Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM

    The Software Asset Management (SAM) publisher pack for IBM enables ServiceNow customers to efficiently track and optimize licensing for IBM software products, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Virtual Datacenters. This pack is part of the Software Asset Management Professional plugin and supports managing various IBM license metrics and types, simplifying license compliance and optimization.

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    Key Features

    • Supported License Metrics: Includes Authorized User, Employee User Value Unit, External User Value Unit, Per Device, Per Named User, Per Processor, Processor Value Unit (PVU), Resource Value Unit (RVU), and Virtual Processor Core (VPC).
    • Integration Requirements: PVU, RVU, and VPC metrics require integration with IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT), BigFix Inventory, or authorized Software Asset Management providers in the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program.
    • Discovery Tools: Different discovery tools are required based on the license metric and integration type:
      • For PVU and RVU: Use ILMT or BigFix Inventory with integration APIs v1 or v2, or ServiceNow Discovery with IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management.
      • For VPC: Use ILMT or BigFix Inventory with integration API v2, or ServiceNow Discovery with IBM License Compliance.
      • For other metrics, including user-based licenses, any discovery tool can be used.
    • No Legacy Pack Needed: This publisher pack includes all necessary capabilities for tracking both full capacity and sub-capacity PVU and RVU licenses without requiring the legacy IBM PVU Process Pack.
    • Integration Options: Supports integration with ILMT, BigFix Inventory, and authorized CVA providers to import IBM software installation data for reconciliation against entitlements.
    • License Management for Virtualized Environments: Enables tracking across VMware vSphere, Nutanix, and IBM LPAR infrastructures through authorized SAM providers.
    • Analytics and Reporting: Provides compliance analysis on the Software Publisher Analytics dashboard in Software Asset Management classic and license usage views in the Software Asset Workspace.
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Support: Extends licensing tracking and optimization to Red Hat Enterprise Linux products.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automates reconciliation of IBM software licenses with discovered installations, reducing manual effort and improving accuracy.
    • Supports complex licensing scenarios including sub-capacity and virtualization, ensuring compliance and cost optimization.
    • Enables flexible integration with IBM’s ILMT, BigFix Inventory, or authorized SAM providers based on customer environment and preferences.
    • Offers detailed compliance insights and usage data through built-in dashboards and workspace views, facilitating informed licensing decisions.
    • Supports multiple license metrics, allowing customers to manage diverse IBM licensing models within a single platform.

    Use the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM to track and optimize licensing for your IBM software products. You can also use the publisher pack to track and optimize licensing for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Virtual Datacenters products.

    To use the IBM publisher pack, activate the Software Asset Management Professional for IBM (com.sn_samp_ibm) plugin.

    The IBM publisher pack supports the following license metrics:
    • Authorized User
    • Authorized User Value Unit
    • Employee User Value Unit
    • External User Value Unit
    • Per Device
    • Per Named User
    • Per Processor
    • Per User
    • Processor Value Unit (PVU)
    • Resource Value Unit (RVU)
    • Virtual Processor Core (VPC)
    Important:
    The PVU, RVU, and VPC license metrics are supported only if you integrate the IBM publisher pack with the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT), BigFix Inventory, or a Software Asset Management provider that is authorized to participate in the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program. For more information on ILMT and BigFix Inventory integrations, see IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) and BigFix Inventory integrations. For more information on Authorized SAM Provider (ASP) integrations, see Client Value Acceleration (CVA) integrations for IBM.
    For more information on the supported IBM license metrics, see Software license metrics.
    Important:
    The IBM publisher pack is available as part of the Software Asset Management Professional (com.snc.samp) plugin. The publisher pack includes all capabilities that are required for tracking and managing both full capacity and sub-capacity PVU and RVU licenses for your IBM products. It does not require the legacy IBM PVU Process Pack to track and manage IBM PVU licenses. See iBM PVU Process Pack for more information on the legacy process pack.

    When you run a discovery using a discovery tool such as the ServiceNow Discovery application, the discovery tool locates the IBM software installations in your environment and then imports the associated data into your ServiceNow instance. The Software Asset Management application compares this data against your IBM software entitlements to automatically reconcile your IBM software products, including products in complex server licensing scenarios.

    Important:
    You must use different discovery tools based on the license metric that you are using for reconciliation, and if applicable, the type of IBM integration that you are using with the publisher pack:
    PVU and RVU license metrics
    To reconcile your IBM software products using the PVU or RVU license metrics, you must use one of the following discovery tools:
    • If you are integrating with the ILMT or BigFix Inventory, you must connect to these discovery tools using either version 1 or version 2 of the integration APIs.

    • If you are integrating with a Software Asset Management provider that is authorized to participate in the IBM CVA Program, you must use the ServiceNow Discovery application in conjunction with the IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application.

    VPC license metric
    To reconcile your IBM software products using the VPC license metric, you must use one of the following discovery tools:
    • If you are integrating with the ILMT or BigFix Inventory, you must connect to these discovery tools using version 2 of the integration APIs.
    • If you are integrating with a Software Asset Management provider that is authorized to participate in the IBM CVA Program, you must use the ServiceNow Discovery application in conjunction with the IBM License Compliance for Software Asset Management application.
    All other supported license metrics
    To reconcile your IBM software products using any other supported license metric, including user-based license metrics like Authorized User and External User Value Unit, you can use any other discovery tool.