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Back to AllReplace ILMT with Flexera: Federal Guide to IBM Licensing
Introduction: Replacing IBM License Complexity with Clarity
The Federal Guide to IBM Licensing outlines a clear path for agencies to take control of their IBM licenses, proven through a real-world case study showing how to replace ILMT with Flexera to gain clarity, reduce audit risk, and simplify license management.
A large U.S. government agency managing over $20 million in IBM software was struggling with the complexity and overhead of IBM’s License Metric Tool (ILMT) and BigFix for sub-capacity compliance. Each quarter, the agency’s IT team spent 1–2 weeks manually generating reports, which were often only 50% accurate. The risk of noncompliance and costly IBM audits loomed large.
Looking to reduce risk and streamline operations, the agency partnered with InSequence, a SAM managed services provider with deep expertise in Government and in IBM licensing. Using the Federal Guide to IBM Licensing, InSequence guided the transition from ILMT to Flexera, delivering automation, accuracy, and visibility across the agency’s entire IBM software estate.
Why ILMT Wasn’t Enough
ILMT’s sub-capacity reporting process was time-consuming, error-prone, and ultimately insufficient for reliable IBM audit defense. Challenges facing the agency included:
- Manual processes and outdated scripts were needed every quarter to produce IBM sub-capacity reports.
- Reports were only 50% accurate, raising audit risks.
- ILMT and BigFix infrastructure carried high operational and support costs.
- The agency’s IBM portfolio spanned 90+ IBM license types across 2,500 devices with multiple license metrics (PVU, VPC, RVU, User, Device, Named User).
- 2 full-time employees (FTEs) were dedicated to managing compliance on IBM alone.
The Federal Guide to IBM Licensing
While already possessing strong leadership and governance, the Agency lacked visibility and efficient tooling that could handle complex license metrics. InSequence led the agency through a four-month migration to Replace ILMT with Flexera. The approach focused on:
- Implementing Flexera discovery tools to replace manual data gathering
- Normalizing and validating all IBM entitlements
- Building automated sub-capacity reports meeting IBM audit requirements
- Decommissioning ILMT and BigFix infrastructure entirely
Flexera is unique among SAM tools in that it enables complete IBM estate coverage, including all license types, and provides real-time visibility without relying on complex scripting or constant tuning.
Outcome: Time Savings, Accuracy Gains, and Millions Saved
Following the Federal Guide to IBM Licensing, the agency successfully replaced ILMT with Flexera, cutting sub-capacity reporting time from 1–2 weeks to just 1–2 days, increasing accuracy from 50% to over 95%, and achieving full visibility across 100% of its IBM estate. The transition eliminated the need for two full-time resources, reclaimed $200,000 in infrastructure costs, and helped the agency avoid at least $5 million in potential licensing exposure.
Why It Matters: From Compliance Fire Drills to Strategic Clarity
The effort to replace ILMT with Flexera gave the agency:
- Audit confidence with defensible IBM license positions
- Automation that eliminated manual tracking
- Operational savings through decommissioned tooling and reduced FTE overhead
- Strategic insights to support broader modernization and optimization goals
What once was a blind spot, IBM license compliance, became a strength.
How It Works
From a data flow perspective the concept is simple, we implement a capability that brings ‘Inventory Data’ and ‘Entitlement Data’ together to provide visibility into ‘License Compliance’.
While the concept is simple, the implementation is more nuanced. For IBM use cases, InSequence’s SAM365® managed service combines Flexera technology, deep IBM licensing expertise, and proven playbooks to deliver measurable results.
- InSequence deployed Flexera’s FlexNet Agent—known for its robust IBM sub-capacity licensing support—to monitor license usage across the agency’s environment.
- InSequence ingested and normalized the agency’s IBM purchase history and license entitlements from IBM Passport Advantage and their IBM contracts and license agreements, ensuring the agency received the full benefit of the terms they had procured.
Key Takeaways
The outcomes from this real-life case study align with 4 key takeaways:
- ILMT is not the only way to meet IBM sub-capacity licensing requirements.
- Flexera can support full IBM estate visibility, accuracy, and compliance.
- Government agencies can reduce cost, reclaim staff time, and improve outcomes by modernizing their SAM tools and embracing experts like the SAM365® team at InSequence.
- Flexera uniquely replaces ILMT – no other SAM tool can do it without costly 3rd party services.
Facing ILMT overhead or IBM audit risk?
InSequence SAM365® helps agencies and enterprises institute proactive management of complex IBM license models. Let’s talk about how you can reclaim time, reduce risk, and prove SAM value.
Why InSequence?
InSequence Has Deep IBM Licensing Expertise
Our SAM365® team includes SAM experts who embrace learning the complexity of IBM, Oracle, Broadcom, Microsoft, and other major software vendors. We don’t just deploy someone to figure it out on the job, we invest in developing real license and technology experts.
In addition to technology and expertise, our Federal Guide to IBM Licensing includes structured education, training, and development programs, our goal is to create long-term technical professionals who understand both licensing strategy and real-world implementation. That consistency delivers better results to our customers: deeper knowledge, faster outcomes, and lasting value.
InSequence SAM365® has specific playbooks that enables agencies to replace ILMT with Flexera and achieve quantifiable results.
Learn about InSequence Licensing Experts:
https://www.insequenceinc.com/solutions/it-asset-management/software-license-experts/
Learn about InSequence SAM Managed Services:
https://www.insequenceinc.com/services/sam365/
Schedule a Discovery Consult:
