IBM user-based licenses

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 6 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of IBM user-based licenses

    The Software Asset Management (SAM) publisher pack for IBM enables ServiceNow customers to track and manage IBM user-based licenses, including authorized user and user value unit (UVU)-based licenses: authorized UVU, employee UVU (EUVU), and external UVU (XUVU). This capability provides IBM-specific license metrics to calculate and optimize compliance for IBM software products by reconciling user access through client access records.

    Show full answer Show less

    Client access records specify the total or individual users granted access to a particular IBM software version, allowing SAM to compare actual usage against software entitlements and determine compliance status.

    Key IBM User-Based License Types

    • Authorized User Licensing: Licenses each unique user requiring access. Software can be installed on unlimited configuration items (CIs), and licensed users may access any installation.
    • Authorized User Value Unit (AUVU) Licensing: Licenses total unique users with tiered factors applied to user counts for calculating required rights. Unlimited installations on CIs are allowed. Compliance requires sufficient rights for all users; otherwise, the product is non-compliant.
    • Employee User Value Unit (EUVU) Licensing: Licenses total internal users (employees and contractors) with tiered factors based on user ranges. Rights calculation uses a step function per tier. Full coverage is required for compliance.
    • External User Value Unit (XUVU) Licensing: Licenses total external users (partners, suppliers, contractors) with tiered factors. Rights calculation also uses a step function. All users must be licensed to maintain compliance.

    How Licensing Calculations Work

    For UVU-based licenses (AUVU, EUVU, XUVU), the total number of user licenses required is calculated by:

    1. Dividing the total users into defined tiers according to license type.
    2. Multiplying the number of users in each tier by the tier’s factor value.
    3. Summing all tier results to get the total required rights.

    If the available rights do not cover all users, the license is marked as Not Compliant, meaning no users are properly licensed.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    • Use the SAM IBM publisher pack to accurately track user-based IBM licenses by recording client access details in ServiceNow.
    • Apply tiered calculations to determine if your IBM software usage complies with licensing agreements.
    • Leverage unlimited installation rights per license type to optimize software deployment without additional licensing costs per device.
    • Ensure full coverage of user rights to avoid compliance violations and associated risks.

    You can use the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM to track and manage your IBM user-based licenses, including authorized user licenses and user value unit (UVU)-based licenses.

    Supported UVU-based licenses include authorized UVU, employee UVU, and external UVU. The publisher pack adds license metrics that are specific to IBM so that you can calculate licensing for these license types.

    IBM user-based licensing enables you to license the users who require access to your IBM software products. You can track and optimize the compliance of your IBM user-based licenses by reconciling the associated IBM software products through client access records. With a client access record, you can specify the total number of users who are granted access to a particular version of an IBM software product. For more granular control, you can also identify the specific users who are granted access to that product. The Software Asset Management application can then compare this information against the software rights and allocations that are defined in the corresponding software entitlements to determine if the associated user-based licenses are compliant.

    For more information on client access records in the Software Asset Workspace, see Create a software client access record in workspace. For more information on client access records in the Software Asset Management classic application, see Add a software client access record in Software Asset Management classic.

    Authorized user licensing

    Authorized user licensing enables you to license each unique user who requires access to an IBM software product.

    With this licensing type, you can install a given IBM software product on an unlimited number of configuration items (CIs), such as servers and computers. Each user can then access an unlimited number of installations for that software product on any of the CIs that the software product is installed on.

    Authorized user value unit (AUVU) licensing

    Authorized user value unit (AUVU) licensing enables you to license the total number of unique users who require access to an IBM software product.

    With this licensing type, you can install a given IBM software product on an unlimited number of configuration items (CIs), such as servers and computers. Each user can then access an unlimited number of installations for that software product on any of the CIs that the software product is installed on.

    With AUVU licensing, the number of users who require access to an IBM software product corresponds directly with an AUVU tier number and factor value.
    Table 1. AUVU tiers and factors
    Number of Users Tier Factor
    1 to 20 1 1.00
    21 to 50 2 0.83
    51 or more 3 0.80

    You can determine the number of rights that are required for an AUVU license by using a step function based on these AUVU tiers. First, divide the total number of users into tiers based on the AUVU tiers and factors table. Then, multiply the number of users within each tier by the corresponding factor values. Finally, add the resulting numbers together to determine the total number of rights that are required for the AUVU license.

