Your advisor should never profit from the vendor they consult you about.
We are not an IBM Business Partner, reseller, or affiliate. We earn no commission, no rebate, and no margin from any IBM transaction. Our only revenue comes from the enterprises we advise.
Vendor partner programs are revenue arrangements
When a software advisor holds Business Partner status with a vendor, that relationship comes with payment. The partner earns margin on resold licenses, rebates on hitting volume targets, soft funding for marketing, and competitive incentives for displacing other products. Those payments are not hidden. They are documented in the partner program agreement. They are the entire reason the partner program exists.
The structural problem is simple. A partner who recommends you spend more with the vendor earns more. A partner who recommends you spend less earns less. Even a well intentioned partner is operating inside an incentive system that rewards them for outcomes that may not align with your interest. The economic reality of the relationship cannot be neutralized by good intentions on either side.
Independent advisory removes that conflict by removing the underlying payment. We accept no fee, no margin, no rebate, and no soft incentive from IBM or any IBM affiliated reseller. The only economic relationship we hold is with you, the client. Read more about how the firm operates.
Advisors who earn from IBM
- Margin earned on resold licenses, software, and services
- Volume rebates tied to total customer spend
- Marketing development funds paid by the vendor
- Sales incentives for hitting product line targets
- Renewal compensation calculated as a percentage of contract value
- Pressure to recommend the most expensive entitlement model
IBM Licensing Experts
- Zero margin, rebate, or commission from IBM
- Zero reseller relationships with IBM or its distributors
- Zero soft funding from any software vendor
- Single revenue source: client advisory fees only
- Recommendations measured by client savings, not transaction size
- Always free to recommend reduced spend or product exit
An IBM Business Partner is not in a position to tell you to spend less.
Consider a Cloud Pak renewal where the optimal answer for the client is to terminate two of five Cloud Pak entitlements and shift workloads to alternative platforms. A partner whose annual quota depends on Cloud Pak revenue cannot deliver that recommendation without harming their own compensation. An independent advisor faces no such conflict and recommends the lower spend outcome whenever the client situation calls for it. Explore our Cloud Pak expertise and our license consulting practice for detail.
Independence is most valuable when stakes are highest
IBM software audits often produce initial findings that vastly overstate true exposure. The default IBM Audit Logic relies on full capacity assumptions, ignores sub capacity entitlement, and treats configuration data without context. A defense that produces a meaningful reduction requires direct technical confrontation with the auditor.
That confrontation is structurally awkward for a partner who depends on IBM for ongoing business. An independent advisor faces no future relationship cost and can press every legitimate defense without restraint. Learn more about our audit defense practice or read your IBM audit rights.
Zero IBM revenue
We hold no Business Partner status. We earn no transaction margin. We accept no soft funding.
Client fees only
Every dollar of firm revenue comes from a client advisory engagement.
Free to say less
We frequently recommend reduced spend, product exit, or alternative platforms.
"They identified four point two million in PVU savings we did not know existed. Their knowledge of IBM sub capacity rules and ILMT was far beyond what our internal team could provide."
"The audit finding came in at eight point six million. Working through their methodology, the final settlement closed at two point four. They never had to soften a position to protect a vendor relationship."
Independence in practice
Explore how independence shapes the advice we deliver across each IBM domain.
Read the complete IBM licensing guide, the sub capacity guide, or browse the white paper library.
Start a confidential conversation
Tell us about your IBM situation. We respond within 24 hours and operate under mutual NDA from the first exchange forward.
Visit our contact page, explore the audit defense practice, or read about the firm.
Independence is structural, not stated.
Ask any advisor for a written declaration of every commercial relationship they hold with IBM and its distributors. Our answer is short: none.