independence matters.
Senior consultants. No layered teams.
Every engagement is led by a senior consultant with at least fifteen years of IBM licensing experience. There is no junior analyst tier billing back to the client at premium rates. The person who scopes your engagement is the person who delivers it.
Our methodology rests on three pillars: complete entitlement reconstruction, deployment verification against contractual definitions, and quantitative benchmarking against comparable enterprises. We never rely on a vendor produced report as the source of truth.
Three practices, one specialty
We organize our work into three integrated practices that share a common knowledge base. Most clients engage one practice initially, then expand as trust builds.
IBM License Consulting
Sub capacity reviews, ILMT deployment, PVU optimization, Cloud Pak entitlement, Red Hat strategy, mainframe MLC analysis, middleware and database licensing.
IBM Audit Defense
Audit interception, ILMT data verification, finding dispute, settlement negotiation. Average claim reductions of 40 to 60 percent.
IBM Contract Negotiation
Passport Advantage renewals, Enterprise License Agreement scoping, discount benchmarks, multi year planning, competitive leverage.
Independence
No partnership with IBM. No reseller margin. No commission income from any vendor.
Specialization
IBM only. Every consultant has spent a career inside this single ecosystem.
Quantification
Every recommendation tied to a number. Savings, exposure, deferral, or risk.
Confidentiality
Mutual NDA before any data exchange. Anonymized benchmarks shared across the client base.
Fortune 500 enterprises with material IBM investment.
Our work tends to begin at annual IBM spend levels of two million dollars or more, where the structural complexity of sub capacity, Passport Advantage, and Cloud Pak entitlement justifies dedicated advisory. Our largest engagements involve enterprises with nine figure IBM portfolios spanning mainframe, distributed, and hybrid cloud. Reach out through the contact page to discuss your situation.
Where to learn more
Our published research spans 25 enterprise white papers and 500 plus articles covering every dimension of IBM licensing.
Start with the complete IBM licensing guide, browse our white paper library, or explore the full insights blog.
Global advisory across all IBM brands
Engagements delivered across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Practice depth spans the full IBM software portfolio.
Includes Cloud Paks, Red Hat, mainframe, middleware, and database portfolios.
Start with a conversation.
Confidential, no obligation assessment. Tell us your IBM situation and we respond within 24 hours.