Cognos 10 Licensing

[alanca]

I would like to get feedback on the interpretation of the IBM Cognos BI licensing agreement, specifically in relation to licensing of Cognos 10 BI use in non-production environments.  The way I read the license agreement, If you buy role-based Authorized User licenses, these should allow the user to access this functionality in any number of installations or servers.  I can see nothing that specifically excludes using the functionality in non-prod environments. Therefore if you have enough role-based user licenses to cover all users accessing dev, test and prod environments you are in compliance.  However, I have been advised by our IBM rep, that if you have dedicated dev or test environments, then you need to purchase specific Non-Production PVU licenses for each non-prod server (at great expense).  Can anyone please provide further clarification?

[SomeClown]

I would recommend asking for escalation on your question to management within IBM.  Licensing answers from IBM staff are not consistent and can vary wildly.  I would press your issue and ask for a response to prove that you are incorrect in your interpretation.  If you are of a cynical nature, of course your rep is going to tell you to buy more licenses - that's how they make money and keep their jobs.

As to your question, I've seen clients with both arrangements.   As to which is correct, I don't know.  It only matters what IBM thinks and what you are able to hold them to.

[alanca]

Thanks for your reply.   I have put in a written request to IBM (via 3rd party vendor) for official clarification.  I will post the response when I get it.  Cheers!

[alanca]

IBM has confirmed that you don't need specific Non-Production PVU licenses for Non-prod servers if the users are covered by role-based Authorized User licenses.  This enquiry saved us a motza in license costs!