    Important:
    If you do not have enough rights to license all users, none of the users are licensed and the product is marked as Not Compliant.
    For example, a company wants to grant 150 employees and contractors access to an IBM software product so that they can collaborate on an upcoming project. The total number of rights that are required for the corresponding AUVU license is 125, based on the following calculations:
    Tier Number of Users within the Tier Factor Number of Rights Required
    1

    (1 to 20 users)

    		 20 1.00 20 x 1.00 = 20
    2

    (21 to 50 users)

    		 30 0.83 30 x 0.83 = 24.9
    3

    (51 or more users)

    		 100 0.80 100 x 0.8 = 80
    — 150 total — 20 + 24.9 + 80 = 124.9 total (rounded up to 125 total)

    Employee user value unit (EUVU) licensing

    Employee user value unit (EUVU) licensing enables you to license the total number of users within your organization who require access to an IBM software product. These users can include both employees and contractors.

    With EUVU licensing, the number of users who require access to an IBM software product corresponds directly with an EUVU tier number and factor value.
    Table 2. EUVU tiers and factors
    Number of Users Tier Factor
    1000 to 2,500 1 1.000
    2,501 to 5,000 2 0.800
    5,001 to 10,000 3 0.700
    10,001 to 30,000 4 0.650
    30,001 to 50,000 5 0.550
    50,001 to 100,000 6 0.500
    100,001 to 300,000 7 0.465
    300,001 to 500,000 8 0.400
    500,001 to 1,000,000 9 0.360
    1,000,001 to 100,000,000 10 0.320

    You can determine the number of rights that are required for an EUVU license by using a step function based on these EUVU tiers. First, divide the total number of users into tiers based on the EUVU tiers and factors table. Then, multiply the number of users within each tier by the corresponding factor values. Finally, add the resulting numbers together to determine the total number of rights that are required for the EUVU license.

    Important:
    If you do not have enough rights to license all users, none of the users are licensed and the product is marked as Not Compliant.
    For example, a company wants to grant 11,000 employees access to an IBM software product. The total number of rights that are required for the corresponding EUVU license is 8,650, based on the following calculations:
    Tier Number of Users within the Tier Factor Number of Rights Required
    1

    (1,000 to 2,500 users)

    		 2,500 1.000 2,500 x 1.000 = 2,500
    2

    (2,501 to 5,000 users)

    		 2,500 0.800 2,500 x 0.800 = 2,000
    3

    (5,001 to 10,000 users)

    		 5,000 0.700 5,000 x 0.700 = 3,500
    4

    (10,001 to 30,000 users)

    		 1,000 0.650 1,000 x 0.650 = 650
    — 11,000 total — 2,500 + 2,000 + 3,500 + 650 = 8,650 total

    External user value unit (XUVU) licensing

    External user value unit (XUVU) licensing enables you to license the total number of users outside your organization who require access to an IBM software product. These users can include third-party partners, suppliers, and contractors.

    With XUVU licensing, the number of users who require access to an IBM software product corresponds directly with an XUVU tier number and factor value.
    Table 3. XUVU tiers and factors
    Number of Users Tier Factor
    1000 to 10,000 1 1.00000
    10,001 to 50,000 2 0.87500
    50,001 to 100,000 3 0.60000
    100,001 to 500,000 4 0.43750
    500,001 to 1,000,000 5 0.30000
    1,000,001 to 25,000,000 6 0.24375
    25,000,001 to 50,000,000 7 0.15000
    50,000,001 to 250,000,000 8 0.13750
    250,000,001 to 500,000,000 9 0.05000
    500,000,001 to 100,000,000,000 10 0.05000

    You can determine the number of rights that are required for an XUVU license by using a step function based on these XUVU tiers. First, divide the total number of users into tiers based on the XUVU tiers and factors table. Then, multiply the number of users within each tier by the corresponding factor values. Finally, add the resulting numbers together to determine the total number of rights that are required for the XUVU license.

    Important:
    If you do not have enough rights to license all users, none of the users are licensed and the product is marked as Not Compliant.
    For example, a company wants to grant 15,000 third-party partners access to an IBM software product. The total number of rights that are required for the corresponding XUVU license is 14,375, based on the following calculations:
    Tier Number of Users within the Tier Factor Number of Rights Required
    1

    (1,000 to 10,000 users)

    		 10,000 1.00000 10,000 x 1.00000 = 10,000
    2

    (10,001 to 50,000 users)

    		 5,000 0.87500 5,000 x 0.87500 = 4,375
    — 15,000 total — 10,000 + 4,357 = 14,375 total