IBM license management - insight into a microcosm

Anyone who needs to delve further into software license management in the course of his professional life, can quickly get the impression that delve into a microcosm own.

Whether Microsoft, Oracle or IBM, each provider has developed other methods for licensing its software. The license terms from IBM are among certainly the most complex. Besides nested software products (the so-called software bundling) is available from IBM around 100 different metrics, based on which the software may be licensed - and rising.

In addition to the legal protection can the effort, periodically to review the existing license conditions, worthwhile for companies financially well, especially since the various licensing options are continually adapted and changed by the manufacturer.

Potential for cost savings

A variation that has a high potential for cost savings, is the licensing on the basis of so-called PVU metric (Processor Value Unit). Here the cost of the software are determined not on the number of users or installations, but on the performance of the processors. After a points table each processor model is depending on the performance and configuration associated with a certain number of points, which forms its PVU value. This value is then multiplied by the number of available cores. From these figures the required number of PVU licenses that will be charged as a basis for calculating the price to be licensed Software.

The requirement for ERP systems

More and more companies open up international offices in global competition. But different laws, accounting rules, languages and banking systems complicate the organization.

Companies should therefore use standardized ERP solutions that take into account country-specific features. Important for the selection also is an on-site service in implementation, rollout and support.

Globalization is not just an issue for large corporations. Even the middle class to take advantage of its international business, either with the export of goods or the establishment of branches in other countries. But here lurk many stumbling blocks. Finally, the companies are required to comply with different laws, accounting rules, currencies, languages and banking systems. At the same time increase the world's claims of tax authorities and other institutions. This applies to the reporting or compliance with applicable in the countries’ policies and laws.

The opening of international offices and the acquisition of companies from other countries also provides for IT is a challenge. You must integrate these new locations into the existing IT infrastructure. A central role is played here the ERP system. A single solution for all countries helps to optimize business processes across national borders to share information faster and manage inventory more efficiently.

This article shows what international (midsize) businesses should consider when choosing the right ERP solution and the role of the local service of the provider plays.

New Oracle Engineered System for application virtualization

Oracle today announced the Virtual Compute Appliance on a new integrated system can virtually practically any (x86) workloads with the user.

The Virtual Compute Appliance is the latest addition to the family of so-called Engineered Systems, which Oracle demonstrate its expertise in the integration of software and hardware and wants to sell its customers an advantage. It should , according to an announcement enable fast and repeatable installations of full-stack infrastructure. The wire-once system comes completely pre-configured. Production workloads should be possible to set up with little effort on a software-defined configuration - IBM has its similar concept Pure Systems for quite some time in the market.

The Virtual Compute Appliance, Oracle is built around an InfiniBand fabric around. Connection to existing Ethernet and Fiber Channel networks, the system finds more than pooled interconnect modules that can use any virtual machine transparently. The system has to start no single point of failure, virtualized applications can at a hardware or software errors automatically.